


Wherever You Go

by Pitkin, skimmonsfiction



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/F, Lost AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-09
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2018-10-01 11:55:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 31
Words: 543,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10189376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pitkin/pseuds/Pitkin, https://archiveofourown.org/users/skimmonsfiction/pseuds/skimmonsfiction
Summary: When she felt she had no other option, Jemma sank down and tried to launch herself up, but the seat belt partially over her stomach forced the air out of her mouth. Large bubbles escaped and darted to the surface and Jemma reached out at them even though they weren't something tangible she could catch again. Even if it wasn't breathable air, it had filled the space in her lungs. Now that they were empty, Jemma's body reflexively inhaled no matter how desperately she fought not to. Her lungs had hurt before, but once they filled with saltwater they stung and Jemma was overwhelmed by an all encompassing panic. She tried struggling out of the seatbelt, but it was too tight. She was making the motions like she was trying to swim up, but it wasn't getting her anywhere. She expelled the water inside her, but there was nothing but more for her to suck back in and it felt like her head was near exploding. She jerked wildly as she felt the darkness taking over and she reached for Skye, finding her shoulder and gripping it tightly before it released and her body went limp.





	1. It's The Falling

_When she felt she had no other option, Jemma sank down and tried to launch herself up, but the seatbelt partially over her stomach forced the air out of her mouth. Large bubbles escaped and darted to the surface and Jemma reached out at them even though they weren't something tangible she could catch again. Even if it wasn't breathable air, it had filled the space in her lungs. Now that they were empty, Jemma's body reflexively inhaled no matter how desperately she fought not to. Her lungs had hurt before, but once they filled with saltwater they stung and Jemma was overwhelmed by an all encompassing panic. She tried struggling out of the seatbelt, but it was too tight. She was making the motions like she was trying to swim up, but it wasn't getting her anywhere. She expelled the water inside her, but there was nothing but more for her to suck back in and it felt like her head was near exploding. She jerked wildly as she felt the darkness taking over and she reached for Skye, finding her shoulder and gripping it tightly before it released and her body went limp._  
  
________________________  
  
The weather in Balikpapan, Indonesia was hot, humid and infiltrating the terminals of its international airport thanks to a broken HVAC system. Rather than having perfectly pleasant and adjusted air flowing through the large open terminals, there was stagnate, humid air thick with swampy exhales from the packed masses of sweaty humans waiting in a glass prison of an airport terminal which was acting more like a greenhouse right then. People fanned themselves with any form of paper or magazine or anything big enough to create a gust of wind. There were no free spots to sit in the terminal. Skye cut her losses. She parked her carry-on bag next to a row of seats that was near the gate she needed for her flight, popped the handle down into the top and sat down on her bag. For a brief moment she thought she’d made a colossal mistake and that her bag was about to collapse. Really, the wheels shifted and she quickly set her feet down and steadied the bag. Safe.

Skye picked this particular spot in the terminal because it gave her a view of one Mr. Miles Lydon. Technically, he and Skye were traveling together. Due to the nature of their acquaintance, they were pretending not to know each other. This had involved showing up separately to the airport. Now, the chump was chatting up some skinny redhead with long legs a few rows of seats away. Skye would escort him to Los Angeles. They would meet up with her people and she would hand him over with a copy of her hard drive and she’d gladly wash her hands of Miles Lydon for good. The problem was that they were being hunted. Skye had no idea who might be hunting them. Actually, she knew the organization involved, but she didn’t know the make and model aesthetic of their goons. She took a nonchalant look around the terminal.

To her 3 o’clock, a little boy played by the windows with a handful of Avengers action figures. He gave them full conversations, made all kinds of sound effects and seemed to have no idea how miserably hot it was in the terminal. Nearby his father stood chatting with a middle aged man, talking about his son as the man engaged in conversation with him. To her 11 o’clock was Miles and the redhead - she seemed to be eating up whatever he was dishing out. Skye almost rolled her eyes. 10 o’clock, she spotted a chestnut skinned woman in a bright floral dress who was chatting up a businessman with perfectly gelled hair. Skye spotted her distract him and swipe his wallet but, well that was none of her business.

To her 9 o’clock was a pretty woman avidly bickering on the intricacies of something Skye couldn’t actually decipher and Skye was distracted by the sound of the woman’s voice, anyhow. It was the accent. Skye couldn’t help it. She bounced her knee up and down rapidly, trying her very best not to think about the fact that she was getting on another plane. She’d been on far too many planes in the last month and a half and she just wanted to go home. She hated flying. It wasn’t a fear. It was just a distaste. She absently bit at her cuticles every now and then and checked her watch repeatedly. Her jacket was already in her lap since she wasn’t going to be putting it on until they landed but it was so hot she had peeled her shirt off until she was down to just her tank top and dropped that in her lap too. Her knee kept bouncing nervously as she pulled her hair up into a sloppy ponytail after hanging her reading glasses from the front of her tank top. Then it was back to bouncing her knee and absently drumming on her thighs with her fingers.

"Oh, Fitz," Jemma groaned, exasperated. She brought her hand to her forehead and rubbed at her sticky brow. The muggy air wasn't the only thing bothering her. She and Fitz had been debating about space time travel theories and whether or not people should be attempting to study it. After eventually reaching the conclusion that it was possible to achieve by humans, Fitz explained how he thought the best use would be to find the point in time in evolution where apes began evolving into humans and stop it, because "everything would be better if we were all monkeys". Jemma chose to abandon the ridiculous conversation and find a better pass time to distract her from the seeming lack of oxygen in the room. She fiddled around on her phone, checking her email and any messages she may have missed just to have an excuse to do anything but talk to Fitz.  
  
She'd had enough of that for the past month, him being the only person who spoke english other than her translator. She was happy to help all those who had fallen ill with the ravenous bird flu, but she was quite happy to be headed home. She missed her cool, air conditioned facility back in LA where she wasn't exposed to deadly diseases. Fitz was working on engineering a mechanical limb replacement for veterans with the other doctors and Jemma was sure they'd be happy to have him back. He hadn't done much on the trip, it was more of a vacation for him while Jemma had been working nonstop to help a village with their epidemic.  
  
Jemma looked around the terminal, hoping to see some sign that the plane would be boarding soon. There was a tall, dark haired man intimidating the air hostess with annoyed body language. She craned her neck to see two women in pilot's uniforms heading toward the jet bridge. It was something. As she spun back around to settle in her seat, her eyes connected with those of an anxious looking brunette who seemed to have been watching her. The woman quickly averted her eyes, but it didn't stop Jemma from smiling softly and reaching out.  
  
"Afraid to fly?" She asked, just hoping she spoke English so Jemma didn't have to awkwardly exit the interaction.

“Hm, what?” Skye had initially looked away as soon as the British woman had turned back around and spotted her. She was normally way smoother than that. Skye was willing to chalk this one up to the heat. “Afraid to - who? Me?” Skye pointed to herself, not entirely conscious of just how fast she was bouncing her knee up and down. “No,” she furrowed her brow and shook her head. “No, no. I’m not,” she cleared her throat and expelled a nervous chuckle as her eyes still made a nonchalant pass around the terminal to make a subtle check on Miles. “I’m not afraid of flying,” she insisted. As she said it, Skye finally settled her gaze directly on the woman’s and found herself a bit distracted by her eyes, which prevented her from explaining what it was about flying that made her jittery. Excellent accent, pretty, kind eyes and not willing to put up with her friend’s diatribe on devolving back to monkey hybrids? Skye picked herself a decent spot to set a spell.

"Somehow I find that hard to believe." Jemma chuckled, pointedly glancing at the brunette's knee, though her soft smile was letting her new acquaintance know that there was nothing wrong with it.

"I can assure you it's perfectly safe. You're much more likely to be involved in a car accident than in an aircraft malfunction." Jemma offered up the scrap of information like it would help, not quite realizing that it probably wouldn't lessen the woman's anxiety about the plane, but raise it for daily life. She cringed internally, but it was too late and unfortunately there was no unsend button for her mouth.

Skye looked down at her knee. Oh, right. That. She arched her eyebrows slightly as she looked back over at the woman. Her lips curled into an amused little smirk. She put her hand down on her knee in an attempt to at least slow its bouncing. “It’s the falling,” She said, as if that just explained everything. It didn’t. Skye’s nervous jitters about flying stemmed from a very specific incident, but it wasn’t exactly one that she could go and tell a stranger about, regardless of how pretty she might be. She felt the bob of her knee still going under her hand and tried to ignore it.

"Well then I'd say it's a very good thing that airplanes fly." Jemma didn't laugh this time, but the smile grew on her face. Something about her was pulling her in, telling her she should help.

"Simmons." Jemma came closer and thrust her hand out awkwardly and she didn't figure out how unwarranted and strange her self introduction really was until Fitz frowned at her. "Er, my name. It's Jemma. I mean, I'm Jemma. Jemma Simmons." She was grinning like a fool by the end, knowing there was no way to redeem herself and embracing how inept she was in social situations despite her continuous attempts.

Though she was acutely aware of her surroundings and the conversations happening in her periphery (the accented man and woman over her right shoulder near the two men talking while one’s son played with toys were avidly arguing over who had made the bigger discovery of treasure on their latest attempt to find some specific sunken ship, Miles still flirting away with the Redhead who was playing along, two strangers, one a middle-aged man avidly telling a younger well-dressed businessman an old, seemingly endless, war story), Skye’s focus was on the woman sitting next to her. She couldn’t help the way a lopsided grin overtook her lips, pushed her cheeks up and caused her eyes to scrunch just slightly at their corners.  
  
Skye didn’t get a chance to reply before Jemma had thrown her hand out and began to work her way through a multi-layered introduction. Her right eyebrow quirked up at the initial name since it seemed odd for a first name. Skye’s grin stretched farther across her lips as the woman – Jemma – went on trying to give Skye her name. She wiped her palm on her pant leg to make sure it wasn’t clammy from the heat then reached out and took Jemma’s hand in a firm, but not overly so, handshake. “Nice to meet you Simmons, Jemma, Jemma, Jemma Simmons,” she said with a teasing glint of mischief in her eyes as she smiled.

“I’m Skye,” she added her own introduction in return. “Just Skye.” It never felt quite right to give her full name, her birth name. She had only known her birth name for a couple of years after all. Skye was a name she had chosen when she was a kid (after the orphanage had given her an absolutely terrible name that only ever left the other kids picking on her). It felt more authentic, even without a last name. “What brought you to Balikpapan?” she asked as she released Jemma’s hand if only so things wouldn’t get weird. She'd been eavesdropping on Jemma’s conversation with her friend and had figured the two were in some science-related field of work, but it wasn't exactly clear what field of work they were in based off of a conversation that seemed like it revolved around time travelling space monkeys or something resembling that.  
  
Jemma's cheeks grew just one shade darker at the teasing, and it would barely be visible to the untrained eye. Her lips pursed together, but in the form of a small smile. Her present company seemed to be much funnier than Fitz, and not because she was being so ridiculously serious that it was hilarious.  
  
"Well, Skye," Jemma's lips turned up slightly on one side into a small half-smirk. "You have quite an ironic name for someone as jittery as yourself about flight." Jemma made her own teasing comment and brushed an escaped strand of hair from her ponytail out of her face so she could see Skye more clearly. Her look intrigued Jemma more than anything. She looked like someone she would see in one of the awful action and adventure movies Fitz liked so much, but on Skye it made her wonder if she should watch more of them.

It took a moment for it to really register in her brain that Skye had asked her a question since she had gotten caught up in just enjoying looking at her. When she answered, it would be obvious to anyone that Jemma was proud of her job when her chest swelled up some.  
  
"I work for the CDC, biochemist by name, but I'm here to confirm the presence of Avian Influenza in Indonesia. So I hope you've washed your hands recently." Jemma joked and gestured with the hand she'd just shaken Skye's with.

Skye was certainly perceptive. She'd learned to read people long before she'd ever learned to read her way through the intricate workings of software and various coding. She'd had to learn how to read people very early in her life, a survival tactic and one of her greatest self preservation tools to date. She felt a tiny tinge of guilt for making Jemma blush but since the woman was still smiling and talking to her, she knew she hadn't offended her. Skye tilted her head slightly in contemplation. "I suppose it is some level of ironic - put that in your song, Alanis," she chuckled.  
  
Skye watched the swell of pride as it shifted Jemma's posture in her seat. Just past Jemma's shoulder, she spotted Jemma's friend, eyeing them up and looking rather sullen about their conversation. She figured he must have been mad that his theory of Devolving to Simians had been curtailed. She arched her eyebrows, not sure she'd expected an infectious disease doctor out of all the various possibilities. Skye reflexively glanced at her hand at the mention of bird flu and washing them.  
  
"I did, actually, after I used the restroom on my way here. At the moment, I feel like I should go compulsively clean them again, now," she chuckled and then leaned slightly closer, dropping her voice ever slightly, she added conspiratorially, "But, between you and me...if you _did_ confirm avian flu, I think we're royally screwed in this human soup," she scrunched her nose, still giving Jemma that crooked little smile and motioned generally to the overheated sauna of a terminal surrounding them.

Somehow, Jemma now found herself hoping that boarding would be delayed a little longer. It was a chance meeting, and Jemma hated to think that the woman she was sitting next to would disappear in five minutes when they got on the plane, never to be seen again. It had been a long time since she'd been so immediately been drawn to a person, or even enjoyed their company, other than Fitz of course, but he had his moments.  
  
"We are in optimal conditions for the spread of disease, aren't we?" Jemma chuckled and leaned back in the seat. Maybe relaxing her muscles would help cool her off, and if it helped even the slightest bit it was worth it. She was joking by pointing it out, but she did now have the urge to put a mask over her face and avoiding touching anything and everything. But she was pretty tired, and the severity of the bird flu outbreak was mild, contained mostly within a series of villages, not quite reaching the cities. When she noticed the look of distaste on Skye's face she quickly tried to ease it. "It's only a level one concern. Practice normal flu season cautions and you should be fine." Jemma promised.

Skye chuckled. "Thanks, Doc, I'll take it under advisement," she grinned. She wondered how old Jemma was since she looked rather young for the kind of job she described. Then again, Skye had no idea what kind of schooling requirements were involved in having a government agency send you to a foreign land to investigate communicable diseases. It definitely seemed like an at-your-own-peril kind of gig. Skye could relate to that. She felt a bit cooler since she'd removed her top shirt layer, so that was a blessing.  
  
"So you work out of a CDC office in Los Angeles or are you continuing on to somewhere else from LA?" Far be it from Skye to pass up an opportunity to see if the cute scientist with the selfless sounding humanitarian job and decent sense of humor might reside in the same city as her. She did her best not to sound too hopeful or overly eager to uncover these details. Seconds after she finished her question, the fluttering sound of wings drew her attention and she looked up in time to spot a very large pigeon swoop from high in the rafters right down to their area, where it used it's talons to steal the candy bar that Fitz was about to eat. In a swift _whoosh_ , the bird took its dive bomb, snagged its bounty and was off again before Fitz had even processed what happened.  
  
"Speaking of birds," Skye quipped with a chortle she couldn't contain. Fitz glared at her. Skye cleared her throat and tried to bite back a laugh. "Sorry bout your loss, dude," she offered an apology for her laugh. She almost added, ' _Bet that wouldn't have happened if you were a monkey_ ,' but managed to bite her tongue.

Jemma's laugh was louder than most of the hushed voices in the terminal and it seemed to bounce off the ceiling. Unlike Skye, she had no qualms with openly laughing at the dumb look on his face. Fitz crossed his arms over his chest and refused to look at them or acknowledge Skye's attempt to speak to him. He reminded Jemma of an upset child and it took a moment for her to regain control over her lungs.  
  
"I do work in LA for the time being, yes," Jemma nodded and wiped away the near tears that had gathered in the corners of her eyes as Fitz continued to pout and sink in his chair. "Fitz works at the hospital in the tech division." She added. "What about you, is the city of angels your final destination?" Jemma couldn't help it if she too was a bit curious about her new friend's origins. She initially thought she was starting a brief conversation in passing, but she found she was anticipating any continuations with excitement.

Skye caught another round of the giggles, unable to hold back in light of Jemma's raucous, infectious laughter. It was a damn shame when that sound faded, just as she was taking it all in. Skye decided in that exact moment that she was going to do all she could over their twenty-two and some odd hour flight to make sure she spoke to Jemma as often as possible once she found where the woman was sitting on the plane; she wanted to find out all things possible about the woman sitting next to her. Granted, Skye could have easily pulled her phone out and fiddled with it for a few minutes and she'd easily have all manner of background information on one Jemma Simmons, but that wouldn't be nearly as fun as seeing if she could make Jemma laugh again, or doing whatever might make her keep on smiling like that.  
  
Skye was not the kind of person to fall fast for someone, but there was a draw to Jemma that she couldn't quite put her finger on. She just knew she wanted more of the freckled woman's general presence  around her. Skye mentally cheered when Jemma said LA was her base of operation and it showed a bit as her face brightened at the confirmation. She did her best to play it cool as she nodded to this new information about Fitz, who was continuing to pout. Skye took a small amount of pity on him in light of his candy bar. "Yeah, it's my home turf," Skye grinned. She leaned over, a bit ignorant of the show she accidentally gave Jemma in doing so, and pushed her discarded shirt and jacket out of the way to reach into a section of her messenger bag.  
  
"I've actually hacked into your office's systems before," Skye said as he sat back up and whistled for Fitz. He was still pouting when he looked her way and she tossed one of her stashed protein bars to him. It wasn't strictly candy, but it was birthday cake flavored, that had to count for something, right? She turned back to Jemma and realized how she'd phrased her comment. "Officially, I mean," she paused and scrunched her eyes, shook her head at herself a moment and smirked a bit. "For security purposes. That's my job, I'm the," she inhaled a breath and put her hands up as if miming displaying the flashy title on a brightly lit marquee (she used the turn of her gaze to very subtly check that Miles was still alright), "Senior Electronic Security Developer for QKE Technologies." She dropped her hands to her lap, knee still bouncing, though not as much, and smiled over at Jemma. "I find all the weak spots and fortify them against malicious attack." She said.

"It's a small world then, isn't it?" Jemma's head tilted slightly with curiosity at Skye's apparent connection to herself through work. If Fitz wasn't in such a sour mood Jemma was sure he would have gotten along with Skye just fine. Of course it wasn't so strange that they both happened to live in LA, since they'd both parked themselves in the terminal for a flight to that location, but Jemma still had a feeling she was having a stroke of luck, despite how illogical it was to think it.  
  
"So, miss tech genius, how did you end up in Indonesia?" Jemma questioned. It was the one piece that didn't yet make sense, and Jemma liked to figure out people's puzzles.

"Small world, indeed," But a convenient one it seemed. Or fortunate, perhaps, was the better word. She let a bright smile flash across her face. She was enjoying this conversation, despite the couple of not-100%-accurate informational tidbits she had to hand out about herself. "I'm here on the company's dime," She said. "I've spent the last few weeks building entirely new infrastructure and software components for a banking firm affiliate of one of our bigger clients," she leaned over once more and this time came up from her messenger bag on the floor with a business card, which she handed to Jemma. It would pass muster and though the contact information on it wasn't exactly her everyday real life civilian contact information, she would know who she had given this business card to since she gave them so sparingly on purpose. Likewise, if Jemma tried to background checkup on Skye based on the information on the card, well, they'd check out. it was designed that way.

Jemma pinched the business card between two fingers and her eyes landed on the number. She instantly wondered if this was Skye's way of giving Jemma her number, but not in the literal sense. She wasn't sure if it was just to spread her business card or if she would actually want Jemma to call the number. She liked to think it was the second reason, so she unzipped her own bag and pulled out a card with the bright blue CDC logo in the upper lefthand corner. It had the full "Dr. Jemma Simmons, Biochemist" title and Jemma went slightly pink as she offered it up to Skye. She caught Fitz giving her the stink eye during her movement, but she paid him no mind. He could be grumpy on his own.

“It’s only fair I show you mine if you’ve shown me yours.” Jemma smirked.

Skye beamed a brilliant grin at Jemma. "That sounds like a challenge," she quipped. "And I accept." She made a deliberate show of eyeing up Jemma's business card and said. "You should know that giving this to me means you won't be surprised when I use it to contact you back in LA and advise you of my hopefully clean bill of health absent any avian flu," she said as she accepted the card, mostly as a way to inform Jemma that she fully intended to make use of this exchange of information in the future. She looked down at the card and grinned at the official information listed, including Jemma’s own fancy title just as the intercom in the terminal came to life with a soft, but relatively loud, _ding_ . Movement all around the terminal halted and silence filled the overheated building as people listened for boarding information, which came at them in a number of different languages.  
  
When the announcement was over, suddenly the terminal was full of movement as everyone began to gather their items to prepare to board. Skye felt herself frown as she glanced over her shoulder toward the door to the gangway.  Bummer. Skye didn't drag herself to her feet right away. She watched as people queued up with their carry-on bags and belongings, tickets in hands. Skye sat there, on her small carry-on suitcase, bouncing her knee even faster than before. She caught sight of Miles as he strolled by her with his backpack slung over a shoulder, still putting the moves on the redhead as she went with him. Up until just then (and mostly thanks to Jemma), Skye had forgotten just how much she was dreading having to be confined inside a flying plane that could fall out of the sky for any number of reasons at any moment, for the next twenty-two hours.

Only minutes before, the thing Jemma had wanted more than anything was the announcement telling her the plane was boarding and they would be on their way home. Now, however, Jemma's heart sunk and she watched people start getting into the long line to board. Fitz practically flew from his seat and appeared in front of Jemma, grabbing the handle of her suitcase and tipping it so they were ready to go. Jemma wasn't quite ready yet, and her insides lurched when she saw Skye's face wrinkled in thought and her knee bounced more aggressively.  
  
"Please don't tell me you've decided to stay in Indonesia." Fitz moaned and Jemma gave him a glare tell him to hush up.  
  
"Everything will be fine, we'll be in LA before you know it." Jemma felt like she was sticking her neck out, but it was just her hand, and she rested it firmly on Skye's knee to stop the shaking. After a good three seconds of uninterrupted eye contact, Jemma slipped her boarding pass out of her pocket and angled it so Skye could see. "You know where to find me." She grinned once more and squeezed Skye's knee before she finally gave in to to Fitz's whining and got up.

Skye hadn’t expected that. She’d spotted Fitz jumping to his feet from the corner of her eye but wasn’t all that startled by it. The hand, though, on her knee, was unexpected but not in a bad way at all. Quite the opposite. She blinked and looked over at Jemma’s hand on her knee which,while it had stalled her leg from bouncing, the touch had only started her heart suddenly skittering around wildly in her chest. Skye couldn’t remember the last time a simple touch like that had affected her in such a way, especially from someone she’d only just met. Her gaze shifted as she lifted her head and locked her eyes to Jemma’s. She heard her own pulse in her ears and wondered if Jemma could hear it. She felt her cheeks heat up, though they only went a very slight shade of pink. It only took a second to read off Jemma’s seat number from the boarding pass before her eyes were back on Jemma’s face. “Count on it, Doctor Simmons,” She offered up a warm smile. “Thank you.” She added as she climbed, albeit still reluctantly, to her feet.

____________

"Fitz, move." Jemma grunted, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath so she didn't shove her friend into his seat. He was fussing about sliding through the tight space and he'd made them stop suddenly, causing the passenger behind her to press up against her full body. Jemma cringed and was positive this was much worse than the terminal. It was even more crowded, stuffy, and Skye wasn't there to talk to. Fitz finally managed to worm into his seat and Jemma slid in behind him with her messenger bag after cramming her roller-board suitcase into the very little remaining space in the overhead compartments.  
  
She finally plopped down into her seat and audibly sighed. Her face was red and hot and she was sure her hair was frazzled from the humidity. After fussing around with her shirt and adjusting her tie, an embarrassing moan escaped her throat as she leaned her head back and felt the blast of the air conditioning from the small, individual vent above her seat. She reached up and turned it on full power and closed her eyes, humming blissfully. She ignored Fitz babbling about this and that next to her and kept her eyes closed as the last of the passengers boarded so she didn't have to see how crowded it really was.  
  
When the vibrations of people walking by and the occasional brushing of a thigh against her shoulder finally subsided, she opened her eyes and was surprised to see, from her aisle seat on the right side of the plane, that Skye was twisted around in her seat, and it looked like she saw her. Jemma waved with one hand and pulled her ponytail free with the other (maybe a little bit for show) and ran her fingers through it to smooth it out.

Skye was far too jittery to get on the plane in the middle of the crush of people boarding. She watched to make sure Miles got into the gangway alright and eventually joined the tail end of the line. Skye didn’t enjoy flying, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t as efficient as possible when boarding. She spotted Jemma after she’d put her carry-on into the overhead compartment and slipped into her seat - a right hand middle seat in an aisle of four seats. The aisle seat to her right was empty, to her left sat the little boy who’d been playing with toys in the terminal and to the boy’s left was the man Skye assumed was his father.

“Hey, little dude,” Skye said, not sitting down yet. She dropped her bag into her empty seat and pulled a small pterodactyl toy from her back pocket. “I think you left this on the windowsill back in the terminal?” She held the toy out. She knew it was his since she’d seen the boy playing with it, but even so.

The boy turned her way and his eyes widened. “Yeah, it’s mine!” He cheered and snatched it free from Skye’s hand when she held it out. He immediately went back to slamming his toys together and making all the appropriate sound effects one would expect to hear while Captain America was battling a pterodactyl on a plane.

“Ace,” The boy’s father said in a stern warning tone. “What do you say, Bud?”

Ace paused, mid-collision of Captain America’s mighty fist to the pterodactyl’s jaw, and looked over at Skye. He flashed her a bright toothy smile. “Thanks, lady!” He said and then the battle was on again.

The boy’s father laughed. “He’s been waging this war since the breakfast,” The man said apologetically. He reached a hand out. “I’m Mike,” he introduced himself. “And this is Ace.”

“Skye,” Skye shook his hand. “Nice to meet you guys.” She smiled and moved her bag to the floor with her jacket and her over shirt. She sat down in her seat, her knee automatically bouncing again and took a look around the cabin. She needed to get an eye on Miles. Rather conveniently, as she’d noted when she’d looked over the boarding pass, one Jemma Simmons was also in the same line of sight as her informant. Once again, fortunate. When Jemma caught her eye, Skye smiled, mouthed out a ‘Hi,’ and gave her a small return wave. She watched, completely unabashed about her staring as Jemma pulled her hair free. Skye turned back around. She leaned over and swiped her tablet from a pocket of her bag. Quickly she pulled up a drawing app and drew up a terrible little stick figure version of Jemma (complete with tie), sweating and scribbled out the words _‘You look hot’_ on it and drew her own winking emoji face next to it.

When Skye twisted back around in her seat, she caught Jemma’s eye again and held up the tablet for her to see from her spot, mimicking the winking emoji she’d drawn on the screen.

Jemma had looked away long enough to buckle her seatbelt, not without bickering with Fitz about which end was whose and eventually winning the argument. The metal clasp clicked into place and she tightened it. Her eyes immediately went back up forward and to her left and her face reddened even more when she saw Skye's pitiful drawing. She couldn't tell if Skye meant she was warm or attractive, but she still let out an exhale that could be interpreted as an awkward laugh. Fitz leaned over her in his seat to get a look at what was going on, and when he did he grumbled something about Skye being "very American", whatever that meant.

Jemma reached into her bag and pulled out her own ipad. It mostly had science books and a few movies on it for entertainment, but there was a pad for taking notes and she opened a fresh screen. Normally she typed, but she switched to a drawing pen. She tried to think of a witty, flirty response, but her quiet calculations led to no results. Before she could come up with anything, an announcement began repeating itself in multiple languages telling her to put away her electronic devices and stow her tray table. She had enough time to draw a sad face and hold it up for Skye before a flight attendant came by and asked her to put her ipad away for the beginning of the flight. Jemma jokingly (but also not so jokingly) closed her right hand into a fist with the exception of her pinky and her thumb and held it up to her ear like a phone, mouthing the words "call me" and grinning at Skye to let her know she could get a hold of her again once the plane was at a higher altitude.

Skye huffed out a laugh at the drawing on Jemma’s ipad. She sighed as the attendant talked to Jemma. She angled for a couple more people, including Skye who put her hands up in surrender after turning her tablet off and setting it into her lap. She twisted back around and flashed another one of those lopsided little grins at the woman and gave her a thumbs up. She turned back around in her seat and put her tablet away, quickly buckled up her seat belt and pulled it tight. The next stretch of time felt unbearably long for Skye. She couldn’t keep her knees still and she’d started drumming on them while chewing on the corner of her bottom lip as they taxied the runway.

“Are you scared?” Ace asked as he watched Skye fidgeting.

“Who, me?” Skye asked. She blew air out through her lips and they made a brief ‘ _pffft_ sound as she waved her hand as nonchalantly as she could. “Nahhhh. I’m good. I’m fine. We’re good. Noooo reason to be scared at all,” Skye replied, absently glancing around one more time before she leaned against the back of her chair and exhaled a long breath. _Falling_ , she thought, _I’m afraid of falling_.

Ace snickered and then looked over at Mike. “She’s scared, Dad.” He announced.

Mike chuckled. He glanced at Skye and then leaned over and mock whispered. “Quick tip about girls, buddy,” He said, “Don’t tell other people the secrets they’re trying to hide.” He smiled at Skye over Ace’s head and gave her a wink.

Ace considered this for a moment and then turned to look at Skye again, whose ears had flushed red with embarrassment. He put his toys down in his lap and reached over to put his hand into Skye’s closest hand and gave it a squeeze. He tried to whisper but was talking louder than he thought he was. “It’s okay, I’ll hold your hand until we’re in the air,” He told her as he swung his legs since they didn’t touch the ground.

Skye exhaled another long breath and smiled. “Thanks, Ace,” she managed. “That’s...really sweet of you.” She put her head back and clenched her eyes shut as the plane sped down the runway and departed the ground.

____________________

When the fasten seat belt sign was turned off, Skye grabbed her phone, slipped it in her back pocket and climbed from her seat. She stepped carefully through the aisle, trying not to disturb anyone, bracing herself on the outsides of chair backs as she went, except for Jemma’s. She gave Jemma another one of those little winks from earlier and squeezed her shoulder then headed for the lavatory before anyone could beat her to it.

"Did she just-" Fitz's voice was an octave higher than usual when he frowned and made his exclamation. Jemma stared at him quizzically and had to lean back in her own seat to avoid getting smashed when Fitz leaned over and looked down the aisle to follow Skye with his eyes. "I can't believe her." Fitz huffed and finally got back into his own personal space. Jemma just crinkled her nose and furrowed her brow, confused.

"What on earth are you jabbering on about now?" Jemma questioned. She felt very badly for the poor soul who was stuck sitting in the window seat beside Fitz. He seemed annoyed, but angled himself away and appeared to turn up the volume on whatever was playing in his headphones.

"She just invited you into the lavatory, the succubus." Fitz was nearly yelling and Jemma wanted to slap a hand over his mouth to get him to shut up, because people had started looking.  
  
"What are you even talking about, Fitz?" Jemma shook her head and continued frowning at him, but he had planted the seed in her mind and it grew very quickly.

"She's been chatting you up since the terminal and she clearly wants to do the hanky-panky." Jemma slapped Fitz's shoulder and made an annoyed sound. She turned away from him and made a point to open her book and tilt so her shoulder was facing him. He may not have been _wrong_ though. Thinking their interaction over again, that _could_ have been what that was about. The thought wasn't unpleasant, Jemma reimagined Skye's firm squeeze of her shoulder, but elsewhere, and she turned a thousands shades darker just thinking that she'd just thought about it. She crossed her legs uncomfortably and couldn't help but turn and look at the occupied lavatory for a moment.

Once Skye locked herself inside she turned her phone on and leaned back against the door. She kept a careful eye on the clock so she didn’t spend too long in the restroom and went searching through whatever signals she could find in order to locate the encrypted signal for the air marshal’s phone. She gave herself just over three minutes to handle this task. After that, she put her phone back in her pocket, flushed the unused toilet and turned to wash her hands in the sink. After her avian flu conversation with Jemma in the terminal, she spent a little extra time soaping up her hands and cleaning them off.

When she left the lavatory, she squeezed past the person waiting for it and walked the few paces up the aisle. When she was next to Jemma’s seat, she leaned over and conspiratorially whispered, “I don’t know if you’re aware of this, Doc,” The crooked little grin was back. “But, your tie’s crooked.” The corners of her eyes crinkled just slightly as she grinned and headed back for her seat, though she was sure to look over her shoulder just to watch Jemma adjust her tie. What? It was cute. Skye could not be blamed for this little game.

Jemma reached for her tie without even thinking about it and shuffled it side to side to fix whatever error might have been there. When she looked back up she realized it was a joke she had fallen right into, because Skye's smirk reminded Jemma of the Cheshire cat. Fitz gave her a pointed look, as if saying " _see_ ?". Jemma ignored him. She already had her sights set on the empty seat beside Skye and her fingers were even underneath the buckle on her lap before her window of opportunity closed.  
  
"Hey there, beautiful." The tall, dark haired man from the air hostess' desk in the terminal slid into the empty seat uninvited and leaned into Skye's personal space. "I was headed to the bathroom but I saw you were sitting here by your lonesome. Want some company?"

Skye had just finished buckling her seatbelt back in place (nerves didn’t leave just because they were in the air - they were worse but she’d successfully distracted herself for a whole, what, five seconds there?), when someone dropped into the chair next to her. Before she even looked, Skye knew this was not the someone she was hoping might take over that seat. Nope, it was a man she didn’t know and he was trying to use that telltale ‘ _I’m the greatest human ever gifted to this planet_ ’ tone to talk to her. Skye instantly felt her spine shudder at his invasion into her personal space. She reflexively leaned toward the opposite arm rest and narrowed her eyes as she looked him over, completely unimpressed. “You snag a lot of tail with that line about rescuing people from themselves while on your way to take a piss, Slick?” She arched her eyebrows slightly.

Anybody else would have taken Skye's reply as a giant back-off sign, but to Ward it only made her more of a challenge. He was still amused and gave a toothy grin that looked like it had been practiced in a mirror.  
  
"Hey now, don't be so hostile. It seems like you could use a little _loosening up_ . What do you say?" Ward raised a brow and moved a little closer, hoping to wear her down. He was used to getting the things he wanted.  
  
Initially, Jemma had been disappointed and her hands shifted back to her book. But her eyes hadn't left Skye and the seat in question and she could feel a pressure building up in her chest as the man that had been rude to the air hostess before was invading Skye's space and looking like a general arse. She acted without thinking and unbuckled her seatbelt, ignoring Fitz's cry of "where are you going?". She quickly made her way past the few rows, apologizing quietly to the people she bumped into.  
  
"Excuse me, I think you're in my seat." Jemma feigned politeness. Behind her smile was a snarl waiting to be let out if he didn't back off. She put one hand on her hip and pursed her lips, waiting for him to get up and leave.

Skye was prepared to lay into this slimeball when she caught sight of Jemma in the aisle and her focus shifted almost reflexively. That Cheshire sized grin returned in full force after Jemma spoke. She was entirely distracted by the glare-happy, hip-holding, purse-lipped sassy Jemma Simmons. It was a far cry from the extremely sweet woman who had purposefully set out to calm Skye’s flight jitters despite the uncomfortable atmospheric conditions in the airport terminal.  
  
Ward was plenty determined to wear Skye down until she accepted his offer, if he hadn't had anyone on his tail, of course. He didn't care if he bothered a few people, but the tiny Brit frowning at him seemed like the kind of prick that would pull a 1st-grader move and tattle on him if he didn't get out of her seat, so he raised his hands in defense and got out of the way.  
  
"I'll see you later, beautiful." He couldn't leave without giving another sleazy comment, but he did turn and actually head to the lavatories after. Jemma stuck her tongue out at his back for Skye's amusement before grinning and plopping down into the now empty seat. She was glad he hadn't called her bluff.

“Not if I can help it, Slimeball,” Skye retorted without missing a beat, her voice dripping with disgust as she practically sneered at him. She felt her shoulders sag in relief as the man left. The switch was almost instant as she caught Jemma sticking her tongue out at the man’s back and let out a snort of laughter. She was full on beaming at Jemma. “I think you just saved me from felony assault charges upon landing for breaking Rico Suave’s face.” She grinned. “I’m not positive, but I think this means I owe you a Wookiee life debt, Solo.” Jemma definitely seemed the type to be up on her Star Wars references, not that it was a particularly difficult one to catch by anyone with space fantasy movie knowledge.

Jemma chortled at the popular movie reference and buckled the seatbelt in her new seat. She intentionally glanced around her shoulder to see Fitz glaring at her and crossing his arms over his chest, annoyed that he was ditched. He would live.  
  
"No, that was nothing, don't mention it." Jemma waved her hand nonchalantly. She was pretty proud of herself for herding the vain man away from the woman she had taken such a sudden interest in, but she acted like it was nothing so she wouldn't seem too eager. "I am a boss where I work. I have the nit picky scolding thing down pat." Jemma added. She didn't fail to notice Skye's still bouncy body language, and she immediately made it her goal to ease it.

“Excuse me, don’t downplay my heroic rescue from Mr. Unwanted Personal Space Invader,” Skye teased in a feigned scandalized tone when Jemma brushed off her good deed. She shifted to lean closer to Jemma, much preferring her company to the creepy stranger dude. Her right knee bobbed up and down at a slower pace than in the terminal but it still bounced.  
  
"How are you doing? One half hour down, thirty-six more to go!" Jemma encouraged. It wasn't even sarcastic, she just liked numbers, but she didn't realize how small a fraction that actually was until she saw the nearly sick look on Skye's face. "It'll go faster than you think." Without questioning herself, Jemma lightly touched her fingertips to Skye's knee to settle the shaking. It didn't quite work, so she let her palm flatten out and gave Skye a smile with the comforting squeeze.

Skye’s eyebrows arched. Thirty-six half hours to go? She swallowed at the thought. Did that feel longer than other ways of saying it? Skye’s knee moved a little quicker. She was not aware of the few shades of color that drained away from her face as she thought it over. Instead, she tried to tame her nerves. Skye had been in much hairier situations than sitting next to a beautiful, charming woman on a cramped plane. This should be a cakewalk, right? She felt Jemma’s fingers on her knee and immediately the thought struck her that she’d prefer those fingers to be a bit higher and toward the left.

When Jemma’s palm pressed firmly to her knee, Skye felt her leg slow from its jittery bouncing. She shifted her gaze and arched an eyebrow at Jemma. “...Do you use your superpowers on all the girls you try and pick up in airports, Doc?” She asked, tone light and gently teasing despite her internally frayed nerves.

"Never, they're just for you." Jemma played along. It was actually very unlike her to be openly flirting with someone in public, but what could she say, there was something about Skye that made her special. She was glad and embarrassed all at once that Skye knew she was hitting on her, but she found herself caring less about what was normally acceptable for her. If she wanted to flirt with Skye she was going to do it.  
  
They spent two and a half hours watching the second Harry Potter movie with one set of earbuds shared between them, since Jemma's were still back at her seat and she didn't want to chance getting up in case Slimeball was still around. It had the added advantage of giving Jemma an excuse to move the armrest between them and lean against Skye's side to share the headphones and be able to see the screen on the back of the headrest in front of her. They spent another hour chatting over the first in flight meal, which was not-bad at best, but filled their stomachs all the same. They spent half an hour playing the trivia game on the tv system (Skye gave up because Jemma was mercilessly destroying her, if that was a thing you could do in trivia). They played tic tac toe, connect the dots, and played several of them with Ace, even Mike when the boy could convince his father to join. Skye's leg still occasionally started shaking when they hit small stretches of turbulence, but a light touch of Jemma's hand to her knee or her arm was enough to quiet the anxieties temporarily. They continued playing games and watching movies and even took turns napping, using the other's shoulder as a pillow. Even after they had done all of this, unfortunately, they'd still only used up half of the flight time.  
  
“It’s just cruel that they make flights that are this long,” Skye commented arching her back slightly to stretch it. She popped her seat belt buckle and moved to stand. “I’m gonna run to the restroom - pick the next movie while I’m gone, yeah?” She motioned for Jemma just to stay put in her seat and had no qualms about climbing (maybe a little purposefully) clumsily over her lap to get to the aisle.  
  
"If I pick it you know it's going to be something British." Jemma warned. She automatically reached out and stabilized Skye as she got up with a hand on her hip, making sure she didn't sway too far one way or the other until she was safely in the aisle. Once she was satisfied Skye was alright on her own, she scooted over to sit in the space between she and Skye's seats and began swiping through some of the movie selections, eventually switching to television and grinning when she found a few episodes of Doctor Who on the list.

“Dazzle me with your homeland, Jemma Simmons,” Skye grinned, not at all upset about having Jemma’s hands all up on her hips. She headed down the aisle and stood at the back. Miles was asleep when she went by. It wasn’t the first time she’d checked but she’d used stretches and random walks about every so often as her way to make sure he was still breathing. At the back she waited for the restroom to open and squeezed past the person who left it and locked herself inside.

It took Skye less than six minutes to hack her way into the air marshal’s ‘secured’ messenger service. She sent the person messages that looked like they came from his(or her) own phone. She told them that there were U.S. government agents on their plane with an informant in protective custody and that there were also potential terrorists on board hoping to recover the informant. She disconnected and erased all trace of her presence on the phone but left the backdoor to the messenger service on the system so she could get back in if she needed to. She quickly used the facilities afterward, scrubbed her hands (doctor’s orders, extra scrubbing, right?) and then made her way back out. Fitz gave her a rather sour look on the way by but she just waved and gave him a smile as she made it back to Jemma and her seat.

“What’d ya come up with, Doc?” Skye asked as she returned. They hit a small patch of turbulence before either of them could shift and Skye stumbled and fell pretty much almost face first into Jemma’s lap and chest, braced only by her hand on the back of one of the seats and on the seat next to Jemma’s hip.

Jemma made a sudden squeak of surprise and her arm instinctively wrapped around Skye's waist to stop her fall, but because she was sitting, of course it didn't do much good and Skye got a good faceful of her shirt. A tingle ran up her spine and she felt it as the hours of air conditioning was wasted on her, because her blush spread to everywhere and her body felt like it was on fire. She wanted to laugh, but she was embarrassed and she began sputtering out nonsense about the science of turbulence while Skye's face was an inch away from hers and Ace was staring at them quizzically.

Skye cleared her throat. She bit the inside of her cheek and felt the immense heat that lit up first the tops of her ears and then settled to pool between her hips. Hey, if fate wanted to literally throw them together...right? She bit her bottom lip and tried to hide the fact that her hands were shaking a bit from the sudden drop the turbulence had caused to firmly reignite her anxiety. When she picked her head up, she stalled, her face so close to Jemma’s while Jemma rambled science at her. Skye couldn’t help but smile at that. “Easy there, Tiger,” She righted herself and then moved down into the seat next to Jemma, which was originally Jemma’s stolen seat. Both of her knees were bouncing up and down now. Her hands settled, one onto each of her own knees both because the urge was now thee to reach out to touch Jemma and because she was trying to steady them. They left her knees only to fumble with the seat belts ends.

Jemma fell silent after Skye tried to calm her down. Her heart was still pounding in her ears and she could feel her pulse in her own neck without touching her fingers to it. She could still feel Skye's weight on her even though it wasn't there anymore and though they were avoiding eye contact, somehow she felt like her every move was being watched. They were both on high alert because of the potential for something that hadn't quite happened yet. Jemma was anxious herself, so she could only imagine how Skye felt with the added worry about the turbulence and the flight. She came back to her senses and her hand reached for Skye's, lightly touching her sleeve before her fingers wrapped around her arm. Her lips spread into a slow smile as she finally looked at Skye's face and saw that she too was blushing.

"So have you ever seen Doctor Who?" Jemma blurted out, holding up the second earbud with her free hand and giggling.

Skye gave Jemma's hand a grateful squeeze. She didn't get a chance to thank Jemma out loud because Jem was holding up the earbud and asked her the question.  Skye arched her eyebrows.  "Doctor Whatnow?" she asked as seriously as she could,  but only lasted a moment before she cracked and grinned.  "The guy that travels in a phone booth, right?" Skye took the earbud and popped it in her ear,  distracted temporarily by the middle aged man that she'd seen talking with Mike in the terminal.  He stepped into the back from the next section forward,  in the plane.  He made a show of stretching achy muscles as he walked through the aisle, trying to make it look like he was just on a stroll to stretch rather than looking for someone.  ' _Hello, air marshal_ ,' Skye thought. She paid him no further mind just then and focused instead on Jemma, judging by the giggles that she was going to get some quality rambling out of the scientist over the next hour.

Jemma made them watch the three episodes of Doctor Who that the airline provided for free, but not without pausing every few minutes to explain the time travel theories and some of the more complicated ongoing plot, since the episodes were from random seasons and out of context. When they finished them and were running out of interesting things to watch, Jemma could tell Skye was getting anxious and her attention was wavering. Her legs were back to jumping up and down and her hands were fidgeting with the extra strap of her seatbelt.  
  
"I have The Odyssey in my bag, maybe you'd be able to focus on that?" Jemma nudged Skye's side and rested her hand over Skye's to pause her fidgeting. It was chilled from the blasting air conditioning and her nervousness and it made Jemma shiver.

"The Odyssey, like, the book?" It was a stupid question, really, it was. Skye knew it was a stupid question. She'd even seen Jemma reading when she'd passed by on her way to the restroom the very first time. It'd been a really long day and, despite the awesome time she'd had with Jemma, eating up all of that distraction, Skye's nerves were still frayed from the flight. She still had many hours ahead of her and when they landed, she had to get Miles out of the plane, out of the airport and to the safe drop off location to deliver him as well as the hard drive copy. She cleared her throat. "Yeah, um, yeah, I've never read it before so, that could work," she nodded. "If you don't mind," her return squeeze to Jemma's hand was an automatic reflex brought on by the nerves. The longer the flight went, the more childish and pathetic Skye felt about her anxiety.

"You've never read The Odyssey?" Jemma exclaimed. Her face lit up in amusement and she unclasped her seatbelt. "You'll love it." Jemma promised. She stood up and scooted past Skye's knees to get into the aisle. Fitz was asleep in his seat, slouching in the seat with a baseball cap pulled down over his eyes. Maybe he would be less agitated after some sleep. It had been an early morning.  
  
Skye arched her eyebrows. As she watched Jemma head back toward her original seat, she wondered how much nerding out Jemma could do over this book. She hoped it was like the fits of science babble Jemma had been spouting every time she'd paused their Doctor Who episodes. Skye popped the seat belt buckle and moved to slide into the inside seat so Jemma would have easier access to sit back down when she returned.

The book she had been reading to ignore him was a collection of scientific studies and was still in the pocket in front of her original seat. The Odyssey was probably the better option, so she reached for the latch to the overhead compartments to retrieve it from her suitcase, but she didn't quite get that far. The plane jolted suddenly, and it was much rougher than any of the turbulence they'd encountered so far. Jemma had been on her toes to reach the compartment and stumbled. She frantically grabbed for anything, but it had been so quick Jemma ended up slamming into the aisle floor with a yelp. She cringed and grabbed at her side, which had hit an armrest on the way down and was aching fiercely.  
  
"What was that?!" Fitz was awake, along with the rest of the passengers. It hadn't felt like normal turbulence and Jemma's first thought was to see if Skye was ok. "Simmons, what the hell?" Fitz got out of his seat and helped drag Jemma into her original seat as the seatbelt signal flashed on with a ding. An announcement even came over the speakers telling everyone not to panic, but to get to their seats and fasten their seat belts securely.

When the plane lurched, Skye hadn't managed to buckle her seatbelt back up again and as a result, the seat just suddenly wasn't under her as it had forced her a foot or so in the air. She came down hard and hissed in pain but was twisted around and practically out of the seat, halfway on her feet when she heard Jemma’s yelp. "Jemma!" The name was off her tongue before she'd realized she'd shouted it. She didn't even get a chance to move before Fitz was pulling Jemma into her original seat.  
  
The plane lurched again dropping, in Skye's wild mind, at least ten feet from the way her stomach surged right in her throat. She probably would have been thrown right up into the compartments above her head if both Ace and Mike hadn't grabbed for her arm and yanked her down into her seat. Wide eyed,  her pulse racing and her hands shaky nearly uncontrollably, Skye struggled to quickly latch her seatbelt until Ace actually reached over and did it for her. Skye thanked him and he grabbed her hand with his, this time because both of them were scared. Skye tugged her seatbelt tight with her free hand  
  
She turned around as far as she could in her seat. Miles was still asleep, that bastard. Her eyes shifted and connected with Jemma's, face full of concern for Jemma's well being and also full of abject fear; _It's the falling_ , she thought. That's the part I'm scared of. The lights in the cabin flickered and the body of the plane began a slow shake that, five seconds later amplified into what, to Skye, felt like a terrible earthquake. Everything happened rapidly after that.  
  
There was a large explosive sound from a section ahead of them, in the middle of the plane. The plane itself jerked and banked hard and then began a sudden rapid descent. Skye was fired to turn around, eyes forward, as alarms went off but we're drowned out by people screaming and crying and the air masks fell downward from their compartments. Skye felt wind on her face, blowing into her eyes and sending her loose hair flying about. In the first second, the thought struck her that it shouldn't be possible to feel rough wind, harder and colder than the air conditioning blasts. In the next second, her adrenaline spiked sharply. Skye reflexively reached for one of the air masks, pulled it down and helped Ace into it. She felt lightheaded and disoriented by the time she pulled a mask over herself. she looked over in time to see Mike struggling with his but couldn't reach him with the force of their descent holding her to the seat. She pushed Ace down do he was bent over at his torso and had him wrap his arms around the bottom of his legs.  
  
Skye kept a hand on Ace's back and forced herself around again. In the terrible shaking, her wide eyes found Jemma one last time.

With one hand still clamped onto her side while biting back tears, Jemma fumbled with the two straps at her lap, unable to get them together. Fitz reached over and grabbed them for her, snapping it together and tugging it so it held her in her seat firmly.  
  
When the masks broke free from the ceiling, Jemma knew something was very, very wrong. She had promised Skye everything would be fine and before she even reached for the mask, she was searching for Skye, but her visual was blocked arms reaching for the yellow oxygen masks. It reminded her to grab her own, and she reached out, but every time she tried to close her hand around it the wind had already whipped it in a new direction. She felt like she was trying to catch a laser dot until Fitz finally managed to snatch hers out of the air with his and help her get it onto her face. He grabbed her arm and Jemma clutched his, but it didn’t provide any comfort as Jemma was sure they were plummeting to the Earth.  
  
Jemma managed to look back in Skye's direction and made eye contact. It lasted maybe five seconds, but it felt like an eternity. Jemma wanted to say she was sorry Skye was scared, but she was scared too. The only way she could communicate this by looking her in the eye from afar. Half of her face was covered by the mask but Jemma only needed to see her eyes to know she was terrified.  
  
Another blast shook the plane and Jemma only had a split second to register that she was looking at open air several rows in front of her instead of the cabin. A rattling sound finally gave way to a snap that was barely audible over the rest of the screaming and the chaos, but Jemma saw the suitcases flying from the broken compartment, and that was the last thing she saw.


	2. Just a Flesh Wound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for reading! Thank you for the kudos, comments and love!!  
> We're glad you like it so far and are along for the ride!  
> Visuals/Audio for you:  
> [Skye's outfit](https://www.polyvore.com/skye_airport/set?id=217422798)  
> [Jemma's outfit](http://www.polyvore.com/jemma_airport/set?id=217427656)  
> [Katee Sackhoff singing an acoustic cover of Free Bird](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-6uLJyYq4s) (Relevant to the wall of text below!!) 
> 
> **Warnings:** There's some graphic depictions of injuries (gore) and death in this chapter. 
> 
> All that being said, hang onto your butts and enjoy the ride!!
> 
> ____________________

Skye woke up to a salty splash in the face. Her initial thought was, ' _...THE FUCK???_ ' But the loud noise surrounding her brought her around. Her head and eyes whipped about wildly in the dark. She was in a plane. She was in a plane and it fucking _fell out of the sky_!  Skye pushed back against her seatback. The plane was still moving. Skye felt two sharp pains; one was in the back of her upper right side and the other was in her left temple. The force of the crash had caused her to bash her head on the seat back screen in front of her. She could feel warm liquid down the side of her face and knew she was bleeding. Skye's mind whirled. She gave herself three seconds, closing her eyes she inhaled then exhaled two deep breaths.  
  
When her eyes popped open, Skye was already in motion. Her adrenaline surged and it forced her brain to keep up with her. The plane crashed. They made a water landing. The front of the plane had snapped off. That memory slowly came back. The tail, the section she was in, was sinking. Someone rushing to get out had splashed her in the face accidentally and Skye woke up. _Jemma._ _Where's Jemma?_ She went back to her seat! _Jemma!_ Skye couldn't see that far back in the plane in the dim emergency lights that were left on despite the catastrophic breakup of the plain. As these thoughts rushed through her brain, Skye tore off the air mask then unhooked her seatbelt buckle with one hand and snatched her bag from the floor before the water reached it with the other. From inside she grabbed a heavy duty (but small) ultra bright LED flashlight from a pocket and jammed her hand through the wrist strap. She zipped all the pockets shut since the bag was waterproof and slung it over her head and shoulder,  swinging it to rest against her back.  
  
Skye turned to her left and spotted Ace struggling with his seat belt with shaking hands. "Let me," she reached under his hands and pulled the belt free just as Mike was coming to. "Mike!" Skye pushed down the row as the water began to lap at their shoes. Mike trained wild eyes on her as Ace pulled out of his air mask. "Mike! We crashed - hey! _Mike_!" She gave his cheek a strong slap and his eyes focused sharply, taking in his surroundings. Skye felt around Ace's seat and came up with the emergency life vest. She helped him into it but told him not to inflate it until they were out of the plane. She helped Mike free from his seat and as soon as he had his inflatable life vest in his hand, she turned back to her right and rushed into the aisle.  
  
She had to duck back out of the way of a large man running straight for her with only his cell phone flashlight held out in front of him. He was screeching in a high other tone and Skye barely jumped to the side out of his way before he barreled face-first into the dark water and disappeared. Clicking her flashlight on, Skye looked around the cabin. Her light hit Miles first, slumped hanging out of the aisle without an air mask on. Half a second later it hit the section Jemma and Fitz had been sitting. Jemma had a face full of blood and Fitz was freaking out, screaming unintelligible words at Jemma.  
  
Skye ran. She stopped at Miles first but found no pulse. She pushed Miles' body out of the way, muttering a curse under her breath and then turned to Fitz and Jemma. She stopped just next to Jemma, gaping at all the blood on Jemma's face stemming from a gnarly head wound. She had her oxygen mask on but was unconscious and Skye couldn't tell just from looking if she was breathing or if Fitz had checked for a pulse at all. Skye closed her eyes. _1...2...3._  
  
Skye popped her eyes open again. Fitz was frantically pulling at Jemma's seatbelt buckle.The water was just hitting the row behind where Skye's seat had originally been. " _FITZ_!" Skye screamed his name in a commanding, booming tone, the kind of sound that would make a navy seal quiver in their combat boots, and simultaneously grabbed him by the shirt collar and gave a forceful tug. "GET OUT OF THE WAY!" She bellowed.  
  
"We're sinking!" Fitz shrieked in a high, panicky tone. Skye grabbing onto him hardly seemed to faze him. He was still sputtering and looking around them frantically. Water was flowing in steadily and was soaking the carpet beneath their feet, rising quickly and over the brim of their shoes in a few seconds. They were running out of time. They were running out of time and Jemma was trapped.

"The bags, they fell and-" Fitz pointed up at the broken compartment and the bags all around them. They had created an avalanche on Jemma and Fitz and although he escaped mostly unharmed, a heavy, hard suitcase had fallen and split her head open. Others had battered her and her seatbelt was warped and broken, the clasp mechanism wouldn't come loose.

The water was already up to their ankles and all Fitz had managed to do was get into the aisle between Jemma and Skye, but only because she had forcibly pulled him out. All he got himself to do was gently pull the mask from her face and over her head. There was a small line on her skin where the strap had been and the blood hadn't been able reach, but it quickly disappeared as Jemma continued bleeding. It ran from her forehead and her temple down over her eye and her cheekbone, dribbling down her neck and onto her collar. Fitz didn't know what to do, he just stood there, frozen, holding the mask in his hand and wondering if his friend was even alive at all.

As soon as Skye pulled Fitz out of the way, she dropped down to her knees and started digging at the seat belt buckle. She shined her flashlight on it and saw the warped spots. She reached around Jemma’s lap, started tugging and groping at the strap and the spots where it connected to the seat. She ignored Fitz’s shouting. She ignored the louder sounds of the approaching water. She even ignored the chill that rushed from her heels all the way up her spine and sent tingles of alarm around her brain. She especially ignored the part of her brain that kept screaming, _SHE’S GOING DOWN - ABANDON SHIPPPPPPPP!!! RUNNNNN!_ At ever increasing volumes in the back of her mind’s ear. There wasn’t a chance in hell she was going to just turn around and flee.

Skye did, however, need to get Fitz out of there. She needed to focus on getting Jemma free and she couldn’t do that while also reminding herself that she would have to get him out of there too. “Okay, Jemma, you’ve gotta wake up now,” She impulsively dropped her hand into the slightly lower than ankle deep water, cupped a handful of it and threw it at Jemma’s face while she was still groping and tugging around at the belt in Jemma’s lap. She grabbed a broken chunk of the window shade and jammed it under the latch of the seatbelt then made a fist and swung the heel of her hand hard at the edge of the plastic, hoping to pry the buckle with force.

“Fitz,” She said without looking away. “Get a life vest and get out of here,” She ordered him. “Find the raft from the front of the plane. I’ll get Jemma and meet you there,” She didn’t even look at him as she laid that plan out there for him since she was too busy at work in Jemma’s lap. _Come onnnnnn! Think, think, think...what do I have to break it loose?_ Skye forced herself to take long, steady breaths despite the fact that her heart was racing so fast in her chest, she wasn’t sure how it hadn’t exploded. Skye splashed another handful of now ankle deep water at Jemma. This one seemed to do the trick.

Just as Fitz dashed off to find the raft so that they could escape, leaving loud splashes in his wake, a small groan clawed its way out of Jemma's throat. Her head lulled forward before her eyes finally caught up with her brain and opened. It was dark, nearly pitch black except for a bright light at her waist level. Her face felt sticky and her left eye was heavy with something coated on her face. Jemma reached up and gingerly touched her wound with two fingers, hissing as she did. Her eyes finally readjusted to the light and she was face to face with Skye, who was watching her intently with her hands on Jemma's legs and waist. She frowned, confused, until she remembered. The plane crashed, and they were somewhere over the middle of the Pacific. There was water at her feet, which meant they were going to drown.

Skye’s head snapped up when she heard Jemma groan. She watched Jemma carefully for just a few seconds and then Jemma’s eyes (or at least the one good one) looked at her. Skye resisted the urge to reach out and touch Jemma’s face. There were more pressing matters at hand. “Welcome back,” She said and looked back down at the belt.

"Skye?" Jemma's voice wavered and she glanced around. They were the only two left in the plane, which was strange. She didn't realize why until she moved to get out of her seat and the latch wouldn't pull free. "Am I stuck?" Jemma asked dumbly. She knew somewhere in the back of her mind that she was in shock and had probably had quite a hit to the head, but she was trying to find clarification for what seemed unbelievable. The water was touching her shins now.

Skye’s gaze turned back to Jemma’s face when she heard the waver in it. “Hey,” She reached for the bottom hem of her own shirt and stood up straighter. As gently as she could, she braced Jemma’s head by the side of her jaw and the side of her neck with one hand, letting the flashlight swing, she used the bottom of her shirt to wipe around Jemma’s eye to clear it though she tried not to touch the wound too much. She didn’t want to hurt Jemma further and she didn’t want to open whatever parts of the wound might have already clotted.

“Yeah, you’re stuck,” Skye crouched back down but kept looking at Jemma. “But it’s only temporary. I’m gonna get the belt off and we’re going to get out of here together, alright?” She tried to talk as calmly as she could. Jemma just woke up to a helluva situation - she was trapped in the sinking tail end of an airplane in the middle of the ocean.

Jemma held as still as possible while Skye wiped off her face. Her first thought when Skye moved away, as ridiculous as it was, was that she was guilty her blood ruined Skye's shirt. She finally got a good look at her when she opened her left eye with the right and noticed that Skye was bleeding too. She reached out with a bruised hand and cupped Skye's cheek. There was a wound on the left side of her head, maybe not as severe as her own, but still enough to cause a small stream of blood to flow from the split skin.

"You're injured." Jemma frowned. She  couldn't seem to get more than a few words in each sentence, but she was slowly regaining full consciousness. She was aware enough to look past Skye's shoulder, and when she did, her eyes widened. They were tilted back and she could see a vast expanse of stars out the open space that used to connect to the rest of the plane. That was where the water was coming from, but her hands shook and she devoted them to yanking her seat belt loose, but to no avail.

“So are you,” Skye replied. Her hands were already back at work, trying to find any trick that would break the buckle or the belt strap to free Jemma. Honestly, she remembered that her head was bleeding only when Jemma mentioned it. Her adrenaline rush was just that strong at the moment. Pain wasn’t a factor. But fear? Fear that she wouldn’t be able to free Jemma coursed through her. Skye refused to let that fear win out and she kept working.

"Skye..." Jemma pointed to the window of the row just in front of them, which was webbed with cracks. Water was getting through in small flowing streams, but she could see the stress put on them and knew it wouldn't last longer if they got deeper into the water and the pressure increased. Her eyes flew around her and as she noticed just how many of the windows looked the same, one shattered. A loud, crashing jet of water began pouring into the cabin and a shiver ran up Jemma's spine. Another shattered to her right, and Jemma knew the plane would be sunken completely in a very short amount of time.

Skye was already looking around with the flashlight for something sharp enough to saw through the belt strap when Jemma said her name. She looked up and then followed Jemma’s pointing to the cracked window. Her brain had just enough time to grumble _‘....shit,’_ before the windows began shattering with explosive bangs. The one next to Jemma’s seats cracked and Skye quickly jumped up and turned her back to the window to block the inward blowing shards of glass from hitting Jemma. Instead they hit the back of Skye’s leather jacket, which stopped them from embedding into her skin. The plane lurched and the water began to rise faster. It was already hitting Jemma’s knees when Skye pushed to stand up in the water.

“Jem, I’ll be right back,” She started to move out toward the aisle with the intention of heading toward the back of the plane where she saw a jagged piece of metal sticking out of the restroom door.

"Wait!" Jemma exclaimed suddenly. She reached out and grabbed at Skye and managed to snag the edge of her jacket. The water level had already risen another inch and she was afraid Skye wasn't going to come back. It was illogical for her to, after all, since they had hardly just met. She didn't want to be alone and she was afraid she was going to die strapped into the seat. "Don't leave me." Her voice was small, but loud enough to be heard over the gushing water. White knuckles gripped tightly at Skye's jacket and refused to let go.

Skye froze, her legs apart mid-step and glanced very briefly at Jemma’s hand on her jacket. Skye knew she shouldn’t waste time but the way Jemma said that last part made Skye’s chest burn. “Jemma,” Quickly, Skye stepped back. She crouched slightly and reached out, put one hand on each side of Jemma’s face until she could force Jemma to look at her. Skye locked her gaze. “I promise you, I’m not going to leave this plane without you.” She said it quickly but with conviction. There was limited time and she needed to move quickly. “If you go down with it, I’m going with you. I’d really like to spare us both from that so I’m going right back to the lavatory to grab something sharp enough to cut you free - I promise I won’t leave you...okay?” She arched her eyebrows and tried to ignore the speed of the water for a few more seconds.

Skye's short speech made Jemma's shaking lessen, even if only slightly. She stared into Skye's eyes and searched for any sign that she might be lying to her, but she found none. The woman she had so instantly connected with was staying in the sinking plane despite all other logical options to help her escape. The water was up to her thighs now. Jemma's right side was drenched from the water pouring in. Skye would have to wade through it and if Jemma wanted any chance of them getting out they had to move quickly. Her death grip released and turned into a light push. "Hurry." She pleaded.

Skye nodded and surged toward the back of the plane, moving as fast as her adrenaline would take her, sloshing through the water. She made it to the lavatory door, grabbed a wayward floating sweatshirt, wrapped it around the jagged metal piece. She jammed her foot into the open door frame took a deep breath, gripped the metal with both hands and grunted through her ground teeth as she pulled, shook and then wrenched it free. She pulled so hard that when it wrenched free, she flew backward and slammed into the plane wall behind her. She didn’t even register the sharp jab of pain that went through her upper right side again as she rushed back into the water to get back to Jemma. “I’m back!” She said as soon as she made it. She pulled the flashlight off her wrist and gave it to Jemma. “I need you to aim this down at your lap.” She paused at the way Jemma was breathing hard. Skye dropped the sweatshirt and went to work sawing the right side of the seat belt strap.

“Jem...I want you to take long, deep breaths, okay? If we go under before I finish sawing you’re gonna need to hold it for a few seconds, okay? This way _if_ it comes to it, you’ll be ready, okay?” Skye talked as she worked since she knew the water would be too deep soon. Sure enough seconds later it was at Jemma’s chest. “Steady, now.” She said before she took a deep breath and disappeared under the water, sinking so she could get better leverage at sawing through the belt, ignoring the bites of pain the sharp metal made into her fingers and palms. _Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on._

Jemma's teeth were chattering and she did her best to hold the flashlight still and pointed to where Skye was working. It was difficult when the water was so dark. It looked like a great mass of oil and the range the flashlight gave off under the water was much less than above.

It seemed like the rate the water was rising was getting faster and faster. It was only seconds until she had to lift her chin to keep her face out of the water so she could breath. _Hurry, Skye. Hurry!_ Her mind was screaming. She couldn't even see her, but she could feel the slight pressure from Skye tugging at the strap. She had no way of knowing how close Skye was to finishing, but when she started getting water in her lungs with her air from the sloshing, she knew they were almost out of time. She jerked upward some in her seat to keep her head above water and felt the metal object graze her skin because of it. Skye finally reappeared at the surface with a splash and Jemma was horrified to find she was still trapped.

Skye turned her eyes up toward the light when Jemma’s body jerked. She pushed to the surface since her lungs were burning and coughed before she managed a gulp of air. “Jem-,” she didn’t get to finish.

"Skye, I can't-" She couldn't finish her sentence because she had to spit a mouthful of salty water. _Breathe. I can't breathe._ Her throat felt like it was swelling up and her entire body was supercharged with adrenaline. Water was getting into her nose and mouth and she didn't have any time left. She was going to die here and Skye was going to die with her because Jemma asked her to. "Go," she changed her mind. There was only a few feet left before the entire cabin was filled with water and Jemma didn't know how close Skye was to getting her out.  

“Jem - yes you can,” Skye quickly grabbed Jemma by the edge of her jaw and neck to hold her up over the water line. She was about to pep talk Jemma into some deep breaths to prepare to go under. It was terrifying to watch but Skye had no choice. Then Jemma said that word and Skye’s face darkened. She let go and then hooked Jemma under her arms and braced her feet on the seat on either sides of the chair. It pulled Jemma just an inch or so higher above the water. “Don’t you dare,” She ordered Jemma firmly. “I don’t break promises and you’re not going to make me start now - Jemma!” She shouted to get her full attention. “We’re almost there - thirty seconds. You can hold your breath that long, alright? Slow! Deep breaths. We go under at the same time and I finish cutting. Hey - _HEY_!” She screamed and shook Jemma. “We go on three, ready? 1…” She took a deep breath and exhaled it. “2!” One more deep breath and exhaled it. “A long one okay? 3!” She inhaled a long deep breath and waited for Jemma to do the same before she dove back under and went back to work on the seat belt strap. She counted in her head, glancing toward Jemma every few seconds without stopping the frantic sawing she did against the thick strap.

When Jemma’s body started jerking, no doubt using up her oxygen quicker because of the panic, Skye pushed up to the air pocket. She gasped for a few breaths and then dove under. This time, she grabbed Jemma by each side of her jaw and propelled herself forward until she was able to clamp her mouth over Jemma’s. Her tongue surged out to push against Jemma’s lips and teeth, to get her to open her jaw and as soon as she did, Skye forced out all the air in her lungs to send it down into Jemma’s. She let go immediately and made another trip into the air pocket to grab another gulp of air for herself. _C’mon Jem,  we’re almost there, just a little longer. Hold on , hold on. Please just hold on. Just a few more seconds._ Skye sawed so fast she was sure it would have sparked the strap to fire if they weren’t underwater. She had less than half an inch to go and it would break free.

Jemma kept her jaw clamped shut, not daring to let even a tiny bit of gifted air out, even if it was already carbon dioxide instead of oxygen. She closed her eyes and tried to remain still to conserve it and remain calm. The pounding of her heartbeat got louder and louder until it drowned out the quiet swishing noises Skye was making by moving under the water. Her lungs began burning before the tension connecting her to the chair was gone. She couldn't help but try to stretch and reach the surface above, but it was quickly getting further and further away from her.

When she felt she had no other option, Jemma sank down and tried to launch herself up, but the seat belt partially over her stomach forced the air out of her mouth. Large bubbles escaped and darted to the surface and Jemma reached out at them even though they weren't something tangible she could catch again. Even if it wasn't breathable air, it had filled the space in her lungs. Now that they were empty, Jemma's body reflexively inhaled no matter how desperately she fought not to. Her lungs had hurt before, but once they filled with saltwater they stung and Jemma was overwhelmed by an all encompassing panic. She tried struggling out of the seat belt, but it was too tight. She was making the motions like she was trying to swim up, but it wasn't getting her anywhere. She expelled the water inside her, but there was nothing but more for her to suck back in and it felt like her head was near exploding. She jerked wildly as she felt the darkness taking over and she reached for Skye, finding her shoulder and gripping it tightly before it released and her body went limp.

Skye didn’t have time to go for a new breath of air. She kept sawing away. She felt Jemma struggling but she was almost done! She was almost done! Just a few seconds longer! Until Jemma grabbed her shoulder. Skye looked up through the murky water and saw Jemma’s face in the light from the flashlight in her lap facing upward. _No,_ she thought, _No, no, no, no, no!_ Jemma’s eyes were open and she was perfectly still. “JEMMA!” Skye didn’t realize she’d actually screamed her name underwater until a rush of liquid surged down her throat into her lungs. She pushed her way to the surface and gagged, heaving up a gullet of water and coughed. “No...no, no, no, no, no, no,” She gasped it out through staggered rapid breaths. Fuck no! It wasn’t going down this way. Skye was _not_ breaking her promise! She wasn’t leaving this fucking plane without Jemma.

Skye gulped the largest lung full of air she could manage and dove back under. Fifteen seconds - it was only fifteen more seconds before the strap sprung free and Jemma’s body started to float from the seat. Skye hooked her under the arms and pulled her up into the air pocket, holding her up with an arm around the front of her collarbones, gripping her by her neck and jaw. “Jem!” She shouted between gasps for air. “JEMMA!” She screamed the name and slapped at Jemma’s cheeks. “You’re free...you’re free, you’re free, come on - **_JEMMA!_ ** ” The panic, this time, gripped Skye. She’d promised to get Jemma out of here, Jemma could _not_ be dead. Skye looked around her. She couldn’t stay in the tail. She couldn’t stay in the tail and she wasn’t leaving Jemma behind.

“Okay,” Skye said as if Jemma were there with her and awake. “Okay, it’s okay. It’s okay we can fix this…” Her teeth were the ones chattering now. Skye grabbed the flashlight, took a handful of deep breaths after counting to three and then she dove under the water. She pulled Jemma with her, kicking her legs and pulling them through the plane together, gripping at anything that she could use to propel them faster. By the time she was out of the open end of the plane’s tail, her lungs were on fire but she kicked and pulled and kicked and she didn’t stop until she was at the surface. She pulled Jemma free and brought her up so the back of her head was against Skye’s chest and shoulder, her arm was wrapped around Jemma, holding her by her jaw and neck again to keep her head above the water. She was expecting to see the emergency rafts, inflated and filled with survivors.

Instead, when her eyes adjusted, she saw...fire? There was fire and it lit up everything around it - the front end of the plane, sitting on a beach with trees and - beach. There was a beach. Land. Solid ground. Skye gaped for only a second. A third (or was it fourth by that point?) surge of adrenaline rushed through Skye. “Don’t you dare think you’re leaving me now,” Skye kicked wildly to tread water. She regretted putting her jacket and shirt back on because she was cold on the plane. Her messenger bag and her boots kept trying to pull her under too. There was nothing Skye could do about it right then though. Right in that moment, her only goal was to get Jemma to the shore and get her breathing again. With only one arm to pull her and both her weighed down legs to kick, Skye franticly sloshed her way through the water, pulling Jemma, towing her into the shore, dead weight, with her head above the water.

“C’mon Jem, we’re almost there,” She murmured to herself through her gritted teeth. “C’mon Jem, we’re almost there,” She repeated it again and again, unaware of the tears streaking her cheeks since she was covered in saltwater anyway.

When they started reaching the shallows, Skye timed her kicks and wild arm swings to the swells to use them to propel them both to shore. The beach was....chaos. There was fire. There was screaming. People were running around. There was blood. There were people floating burnt and dead in the water. There were limbs. Skye saw an arm, just an arm, attached to nothing, but her brain didn’t process any of it. Her brain processed only how close she was to getting Jemma onto the shore, how close she had been to getting the belt cut in time. A wave crashed into Skye’s back as she hauled Jemma up, an arm wrapped around her back and one hooked under her knees. A wave of pain hit her upper right side when she pushed to her feet and began to slosh to the beach, one foot in front of the other as if she were running a marathon through knee deep water. She ground her teeth together, ignored the pain and kept pushing through every sunken foot in the wet sand.

Skye didn’t stop until she was on the dry sand. Even then she remained in motion. She laid Jemma down and dropped next to her on her knees. Skye threw her messenger bag off. She yanked her jacket off and dropped it and then tilted Jemma’s head back all the way. She pinched Jemma’s nose shut and leaned over, clamping her mouth over Jemma’s again and watching the woman’s diaphragm rise as she forced the air into Jemma’s lungs. She gave it two breaths and then dropped her ear to Jemma’s chest while feeling around with two fingers on her neck for a pulse. Nothing. No heartbeat. No pulse. No breathing. “C’mon Jem, c’mon,” She murmured.

Fitz found them but Skye couldn’t pay attention to him. She didn’t hear what he said but she pushed his hands away, pinched Jemma’s nose and forced two more breaths down into her lungs. Her hands traced Jemma’s ribcage to the middle of her sternum and she clamped one over top of the other, folded her hands into a single tight ball, locked her elbows and began to forcefully bounce as much jolting weight as she could on the spot, counting out two compressions for every second 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 1-2, 3-4, 5-6. Every set of twelve, she moved and forced more air into Jemma’s lungs. Skye didn’t stop once. She let the tears fall as she called Jemma’s name between counts and breaths and they mingled with sweat and seawater but Skye didn’t stop. She didn’t let anything else stop her either. “C’mon Jemma!” She screamed breathlessly.

"JEMMA!" Fitz's shriek was easy to distinguish even over all the other screaming. He dropped into the sand on the opposite side of her from Skye and grabbed her hand, squeezing tightly. She was cold and pale and her lips were turning blue. She wasn't responding to Skye's attempts at CPR.

"What happened?" He yelled. If Skye hadn't been trying to resuscitate her than he would have shoved her. He was angry and scared and she was there to blame. "You said you would _get her out_!" He yelled accusingly. "What took you so long?!" He was rubbing up and down Jemma's arm, trying to help warm her up. It did little to no good, but he had to do something and it looked like if Fitz tried to take over the CPR Skye would punch him.

Fitz didn’t need to scream any of those things at Skye. Skye was already thinking them herself. Rather than give into the childish want to scream at Fitz to shut the fuck up since he hadn’t done anything useful to get Jemma out of the plane, Skye only pushed harder. She most definitely would have punched Fitz’s nose up unto his skull if he tried to stop her for _any_ reason, even if it was to try and take over.

So Skye kept counting. Twelve compressions, two breaths, screaming for Jemma to come back - repeat, repeat, repeat. In a fit of desperation, Skye let go of Jemma’s chest from the compressions balled up her fist as tight as it would wind and slammed it as hard as she could into Jemma’s chest. She’d once watched a cardiologist do this in an elevator when someone collapsed. “Jemma, COME ON!” she screamed. She leaned over and did two more breaths and then she was back up with another slam of her fist, and then a second, a third, a fourth. Skye was fully crying by then. She leaned over for another two breaths. “Jem, Please,” She begged between them. Fitz was still shrieking but Skye just fucking ignored him. She wound her fist up and swung again. “I CAN DO THIS ALL NIGHT JEMMA!” She screamed at her and swung again in frustration, and then again and then-

Like she was never gone, Jemma was stuck back into her body and her eyes flashed open. They closed again in pain when a lurching cough took over her whole body and her torso jerked six inches off the ground with it. Water rushed out of her lungs and ran down her cheeks into the sand as her body fell back, exhausted. She coughed again and again, struggling to breathe, and it seemed like there was endless water in her chest. She was sobbing along with it and she was near suffocating all over again as she fought against gravity to expel all the water from her lungs when her chest was in so very much pain.

Skye was mid-swing when Jemma’s eyes popped open and her body suddenly jerked up. She’d just barely seen it through her blurred vision. She actually screamed in surprise and immediately pulled her swing, stopping it by yanking her arm back and catching it simultaneously with her other hand at the wrist. In the next second, Jemma was coughing and sputtering out water and Skye immediately reached down and rolled her onto her right side and smacked at her back to help her get it out. “Jemma!” The name was a gasp with the shallow gulps of air Skye managed. She fought the urge to pull Jemma up into her lap and hug her, to hold onto her. “You’re out,” It was just a murmur at first but a sob escaped from Skye too. She leaned over close to Jemma’s ear as she held onto her arm and smacked at her back just to make sure all the water came out. “You’re out, it’s okay, you’re okay,” She murmured it in almost nonsensical spurts between her jerky sobs and her own staggered breaths. “Breathe, Jem, you’re okay - you’re out.”

When Jemma finally took her first breath free of water, it sounded asthmatic because she was sucking in with so much force. It took several for it to even qualify as just gasping for breath and not imploding her lungs. She saw dark sky and felt the chilly air across her wet clothes, and more startlingly, sand. She was covered in it and it stuck to her face and got in her eyes. She even inhaled some in her frantic attempt to catch her breath.  She saw Skye's thighs, since she was facing her, but it was Fitz who seemed to notice her distress about the fine sand first and as soon as she stopped losing water weight with her exhales, he tilted her head back up and started wiping the sand out of her eyes and off her face with his hand and some of his shirt.  
  
"Skye," Jemma tilted her head to face forward again and whimpered at herself and the pain it brought to her temple. She could see Skye's tear stricken face with the backdrop of a black, star speckled horizon and a blazing inferno that was the front of the plane. She was almost glad she'd been in the back. Almost.  
  
"You..." she breathed. She was still struggling and her breathing was shaky, but very much active. She was alive. "...did it." She spoke on exhales only, not willing to waste a moment not breathing. She sounded surprised, but also very happy. She closed her eyes. She was so tired.

Skye’s shoulders shook and a few sobs escaped before she could stop them. Jemma was breathing. _Jemma was breathing!!!_ She squeezed Jemma’s shoulder and then quickly let go as Fitz started wiping at the sand bits. She grabbed her leather jacket and balled it up. “You didn’t make it easy, Doc,” She said through a sniffle and a severely tiny smile.

Skye very gently moved her hand under the back of Jemma’s head and neck and lifted it up just enough to get the jacket under her. It was cold out of the water with the breeze blowing but Skye didn’t care. She grabbed her overshirt from the bottom hem and hoisted it up and over her head, leaving her back to just her tank top. Once Fitz finished wiping at the sand in Jemma’s face, She moved so she was kneeling at the top of Jemma’s head. She turned her shirt inside out hoping to keep the sandy parts out of the way. She balled it up, wrung and squeezed it out and then she moved to press it against Jemma’s head. She grimaced as she did it. “Sorry,” She said as she applied pressure to it to get the gash to stop bleeding. Her own wound was barely bleeding anymore, at least the one on her temple. She pressed the shirt down firmly with one hand and the other she wiped off on her tank top and then used to stroke Jemma’s cheek and to squeeze her shoulder. On impulse, she leaned over and kissed Jemma’s uninjured temple. “I thought you were gone,” she couldn’t stop herself from sniffling.

Jemma sighed at the relief of lying on her back again with the jacket elevating her head, and of being able to breathe at all. She felt Skye's lips on her temple and reached up and rested a hand on Skye's head. It was still shaky, as she was sure her body temperature was still not quite back to normal.  
  
"I thought I was too." Jemma's eyes were still closed but they would both know she was ok by the steady rise and fall of her chest and the color slowly starting to darken in her face. Jemma had nearly forgotten about Fitz until he started fussing over her again. He continued wiping all the sand he could away from her face and he snatched Skye's shirt from her. He stretched it out and started tying it around Jemma's head, asking Skye to hold her up while he got it under. This way the pressure continued to stay applied and covered even if they stopped holding it. Jemma's left eye was covered, but it was better than nothing.  
  
Fitz picked up her hand again and kissed it, telling her how sorry he was that he didn't know what to do and that he had tightened her seatbelt so much, even though that had nothing to do with it. Jemma loved him, she really did, but his voice was bothering her and she needed a minute to just breathe and come back completely from... wherever she had been. Her eyes were still closed and Jemma was dangerously close to falling asleep.

Skye almost snatched her shirt back and punched Fitz when he pulled it away from the wound. She acquiesced, however and held Jemma’s head up when she realized what he was doing. There was a momentary twinge of jealousy at Fitz’s intimate touch and the way he kissed Jemma’s hand but it was greatly outweighed by the overwhelming relief that Jemma was alive when there was a long while there that she very certainly was not. “Hey,” Skye touched Jemma’s cheek again after wiping her hand off one more time on her shirt. “Jem...don’t sleep yet,” Jemma could have a concussion, right? She shouldn’t sleep, that was a thing wasn’t it? Skye looked around them for anything useful. There was still chaos and there was a large part of Skye that itched to help, but her need to take care of Jemma right that moment overrode the urge. “Just a little longer, okay, we’ll get you warmed up and-,”

A blood curdling scream ripped across the beach and Jemma's uncovered eye flashed back open. That was right. She hadn't just drowned. The plane had crashed with hundreds of people on it and they were everywhere and- Jemma sat up so suddenly she could feel blood ooze from her head wound. She was dizzy but it was clear what was going on. She saw the bodies and the flames and she had never been so horrified in her life. She placed a hand behind her in the sand and bent a leg underneath her to get up, but Fitz's hands were on her in a moment, trying to get her to lay back down maybe a little too gruffly. She landed in the sand with a huff and still stared past Skye, eyes glazed over.

"Give it a few more minutes. You just came back from the dead." Fitz told her. He kept a hand on her shoulder so she didn't try to get up and looked to Skye, hoping she agreed.

Skye’s hands struggled. She wanted to push Jemma to ease her back down when she bolted upright like that but instead she reached out to put her hands on Jemma’s back. She was just about to crawl forward so Jemma wouldn’t fall back into the sand with Fitz pushed her down. “Easy! She’s injured!” Skye shoved Fitz’s shoulder. She looked down at Jemma and settled her hand on the uninjured side of Jemma’s face again. “I hate to agree with the monkey,” She said with a nod toward Fitz. “But...you should probably rest, Jem. You lost a lot of blood and…” She paused and grimaced as the mental images of drowned Jemma flashed behind her eyes. “Just a few minutes, okay?” She asked it, didn’t order it. The varying screams were really tweaking her adrenaline back into gear but she refused to leave Jemma’s side. Call it selfish, maybe, but Skye didn’t care right then.

Jemma didn't answer verbally, but she nodded and tried not to let the tears gathering up in her eyes spill over. There were people screaming and crying and in god knows what amount of pain and Jemma couldn't stand to hear it. She was a doctor, maybe the only one, even if she wasn't exactly the type of doctor they needed. But she was a doctor.

"No, I have to help." It hadn't been a few minutes, but about ten seconds before Jemma pushed herself up again and shoved Fitz away when he tried to grab her. She got up on wobbly limbs and took a deep breath. She had to close her eyes and prepare herself to go into doctor mode. She didn't know what she was about to see but she knew she wouldn't be able to unsee it.

Skye’s own eyes were welled up but she did her best to keep the tears at bay. She also did her best to try and cover Jemma’s ears because of the screams. It didn’t last very long. Less than a minute. Jemma was on the move again. Skye quickly pulled herself to her feet and reached out to to steady Jemma with an arm around her waist even though the swift movement left her dizzy for a moment too. “Okay,” She leaned over enough to grab her bag, unsure if there’d be anything useful Jemma could use in it. “I’ll go with you and if you need to stop, you just...we’ll figure it out.” She decided. Skye was freaked out. Jemma had barely been back for a few minutes and she was already on her feet again. Skye would have preferred she rested but if she was this determined, Skye would help, if that was the only thing she could do, until Jemma needed to collapse and then Skye would fuss over her as much as possible.

When Jemma opened her eyes, they were less teary and more focussed. Her eyes had hardened some. She had seen mass death by disease. Bodies, death, and suffering were not new to her, but that didn't mean it wasn't going to be hard. Because it was.

"Fitz, I need you to start going through bags. Fetch any prescription medication, especially anything ending in mycin or cillin. Hurry!" She griped at him and Fitz was off down the beach, crouching and digging through possible medicine pockets of the first bag he could find. Jemma, she wrapped her arm around Skye's waist in return for the support and led them toward the first people she saw. She vaguely remembered them having an animated conversation in the terminal, but she had been having her own so it was difficult to say.

Jemma wanted to throw up. The young man was crouched over his friend (or lover, Jemma didn't know). Her hand was cut clean off and a massive red splotch was growing in the sand. It took Jemma only a moment to assess before she went into another mental place.

"My name is Jemma, I'm a doctor. Let me see." Jemma knelt next to the woman. She was groaning and Jemma realized she was the one who had screamed.

"Thank god. You've got to help her. I'm Hunter. Her name is Izzy, do something, please." The British man, apparently named Hunter, was begging her. Jemma nodded and loosened the necktie from her collar, careful to avoid messing up her own medical care as she got it over her head.

"Skye, I need you to find something, any wood or anything, light it on fire. I need a fire." Jemma requested. She unknotted the tie and tied it about six inches above the amputation site on the woman's arm.

"Hello, Izzy. Try to stay calm for me, it will slow your bleeding."

Skye felt her stomach roil when she saw the end of the woman’s arm. She swallowed back the bile that rose to the back of her throat as she helped Jemma down to the sand. Even though Jemma had sent Fitz on an errand, but she hadn’t realized she would need to leave Jemma’s side. She frowned and set her bag down next to Jemma and hesitated for just a moment. Then, she stood and took off sprinting away.

If one thing could be said about Skye, it was that she was fit and she was a fucking fast runner. She ran for the edge of the beach toward the jungle but did so at an angle that put her close to a flaming piece of one of the wings. She found a thick fallen branch and grabbed some palm fronds and wrapped them around the end of the branch then ran to the closest plane fire she could find to light the end of the branch. Once it had a flame on it, Skye sprinted again. She leaned over and hooked the handle of a duffel bag on her way by without stopping, hoping it had something useful inside.

“Got it,” By the time Skye landed, breathless, in the Sand next to Jemma, it had only been a short couple of minutes. She dropped the duffel, unzipped it and dumped it out with one hand while she held the branch and waited for instructions from Jemma.

"Good work." Jemma squeezed Skye's arm and took the flaming branch from her. Both Hunter and Izzy gave her a wild look and Jemma was sure she would be giving herself the same look if she were one of them. Jemma wasn't even a trauma surgeon, she was just a biochemist with a wealth of knowledge about the human body. She was probably Izzy's best shot though, so she had to act like she had done this a thousand times to not scare her.

"Your arteries have been severed so I have to cauterize it before you bleed out. I'm sorry. It's going to hurt." Jemma's voice was as soft and gentle as she could manage and she kept the worry and the desire to scream in her own head.

Skye’s eyes widened. Cauterize, she definitely knew what that meant. She moved from Jemma’s side to just about Izzy’s head and leaned down to hold her down by her biceps with as much of her weight as she could leverage in anticipation of the woman writhing around from the painful thing about to happen to her.

Jemma waited until the leaves on the branch burned out and the wood was red-hot. She pressed it against Izzy's arm and rolled it quickly to cover the whole space. It was better without anticipation, but Jemma still cringed at the shriek the woman made and the pitiful whimper Hunter made.

Skye clenched her eyes shut against the scream she let out. When she opened her eyes, she looked at Jemma, studying her to make sure she was alright and still capable of doing what she was doing.

"Izzy?! What happened?" Hunter suddenly shouted. Jemma frowned and looked closer. Izzy's eyes were closed.

"She probably fell unconscious from the pain." Jemma assured him, but after taking a closer look she was concerned. Two fingers shot to the pulse point at Izzy's jugular and Jemma knew within seconds that she was gone. "I'm sorry..." Jemma muttered under her breath. The tears she had tried to hold back from before broke the dam and were set loose when Hunter's face contorted in confusion and desperation.

"Did you kill her?" He was enraged, and he seemed apt to attack Jemma, but he cooled down and his focus went to Izzy instead. He started sobbing and Jemma knew she couldn't give up. Skye hadn't given up on her.  
  
"Let me try-" Jemma got on top of Izzy, straddling her, and began chest compressions with as much force as she could manage. She knew there was no blood left for Izzy's heart to pump, but she continued with compressions on the dead woman anyway with Hunter watching, in tears. She continued with compressions until a tiny dribble of her own blood made it past her makeshift bandage and was diverted to the side at her eyebrow. She couldn't stop and the longer she went the more she knew she wouldn't be able to help everyone.

Skye watched the whole scene play out. She was already moving to block Hunter when she thought he might go after Jemma but she, thankfully, didn’t have to. She flinched when Jemma began doing CPR. She moved next to Izzy’s shoulder and tilted her head back, counting in her head as Jemma worked and alternating with her to get some breaths in every certain number of intervals. Her eyes stayed on Jemma and she wondered if this what the the mess Skye had looked like while doing CPR on Jemma. Hunter was still crying. Skye knew this was fruitless. It was different than with Jemma. Jemma hadn’t bled out. Jemma was going to exhaust herself and Skye knew there were still people she’d want to help. So Skye moved again, down the body and next to Jemma. She reached out and put her hand on Jemma’s closest forearm to stall her compressions. “Jem…” She said gently.

Jemma froze and her head whipped to face Skye. Her eyes were wild and her hands were clenched together so tightly her knuckles were white. She couldn't save her. She didn't have anywhere near the level of equipment she would have needed to save Izzy. They hadn't found any antibiotics and even if they did they weren't guaranteed to work against the bacteria they could pick up. She couldn't save everyone and she was going to have to face that reality. She had to pick and choose who she was going to try to save.  
  
"Are you a doctor?" Someone nearby shouted. Jemma got up off of Izzy's body and wavered some in the sand. She saw a middle aged man carrying a smaller Asian woman who appeared to be the pilot. She wondered if that was who was going to die next.  
  
"Sort of, yes, I-"  
  
"We just got the pilot and copilot out of the cockpit, but she has a shard of glass in her stomach." Now this Jemma might be able to help with. She gestured for the man to put her down and Jemma knelt next to her. The ID tag said her name was Melinda May. She seemed moderately conscious and Jemma began ripping her shirt to get it away from the wound site.

Skye moved along with Jemma. When she wavered, Skye’s hands reached out automatically to steady her. It was a terrible situation. There was just no way around that.  
  
"Melinda, is it? My name is Jemma, I'm going to help you. Try to stay still." The pilot nodded and just as Jemma finally finished getting the white-now red material out of the way, Fitz came barreling toward them from further down the sand. He stopped just in front of Jemma and bent over, hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. For a moment Jemma was afraid he found another dying patient, but then he held out a travel size sewing kit and a bottle of aspirin.  
  
"Skye, I need more fire. I'm going to need to sterilize a needle." Jemma forced May's mouth open and sighed in relief when she found no blood other than from a cut on her lip. No internal organs had been punctured by the glass. This one wasn't hopeless.

Skye quickly moved through the duffel bag’s contents. She laid the items she thought would be useful next to Jemma on top of the bag – a couple of shirts, laces Skye tugged free from a pair of tennis shoes, an unopened bottle of water, and a pack of travel wet wipes. She didn’t get to keep sifting, though, because Jemma needed more fire. Skye was up on her feet and running as soon as Jemma said the word ‘fire,’ before she’d explained why.  
  
This time, Skye remembered that her multiuse paracord bracelet had a flint and metal scratcher so she could spark them to ignite a first, so she ran straight inland along the beach, a shorter distance than she ran before. She gathered an armful of palm fronds and tall grass and a second loose long branch and raced back to Jemma. She dropped the items and used her foot, stepping on one end of the long branch and pulling the other end hard with her arms to snap it into about five small ‘logs.’ Quickly, she piled the logs and covered them with the mostly dried bits of kindling she was using the palms for.  
  
Skye unhooked her bracelet and pulled the metal rake out. She angled the flint an inch or two above the small pile and began to strike the flint with the side of the metal scraper. It took two or three rapid strikes but the palms and dry grass caught the sparks and began to burn. Skye slipped the scraper back into place and hooked the bracelet on then leaned over, cupped her hands and blew onto the pile to stoke the fire until the branches caught. She grabbed the unburnt end of the first branch she had brought Jemma and once the flames were crackling, she added the burnt end of the branch into the fire so it would catch the flames in case Jemma needed to use it for cauterizing again.  
  
When it was all said and done, she moved back over to Jemma’s side. “What can I do?” She asked just to let Jemma know she was back and there to help with whatever was needed.

"Do you still have that flashlight?" Jemma questioned, never taking her eyes away from her current patient. She took the things Fitz and Skye had found and sent up off again. First she found two large rocks on the ground around her and used them to bend a needle from the sewing kit until it was a smooth curve.

Skye nodded. She scrambled back to where she’d done CPR on Jemma, grabbed her messenger bag and the flashlight and ran back to Jemma's side. She held the flashlight aimed downward at the pilots stomach where Jemma worked and braced her wrist with her other hand to keep the light steady so it didn't shake.

Once Skye had the flashlight over her work space, Jemma tore the shirt from her face. She couldn't give stitches if her depth perception was off because she only had one eye. Blood dribbled from the wound, but it didn't get past her eyebrow this time.

She rinsed her hands with some of the water and very carefully removed the glass at precisely the same angle in went in. Blood immediately began filling the space the glass once was and Jemma grabbed one of the shirts.  
  
"Apply pressure." Jemma pressed the folded shirt against the wound and moved the middle aged man's hands to cover it. When she was satisfied with his efforts, she prepared some black thread on her needle and took a deep breath. Scissors in her left hand and needle in her right, Jemma applied a stitch, let the man- Coulson, as he had introduced himself a moment later- soak up the blood before she did another stitch. It was a slow back and forth process and Jemma's jaw was clenched so tightly it made her head wound start oozing again.  
  
But when she finished, there was an overwhelming sense of pride as Jemma allowed Melinda May to take two of the aspirin tablets, even though she knew it wouldn't do much.  
  
"You stay here, we'll start bringing the wounded here so you don't have to move your supplies or the fire." Coulson suggested. It was a good idea and Jemma nodded in agreement, trying to catch her breath and cool down before someone brought over another case.

Skye set the flashlight down into the sand after Coulson moved the pilot. She placed a hand on Jemma's back and grabbed tell water bottle. She held it up for Jemma. "Drink," she said. Listen, she knew Jemma used it before for cleaning her hands, but it would do nobody any good if Jemma passed out, even if a large part of her still wanted Jemma to rest.  
  
Skye spotted Coulson struggling with helping a man up the beach toward them. Coulson had the guy by the waist with an arm around his shoulders and the man was hopping on his uninjured right leg The left leg was a ghastly sight. The man was soaked. His jeans on the left leg were torn and...there was a giant chunk of flesh, muscle and...bone? missing from the outside of his thigh in the shape of a shark bite.  
  
Skye felt the bile rising in the back of her throat again but she was on her feet again instantly without even consciously thinking about it. She ran to the injured man's left side and slipped herself under his arm. Coulson and Skye gripped him by the back of his belt to get him just high enough off the ground to carry him between the two of them. The man screamed the entire way. They laid him down when they reached Jemma.  
  
"Hey! Hey! What's your name?" Coulson asked the man to make him focus.  
  
"JT," The injured man ground out through gritted teeth.  
  
Skye dropped into the sand next to Jemma, picked up the flashlight and aimed it at the profusely bleeding wound. This guy's luck had been worse than Skye and Jemma's.  He'd been bit by a damn shark in the water!

All the color drained from Jemma's face when she saw JT. Any confidence in her ability to help was knocked right out of her. Much of his thigh was gone, bitten clean off, including the whole femoral artery. She couldn't save him even if she had a million dollars worth of equipment on her, she just wasn't that kind of doctor. He was going to die in seconds right in front of her and her pile of the dead would already be bigger than those she healed.  
  
Jemma just shook her head solemnly and took a step back. She couldn't do it and she couldn't lie to them and pretend she could. Tears were filling her eyes and JT and Coulson were looking at her like she'd be able to cure him.

Skye didn't have to be a doctor to know this guy was doomed. She'd hoped to be wrong but she knew from Jemma's reaction that she wasn't. She wanted to comfort Jemma but JT was still alive and in excruciating pain at the moment.  
  
"Coulson, go get the rest of them, we've got this covered," Skye found her voice, though it was breathless. Coulson glanced at her, looked at Jemma and then frowned as the realization hit him. He moved to his feet and backed away before turning to go searching up and down the beach again.  
  
"A-am I g-gonna die...?" JT's words came in shallow gasps of air. Each one was accented with a grunt of pain.  
  
Skye moved until she was kneeling at his head. "Hey, JT," She put her hands on the sides of his head and turned it until his face pointed upward. "I'm gonna distract you from the pain while Jemma patches you up, okay?" she lied. With the loss of blood and the massive injury, she hedged her bets and banked on the fact that he had to be going numb. His skin was cold and clammy and the color was gone from his face. "You let her poke around down there," she gave him a clear view of the starry Skye and kept talking.  
  
"What's your favorite band?" She asked. JT's brow furrowed at the question but it distracted him so Skye forced herself to sound jovial. "Oh, c'mon, man, don't gimme that look - what's your favorite band?"  
  
JT struggled. He thought the bursts of pain he could feel in his leg were from Jemma trying to patch him up. He let Skye keep his head steady and staring at the night sky. "S-Skynyrd..."  
  
Skye forced out a laugh and jokingly (and very gently)smacked the top of his shoulder with the back of her hand. "I knew it! You look the type - scruffy unshaven, leather jacket and t-shirt." She smirked at him.  
  
JT made a face but choked out a laugh. His eyes widened, as if he'd just been told the secret. He coughed up some blood and Skye fought against her welling eyes. She stroked his hair and his cheek. She saw the life starting to fade from his wide eyes and she cleared her throat and started slowly singing the only Lynyrd Skynyrd song she actually knew.  
  
_If I leave here tomorrow_  
_Would you remember me?_  
_I must be traveling on now,_  
_There's places I've got to see._  
  
_If I stay here with you, love,_  
_It wouldn't be the same_  
_I'm as free as a bird now_  
_This bird you can't change_  
This bird you can't change  
  
Skye watched his face the whole time as his breathing slowed. By the time she finished the last line, his chest had stopped rising and falling, his body was limp and his eyes were upward, open wide and blank. Skye sniffled and took a deep breath she wiped a few tears off her cheek and closed JT's eyes. It all happened in just a short couple of minutes among the chaos surrounding them  
  
Skye moved again, finally getting back to the spot next to Jemma. "Jem," she reached out and gently touched Jemma’s arm.

Jemma choked on a stifled sob as she stared at JT's body after the beautiful way Skye had helped him when Jemma couldn't. Her hand came up to her mouth as she continued thinking about it and she couldn't help but glance at Izzy. At least May was alive.  
  
"I don't think I can do this." Jemma's shoulders slumped and her tight posture fell apart. She wiped tears from her cheeks and blood from her forehead with the same hand and she wondered how all of this could happen.

Skye felt torn. She wanted to wrap her arms around Jemma and tell her that she didn't have to do anything, that she needed to rest. From the way Jemma had jumped up when she heard those first screams and moved with such determination to help people, Skye knew that wasn't what Jemma needed.  
  
"Hey," she shifted until she was in front of Jemma, held her by the outsides of her arms and ducked until she could catch Jemma's eye. "Jem, you're amazing - you just performed surgery on a beach in the middle of the night after coming back from the dead and saved that woman's life! We  can do this." She didn't want Jemma to think she was pep talking her into going at it alone. Skye didn't have the training Jemma had, but she wasn't going anywhere and she was willing to do anything Jemma needed or asked her to do "We can't save all the Izzys and all the JTs, but we can save all the Melindas we can," she pointed out.  
  
Skye reached up and settled her hand on Jemma's right cheek since it was the side without the wound. "We'll do it together. We'll help as many as we can. You can do this - we can do this."

Jemma stared into Skye's eyes and wondered how on earth Skye ended up being so strong. Jemma had only met her less than twenty four hours ago, but she had absolute faith in her and took in every word she said. Every touch made her warmer and less scared. So Jemma nodded and grabbed for the front of Skye's damp tank top. She pulled herself closer and wrapped her arms around Skye's waist. Her forehead rested against Skye's shoulder and she allowed herself a good thirty seconds to cry before anybody else was brought over.

Skye hated the fact that Jemma was crying but she knew it was necessary given the circumstances. She felt relieved to have that very brief moment to hold onto Jemma since the last time she'd had her arms actually around Jemma had been when she was towing her to shore. So she held on and gently cradled the back of her head and stroked her hand in random light circles along her back while trying her absolute best to push all of her own self-doubt, anxiety and clouded emotions to the farthest reaches of her mind so she'd be able to focus.  
  
Sooner than Jemma would have liked, Coulson brought more passengers embedded with shrapnel. Those were the cases she could take care of. Anything else was too difficult without even a knife to cut with. Jemma had to turn some away with a sad nod and Skye would safely guide them to the other side before making her way back to help. To conserve thread, she cauterized smaller wounds when she could. Her section of the beach wasn't a pretty one. They had to keep moving slightly so they weren't sitting in red sand, but she saved more lives than she thought she could.  
  
After what seemed like hours, there was no one left screaming. Moaning in pain, plenty were laying side by side in the "hospital". It was pitch black, only lit by the moon, the fire from the plane's engine, and small fires Skye lit across the beach. People were freezing and huddling around them, but nobody dared go near the plane in case there was something left to explode. Their number of survivors was no more than forty, but Jemma had saved many of them. She was exhausted and finally sat in the sand by a fire Skye had made just for the two of them and Fitz. They sat quietly, listening to the crackle of the fire and the sounds of insects in the jungle, Jemma in the middle, Skye on her left and Fitz on her right. Blood still traveled down her face and the total loss was making her feel woozy, but Jemma was beyond caring. She knew the continued bleeding meant it needed stitches, but she didn't want to do it herself and was delaying it as long as possible.

Skye wound up on Jemma's left, which gave her a good look, in the fire light, at the fact that her wound was still bleeding. She could see the exhaustion wearing on Jemma and, frankly, was amazed she hadn't collapsed. With her own adrenaline beginning to wane, Skye felt exhausted and sore. She imagined that Jemma had to be in much greater states of ache and exhaustion than her. Yet she was still awake and she'd helped all those people. See. This was why she'd said Jemma was amazing. She reached out and carefully tucked some stray strands of Jemma's hair behind her ear. "I think it's your turn, Doc," she said. She dug through her messenger bag and came up with another of her protein bars like the one she gave Fitz earlier. She held it out for Jemma. "Why don't you take a few bites and then we'll fix up your forehead?" she also handed over a bottle of water she'd come across while making her way around to start the fires for people.

As brief as the touch was, Jemma hummed and leaned into it slightly while it was there. At the offer of food, however, Jemma's stomach rumbled and she was suddenly all too aware of her human needs. She was hungry and thirsty and much too tired to stay up all night and watch the wounded.

"Thank you." Jemma opened up the protein bar, but there was absolutely no chance she was going to eat it herself, and the same with the water. She would share it with everyone if she could, but her present company was enough. She split the bar into three, handed a piece to Fitz, popped hers into her mouth, and forced the last piece in the wrapper back into Skye's hand. She drank very close to exactly a third of the water before passing it to Fitz. He drank half of what was left and it came back to Skye.

"It probably needs stitches, but I don't have a mirror." Jemma cringed when she prodded at it at felt more hot, sticky liquid dribble down to her eyebrow.

Skye was too tired to fight Jemma on splitting the bar. She ate her piece and tucked the wrapper into her bag. When the water came back to her, Skye only took two mouthfuls. Either Skye or Fitz was going to have to stitch Jemma up and they were going to need clean hands.  
  
Skye made a face. "You don't have to stitch yourself up, Jem," She grabbed her flashlight and leaned to toss it to Fitz. "Fitz and me can do it," She looked past Jemma at Fitz. "Hold the light, I'll get the sewing kit?" she arched her eyebrows.  Internally, the idea of sewing bits of someone back together made her stomach churn, but for Jemma? Skye would do it without protest just as she had helped however possible with the other injured.

"You? You don't have any medical training!" Fitz protested. The thought of the random stranger trying to thread his friend's face back together gave him the chills. Just the idea of either of them giving Jemma sutures without anesthetics made him sick to his stomach, but he'd rather do it himself than entrust Jemma's health to someone else.

Skye blinked. She honestly hadn't expected that outburst from him. It was true, at best, Skye had the basics of first aid - CPR, stop the bleeding, call for help. There weren't many options in the middle of the night on a deserted island after crashing a fucking plane in the middle of who knew where. She put her hands up in surrender, though she couldn't help the frowning glare she shot Fitz for the wound he jabbed at her pride in that moment.  
  
" _Fitz_!" Jemma had been half asleep, but she was awake the moment Fitz seemed to be attacking Skye for no reason. "Neither do you. And you're squeamish, I don't want you with a needle anywhere near my face when there's blood." Jemma snapped at him with a biting tone. His mouth had been open, about to give more protest, but it slowly shut and he submitted to his role as lamp.

Skye almost smirked at Fitz when Jemma put him in his place, but she managed to bite the inside of her cheek and be mature about everything. She was nervous however as she stared down at the sewing kit.  
  
Jemma turned to Skye then, who had the sewing kit open and was staring at it, unsure. Jemma threaded the curved needle herself, but she couldn't just let Skye guess. She needed to teach her the basic idea first. "Let me see your finger," Jemma requested. Skye gave her a strange look and Jemma laughed. "I'm just going to show you, I'm not going to actually stick you."

Skye still felt a little dubious, but it was nice to hear Jemma laugh for a second. So she held her hand out to give Jemma hr finger and paid extremely close attention to everything she said and did.

"Obviously you're going to need to get the needle through my skin instead of just wrapping it around-" Jemma made a "u" under Skye's finger with the thread. "But you'll need to try to do a knot like this so it doesn't come undone." Jemma slowed down what was more of a muscle memory movement at this point so Skye could see how she did it.  
  
"It's not just a back and forth coil kind of thing. You have to do one at a time." Jemma tied off the knot and showed her once more for extra measure.  
  
"And don't go too close to the cut when you get the needle through," Jemma didn't like imagining it going through her own skin, mostly because she was going to be awake with no numbing medication. But she had helped people through much worse today? So she was sure she could take it. "If it's not far enough away from the wound the thread could go through and the stitch will pop." Jemma explained. She didn't want to scare her, but she'd also not have to keep having it redone. "Shoot for just over a millimeter from the wound. If I wanted it clean I'd say closer, but I think I'll take the scar on this one." Jemma tried to joke. When they were rescued it was going to heal funny, but it was better than leaving it open.  
  
"Try to get the stitches three millimeters from each other. I don't know how many it will take." Jemma sighed. It was a lot to remember. "Do you need me to repeat anything?" She was trying to be purely scientific about it, but she was definitely scared.

Skye took all of it in. She listened to very detail of the instruction and she watched the way Jemma tied the knot so she could copy it. Knots, Skye could do those. She was more practiced in the art of tying them out of ropes, but, well, limited options.  
  
Skye nodded and took a couple of slow breaths while she washed of her hands. She took the threaded needle. "Not at the moment," she assured as she leaned in close to Jemma's face, to the wound. "You just...hold onto whatever you need to, I'll do it as quick as I can without fucking up, okay?" she waited for Jemma to nod before she went to work, letting her mind only repeat the instructions Jemma gave her while she sewed, trying her best to ignore the sounds Jemma made since Skye had no choice but to do this to patch her up.

Jemma's teeth ground together and she could feel every movement Skye was making. Every puncture and tug made her cringe inside, but she didn't let her body move a muscle so they wouldn't have to be redone. That didn't stop her from whimpering every now and then though and Fitz gave her his hand to squeeze. She was counting the stitches and knew it had to be a pretty decent sized gash when she got to seven sutures and Skye was still focused on the task. Fitz had had to look away after two, so she was glad she hadn't put the needle in his hand.  
  
"Are you doing alright?" Jemma asked between sutures, moving her head as little as possible. It felt silly since she was the one being stitched up, but she imagined it was a difficult job for someone who had never pierced another person's skin with a needle.

Skye took careful breaths while she worked; in through the nose, slowly out through her mouth when she could turn her head enough not to blow hot air and germs into Jemma's open wound. Her hands wanted to shake. Skye could feel the urge to tremor in them but she forced them to remain steady. "Oh, I'm right as rain, Doc," she said. "Just another day at the beach, yeah?" she paused between stitches, unable to help the stupid joke because of her nerves. "Are you alright?" she asked, dropping her gaze to watch Jemma's eyes for a moment. Admittedly, she was rather proud of herself for not being a squeamish baby like Fitz after he made that show of masculinity moments ago. She'd practically expected him to beat on his chest like a gorilla when he'd shouted at her about her lack of training.

"Just peachy." Jemma joked, but it was pained. It was also ironic, since her face was far from peach colored. It hadn't quite gained back all of its color since she had gone under the water. She attributed it to the blood loss, so she was hoping she'd be feeling better once her head wound was sealed. While Skye took her short break, Jemma's tongue darted out and she licked her lips. They were dry and chapped from the coastal winds, lack of water, and having sat still for so long.  
  
"Is it finished yet?" Fitz peeked at Skye and questioned. Jemma just rolled her eyes.

"Almost," Skye said as she got back to work, but she'd spotted the way Jemma licked her lips. They'd need to find more water. "There's more water still in that bottle," she told Jemma. " If you're thirsty," She kept working and finally finished after a total count of 16 stitches. She used the scraper from her paracord bracelet to cut off the end after the last knot and out the needle and thread away in the kit after wiping it off on the bottom of her shirt. She sat back on her heels and let her eyes linger on Jemma’s for a moment, feeling another surge of relief that they were open, that Jemma was alive. She smiled. "All set," she moved back a bit to give Jemma some space and then tiredly stood up.  
  
"I'll go see if I can find anymore water," she wiped her hands on her shirt and jeans and then reached up with her right hand to scratch at some of the itchy, dried blood on the side of her face that needed to be cleaned off.

"We shouldn't scavenge any more for ourselves. The group should collect all the fresh water we have and start to ration it-" Jemma started her tangent about what she thought the group should be doing next, but when she looked up at Skye her words caught in her throat. She had been scanning bodies that came to her for injuries all night, but the one she had forgotten to check was Skye's. Skye had saved her life and she hadn't even given her a look over other than determining that her head would heal on its own. But now, when Skye had no jacket and was down to her tank top, in the light of the fire, Jemma could see the large splotch of blood at the top of her rib cage under her right arm.  
  
"You're hurt!" Jemma's voice was laced with guilt. She should have checked to make sure Skye was ok before she had gone to help everyone else on the plane first. She felt she owed a debt, but that wasn't the only reason. She was a humanitarian, she cared about helping everyone she could, but it was much more concerning to her that Skye was potentially injured than she would have originally thought. "What happened?"

Skye blinked. “Huh?” Now that everything was done and there seemed to be no immediate threat of danger, no one else screaming from fatal wounds, and Jemma’s stitches had been taken care of, Skye’s adrenaline had taken a hard nosedive. From the moment she’d stood up, she knew she was going to need to sleep soon. She felt a bit woozy but figured it was from the physical exertion from the last few hours, which was why the water would help. She looked down at the front of herself, expecting to see a wound somewhere but she didn’t. When she inhaled a deep breath, she felt the sharp stabbing of pain along the back of her upper right side that had been hitting her off and on throughout the night.

Skye lifted her right arm and looked down and to her side, trying to get a look at what Jemma had seen. When she couldn’t see it, she reached her left hand across her body and, sure enough, there was a hole in her tank top and a wet patch surrounded it, the only place on her shirt that was still wet at that point. Her muscles jumped and twitched angrily when she touched the spot and her fingers landed against something sharp. She inhaled a sharp hiss of pain and saw the blood on her palm and fingers when she pulled her hand back out. “It’s nothing,” She said in a distracted murmur. Her fingers blurred as she looked at them. Skye dropped her hand to her side and swayed slightly in her spot. When her eyes went to Jemma, the double vision was worse. “Just a flesh wound,” She muttered in a somewhat slurred, terrible impression of the Black Knight from _Monty Python and The Holy Grail._ In the next second, Skye felt herself sway and wobble. Her eyes rolled up and everything went dark as she collapsed in an unconscious, motionless heap to the sand.


	3. Try Me, Dude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warnings:** About the same as last week, there's some gore involved with injuries and what not. 
> 
> Thank you guys for all the comments, kudos and love! We're so glad you're enjoying the adventure with us!!   
> Hang onto your butts and enjoy the ride!!   
> <3
> 
> __________________

" _ Skye _ !" Jemma shrieked. She thought everything had calmed down for the night, but she was drastically wrong. She didn't think she had been more panicked even when she was drowning. This was her fault. She should have checked her sooner, but she had Skye work herself and hadn't considered the possibility that Skye was hurt. She should have checked.

  
"Fitz, the light!" Jemma lunged for the medical supplies they had just packed up and hurried to Skye's side. People had begun to look from their fires across the beach, but they had become so numbed by the death and destruction all around them that nobody moved to help. Jemma was the doctor after all.    
  
Fitz finally shone the flashlight down on Skye and Jemma moved her arm up to get a better look. She was bleeding pretty heavily, but it hadn't shown up on her black covering. A surge of adrenaline would have explained Skye's inability to acknowledge it or even feel it full force until she calmed down again. Thankfully Skye had fallen onto her back and Jemma only had to roll her onto her left side so she could take a look. She had no concern for dignity, no one was watching except for her and Fitz anyway, so Jemma tugged her tank top up over the wound, exposing most of her torso in the process. Fitz made an exclamation and covered his eyes, but Jemma didn't care. Her own were zeroed in on the shiny piece of something showing in a cut on Skye's ribcage. She had a piece of shrapnel embedded in her skin and it had had plenty of time to wedge itself in deeper with Skye working so hard to get Jemma out of the plane and even helping her after.    
  
"Keep it steady!" Fitz hadn't been looking and Jemma angrily snarled at him when the light wavered. She needed it for what she was about to do. For the first time taking care of a patient since the crash, Jemma's hands shook as she threaded a needle so she was prepared and got out the scissors. They were mundane tools, but it was what she had. Somehow it felt so much worse having to do what she was about to do to someone she knew. She only knew Skye for a day, but she cared. A lot. But at least she was unconscious, they both had that to be thankful for.   
  
So Jemma worked diligently, yet gingerly to cut out the metal. She bit her lip and fought to keep her vision clear the whole time, even if it meant allowing all her tears to escape so they wouldn't gather in front of her eyes. She had to cut the injury wider with the dull scissors to try grabbing onto the metal piece with them, and when she did, she had a hard time pulling it out. She had to cut around it underneath the skin and was very careful to avoid any muscle. It was going to hurt when she woke up, that was for sure. But she was alive, and she wasn't an Izzy. Jemma could save her. It took longer and more cutting than she would have liked, but Jemma got the bloody piece of airplane out of her side and stitched up the cut she had made. She couldn't just put Skye's sweaty tank top back on over it though, it needed to be bandaged, so she went searching for a spare shirt. She found one that wouldn't be of much use on the island. It was a low cut, thin short sleeve shirt she was sure no woman would want to wear here. So she cut it into strips and tied it together without letting it ever touch the sand once it was out of the suitcase.    
  
Fitz refused to be present when she did it, but Jemma pulled the whole tank top over Skye's head. It was a difficult task while she was laying down, but Jemma managed. She blushed profusely at the whole view she could have had, but she respected Skye's privacy and looked very minimally. She took special care in wrapping her chest with the long cloth. It was difficult to get it under her body each time, but she was able to lift Skye enough to do it. When she was finally satisfied with her work, Skye was lying on her back by the fire, chest wrapped and jacket laying over the top of her to help with the warmth. Jemma was so happy Skye wasn't an Izzy or a JT.   
  
______________    
  
  
"Jemma, you need to sleep." Fitz came up behind her and squeezed her shoulder. Jemma had been kneeling at Skye's side for an hour, hoping she would wake up and Jemma could explain what had happened. But she didn't. It was probably better, Jemma knew, because they should both rest, but she was afraid to go to sleep until she saw Skye's eyes open again.    
  
"You won't be any good to her if you pass out from exhaustion." Fitz reasoned. He made a valid point, and it was the only reason she finally allowed him to tug her into an embrace after getting her to lay down. She cried into his chest for all the people they lost and the trauma they endured. She cried because she was scared they wouldn't be rescued and she cried because she felt so guilty she hadn't noticed Skye's injuries earlier. But Fitz told her they would be ok, and she had no choice but to believe him.  
  
___________

  
Skye could hear seagulls. It was far too bright for her to be inside anywhere. Her brow furrowed as the sounds around her grew louder as she began to come to. She opened her eyes when she realized she also heard waves crashing and found she was on a beach. Her head was pounding worse than any hangover she’d ever had in her life and she had no idea how she’d ended up on a beach. Also she was naked. Skye froze. Why was she naked? No, she had pants on, but...where was her shirt? Skye started to sit up and felt a sharp stabbing pain along her upper right side.  _ FUCK! _ That fucking hurt. The memories flooded back when she reached for her side and touched the sore spot. Plane crash, Jemma drowned, people died, that dude got bit by a shark, there were tons of people to stitch up -  _ Jemma _ . 

Skye forced herself to sit up, not at all caring that she was half naked as her jacket fell to the sand. She looked around the immediate area as her heart started racing, looking for Jemma. Eventually, the panic faded when she spotted Jemma...lying in the sand sleeping curled up with Fitz. Dueling feelings spread their way through her chest; relief that Jemma was indeed alive and breathing (she flinched as she remembered towing the woman to the beach, lifeless, the panic as she did CPR and pounded on Jemma’s chest to bring her back) and irritation that Fitz was wrapped all around her. It was irrational to be upset about it, but somehow she still felt upset. They were friends, the two of them. Obviously they would look out for each other in a situation like this. 

Skye took a few deep breaths, tried not to flinch during each one at the pain in her side. She looked down and found that she had cloth wrapped around her torso. Makeshift bandages. Her thoughts rolled back to the night before, trying to help Jemma while she was patching people up, trying to keep people calm and distracted as they slowly bled out or succumbed to their wounds. She clenched her eyes against the memory of her first good look at JT’s shark bite and the fearful look in his eyes when he’d realized what was happening to him. 

Skye moved to her feet. She wavered for a moment before she felt steady enough to move. She headed down the sand toward the water’s edge. She sat back down and pulled off her boots. Her pants came next and then she climbed to her feet again and went into the water up to her ankles. The somewhat chilled water was a sharp contrast to the heat the sun was beating down on the beach. She crouched and scooped up handfuls of it, splashed her face, cringing from the sting of the saltwater as she tried to clean the dried blood off the left side of her face. When she opened her eyes again in the shallow surf, she looked out and saw...she couldn’t describe the sight. Ghastly? It seemed appropriate. 

There were still some bodies floating in the water. There were suitcases, chair seats, random objects. Out in the water she could see part of the tail of the plane still sticking out above the waterline. A shudder rolled through her spine as she remembered their last moments in the tail while Skye was trying to cut Jemma free. How long had they been on the beach so far? She glanced at her watch on her left wrist but it was useless since it was still set to LA time in preparation for landing at home. Covering her forehead, Skye squinted upward. The sun wasn’t high enough in the sky for it to be noon. Down the beach to her right, Skye spotted Coulson and Bobbi, one of the other pilots, pulling bodies out of the water with Mike and another man’s help. On the shore nearby, she saw Ace and felt relieved that both Mike and Ace had made it out alright. 

Skye looked back out into the water. There were suitcases among the things. It struck her that there could be many things in those bags that might help Jemma take care of the people lying still wounded but patched up from last night. She looked down the beach to her left and saw the sleazeball that had been hitting on her before Jemma rescued her on the plane and two other older men dragging bags from the water and looking through them, arguing over who would take what. She frowned and made a mental note of it. She stood up and when she looked back out into the water, one of the bags she saw floating in the deeper waves was her own blue suitcase with a multi colored scarf tied around its handle. Skye’s gun was in that bag. She glanced to her left again and realized she didn’t want anyone getting their hands on that bag. She also knew there were supplies in it that could really help Jemma with taking care of the others. 

With reluctance but resignation, Skye took a deep breath, gingerly touched her aching side and then continued out further into the water. She almost screamed at the pain that rushed through her side when she finally dove into a wave when the water was deep enough. Grinding her teeth together, Skye swam. Her muscles were stiff and sore. Her stomach was empty and gurgling. She needed drinkable water badly. But Skye kept swimming. Eventually she managed to drag 3 different bags ashore to where her jeans and her boots were piled. 

Breathing heavily, Skye tugged her jeans back on over her hips, pulled the zipper and buckled the button into place. She touched her side again and frowned. She couldn’t see it, but she’d managed to pop two of the stitches while swimming, lifting and lugging things to the beach. She sat down in the sand, her knees bent and her arms resting on them as she tried to catch her breath and calm her pulse. 

Jemma came to with a slight ringing in her ears and she scrunched up her nose when she felt the sand against her face and every other part of her. Jemma never liked the beach. It was dirty and smelled too strongly of salt. She just laid there uncomfortable for a few moments, going over everything that had happened the night before. When she finally got to the part about Skye collapsing, Jemma shot up. Luckily Fitz didn't wake, so Jemma wouldn't be bothered to lay back down.    
  
Her eyes shot to where she had left Skye by the fire, which was now just a blackened pile of embers in the sand. Her pulse quickened and she could feel it pound in her temples when she didn't immediately locate Skye. She got up onto her feet and quickly scanned the beach and sighed in relief when she caught sight of her down at the shoreline. Her hair was wet though, and before Jemma even knew why her chest automatically tightened and her feet were moving toward her on their own.    
  
"You're awake." Jemma spoke softly so as not to startle her and her hand rested on Skye's bare shoulder. She could feel the tingle it gave her all the way up her spine and her cheeks automatically reddened remembering how much of Skye she had seen the previous night.

Skye exhaled a deep breath she'd taken and tried her best to ignore the pull below her belly that tugged when she heard Jemma’s voice and felt the touch. Squinting, she looked over at Jemma and gave her what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "Thanks to you, Doc," she lifted her right elbow up without realizing that a couple of her stitches had popped so the makeshift bandage wasn't just wet with saltwater but with a new stain of blood. "Thanks for the patch up. How's your head?" she asked, still somewhat breathless from gathering the items in the pile that sat a few feet behind her next to her boots in the sand. 

"It feels like a railroad spike was hammered into it, but I'll live." Jemma joked. She was trying to make light of everything, but it wasn't working and her joke died on the wind.

"You're bleeding though, you should let me take a look. I did a lot to it last night." Jemma grimaced and lowered herself into the sand on Skye’s right side. Now that she got a good look at her she could tell that her bandages were saturated as well. "Did you go in the water? You shouldn't be going swimming in your condition!" Jemma fussed. She raised Skye's arm and only slowed down when she realized she'd have to undress her to take care of it again, and she wasn't asleep this time.    
  
After a second of brainstorming how to make Skye comfortable, Jemma unbuttoned her shirt and pulled it from her shoulders, leaving her in the low cut, white tank top. It felt odd to have so much skin showing anywhere but home, but they were in unusual circumstances. "Here, you can hold this over your chest." Jemma offered.

Skye tried not to let the image of Jemma dead underwater in the plane infiltrate her thoughts again but failed. She opened her mouth to explain why she'd had to go in the water but a grunt of pain escaped instead when Jemma pushed her arm up.  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and when she opened them again, Jemma was thrusting her button down shirt at her to cover herself. A witty little joke about stripping died on the tip of her tongue when she looked over at Jemma and spotted a patchwork of dark purple bruises poking out of the top rim of Jemma’s low cut tank top. Skye was left staring at the marks, they were the ones she'd made by banging repeatedly on Jemma's chest with her fist in her wild desperation to make Jemma breathe again. It struck Skye that Jemma had been dead less than a full day ago and her biggest concern at the moment was fussing over the fact that Skye shouldn't be swimming.

Jemma pulled the tiny sewing kit out of her pocket while she held out the shirt, but when Skye hadn't taken it or said anything by the time Jemma wrenched it out of the tight pocket at her waist, her eyes moved to Skye's face to see what was wrong. They were clouded over, deep in thought, but they weren't looking at her face. They were focused intently at Jemma's chest and blood rushed to her face, but then she looked down and realized the reason she'd been staring wasn't what she originally thought. The pain from her head injury and the stress of everything that had happened distracted her from even noticing the dark bruises on her sternum. She'd gathered when she woke up that Skye had probably performed CPR on her, but she didn't think until then that it had been difficult. Clearly, Skye had had to use more force than normal to bring her back.   
  
Jemma sighed and gently rested the shirt in Skye's lap. She grabbed for her hand and brought it to herself, pressing Skye's palm against the bruising just under the neck of her tank top.    
  
"Do you feel that?" Jemma pressed her hand on top of Skye's to hold it in place over her chest, where she would be able to feel the quick, nervous thumping. "My heart is beating because of you. I'm alive."

Skye tensed a moment when Jemma pulled her hand to her chest. She felt a bit of heat in the tops of her ears and she felt her own heartbeat race a bit faster when she felt the steady thump of Jemma’s heartbeat under her palm. She glanced up at Jemma but as soon as Jemma said that last part, she dropped them quickly again. "It should have never stopped to begin with," she said to her lap. Maybe she had brought Jemma back, but she'd also let her die in the first place. She could still hear Fitz's shrill accusations in the back of her mind while she'd been frantically beating on Jemma's chest. She picked up the shirt from her lap but didn't pull her other hand away from Jemma's heartbeat just yet.

"Did you crash the plane?" Jemma asked the absurd question, but Skye would know Jemma didn't actually think she did because of the small smile. "Did you unlatch the overhead compartment and drop all those suitcases on me?" Jemma squeezed Skye's hand on her chest and rested her other on Skye's wrist. "Then you have nothing to be sorry for. You saved my life." She assured her. There was no reason, in Jemma's opinion, that Skye should feel guilty about anything that had happened. She'd acted selflessly and did everything in her power to help as many people as she could.

Skye felt her emotions pull a couple of different directions. She didn't crash the plane or dump luggage on Jemma, but she still felt tremendous guilt for what happened. She also felt a warm spark that raced from her hand when Jemma squeezed it, up the length of her arm and down her back. She nodded to let Jemma know she heard her and then cleared her throat again. She hesitated but pulled her hand away so she could turn and pull her own suitcase closer. "You, uh, see those guys further down the beach to my left?" She asked without looking that way. "The sleazeball guy and his buddies?" She figured she'd give it that description so Jemma would know she was looking for the guy that had been hitting on her on the plane the day before.    
  
While she let Jemma get a look at what they were doing, Skye unzipped her bag, and opened it just enough to grab the handle of her first aid kit. The kit was no laughing matter. It was heavy duty and had materials packed in it that could help multiple people. She also had stashed it full of over the counter medications (aspirin, imodium, pepto, allergy tablets,  cold/flu, saline nasal spray, etc). Skye had been travelling for a number of months and she'd been in some close scrapes during them so her first aid kit was always fully stocked and restocked for all measures possible for a worst case scenario situation. This seemed like just the time to break into it. It was a bit much, sure, but Skye did have that fear of falling out of the sky, so. She held the kit out to Jemma after zipping her suitcase shut. "I saw my bag in the water. Didn't want them to get this and keep it for themselves," she said.    
  
"This is perfect." Jemma unzipped the first aid case and sifted through the contents. It was everything they needed and more. She had no idea why Skye would carry such extensive first aid in her bag, but she wasn't about to question it, because whatever her reasons were, it ended up being useful. Maybe she had known conditions weren't fantastic in Indonesia, who knew, but Jemma was grateful.

Skye pointed over her shoulder to the other suitcase and a metal flip lock case she had also pulled from the water. "That one," She indicated the metal case, "has hunting knives in it." She told Jemma. There was still more to pull from the water and she was sure there was a lot in the tail they could use if they could swim out to it.  
  
"Knives?" She questioned. She looked back at the three down the coast. She was starting to put things together in her head and she didn't like it. "That's probably what they're looking for. The older man was telling a hunting story quite loudly and proudly in the terminal and he's wearing a camouflage jacket." Jemma deduced. "I'm not sure I want that bunch to have weapons. I could use one for surgery though." Jemma shook her head as she started undoing the wrap around Skye's chest.

Skye lifted her right arm and put her hand to the back of her head so she could keep the limb out of Jemma's way. She kept her other arm up to make unwrapping easier and when she was able, she held the shirt Jemma gave her up to cover her chest. She wasn't really all that worried about exposing herself, honestly. It wasn't a situation where she had much of a choice and it was only momentarily before she was covered again with the shirt. She looked down the beach briefly and nodded. "You heard that story too, huh? About the boar hunting?"    
  
Skye didn't care about the fact that she'd taken the man's case of knives.  She wasn't taking them for the selfish reason of having an advantage. She took them because she wanted the group of them to have whatever supplies were useful for their survival and wouldn't come at a price of trying to get them off of Sleazeball and his buddies later. "I know you don't want me swimming, but there's more out there and I don't want them to take everything for themselves." Skye looked over at Jemma. She wanted to believe a rescue operation had their coordinates and would find them soon but she made herself assume that no help was on the way; worst case scenario and all. "We're only going to survive this if we stick together," she said.    
  
Jemma knew she wasn't going to be able to prevent Skye from helping the group in her own way, just like she wouldn't be stopped the previous night. It wasn't healthy for her own body, but Jemma knew Skye didn't care. She sighed in acknowledgement as she added two sutures to the wound where Skye had ripped them.    
  
"At least bring someone with you. The copilot wasn't injured, maybe you could ask her?" Jemma suggested. "If you keep popping your stitches it will never heal." She tied off the second knot and snipped the thread with the scissors. There hadn't been anything different needle wise than she had already made herself, so she had used the original until she could take a full inventory of the first aid kit. She did, however, dump three little pills from the bottle of over the counter pain medication and she pulled Skye's hand to her, palm up, so she could give them to her without losing any to the sand. It wasn't much, but it would help.   
  
The thought of rescue was already on Jemma's mind as well. She wasn't a geographer, but there were no islands she knew of on their route. She had no idea how off course they were, but she had a feeling that if they were going to be rescued soon, it would have probably happened already. The sun told her it was about noon wherever they were, so someone should have come if they knew where they were.

Skye flinched, her face muscles tightening as Jemma worked but she kept the rest of herself perfectly still. There were only a couple stitches to replace and Skye was pretty damn glad she had been unconscious last night when Jemma had patched her up so she didn't remember feeling it. She felt an extra wallop of guilt since she knew all those stitches in Jemma's forehead had to be much more painful than the measly two stitches she just sewed into Skye.    
  
She looked down into her palm when Jemma dumped the pills in. She thanked Jemma for them. Her mouth and throat were dry but Skye leaned her head back and tossed them as far toward the back of her mouth as she could and managed to dry swallow them.  She nodded and turned her gaze back over to Jemma's face. "I'll ask her," she said. "And see if anyone else is able to," it was the best compromise she could make, given the circumstances. 

"I would go with you, but I have to take care of the injured." Jemma avoided eye contact as she said it. She was the worst liar on the planet though and it was obvious that wasn't the only reason. "...and I'm afraid." Jemma was ashamed to admit it because Skye was going back in after no time at all.    


Skye wasn't the one who'd drowned. She reached her right hand out and settled it on Jemma's arm. "I wouldn't ask you to go back into the water after that," she said to let Jemma know she understood. Hell, her worst fear of falling out of the sky happened. Skye was pretty sure if a rescue plane came for them, they were going to have to knock her out if they intended to put her on it.   
  
"How come I wasn't invited to the party?" Ward smirked and wandered closer. He made a show of looking up and down both of their bodies, Jemma in the hardly concealing tank and Skye's torso only covered by Jemma's top in the front. He nodded in appreciation as he looked them over and it made Jemma uncomfortable enough to cross her arms over her chest, so she could only imagine how Skye felt.   
  
Sleazeball's voice made Skye stiffen. Holding the shirt tighter to her chest, she clenched her jaw and pushed up to her feet. She turned to face the man and stepped closer to him in order to cut him off from approaching the bags and, more importantly, from getting anywhere near Jemma. "Something I can help you with...?" She didn't know his name. she didn't want to know his name. she wanted him to stop leering at either of them and go rejoin his pack of hyenas.    


Jemma stared at Ward with discontempt until Skye got up and got in between them. For the first time Jemma noticed scars on Skye's back. There were several, healed cuts facing various directions at random places, from her shoulder blades to the small of her back. They weren't new and definitely not from a recent injury. They were well worn and moderately faded from time. She hadn't seen them last night with her minimal light or even just then with her hyperfocus on Skye's more current wound. But she did now and she stared at them, almost forgetting about Ward until he spoke again.   
  
"Looks like you found my friend's bags." He nodded toward the small pile Skye had going and took a step toward them, but Skye shifted and got in his way again. "Come on now, don't be fussy." He had an amused grin on his face, like it was funny to him that Skye was attempting to get him to leave empty handed. He must have been used to getting what he wanted.   
  
"So are you two a couple or something? You were on the plane together." He got sidetracked from the bags, but only because he thought it wouldn't be much trouble to take them and he would enjoy messing with them a little.   
  
Jemma felt her heart thump out of her chest when Ward suggested it. She hadn't had the time to actually think it or wonder if that was what she wanted, but it wasn't a bad thought. Except for the fact that Ward seemed entertained by the fanciful idea.    


Skye clenched her jaw but said nothing to his initial attempts to get under her skin verbally. She cut off his path to the bags every time he attempted to position himself closer to them. One of Skye's favorite things about her stature and gender was that they made people underestimate her abilities. Skye was just fine with that. This guy wasn't getting a hand on either of them or the bags.

Though she hadn't looked back at Jemma when he asked if they were a couple (and she didn't answer him either), Skye felt her pulse pick up. She forced her mind not to get distracted with thoughts of the possibilities because she didn't want to wind up distracted since she knew he'd take advantage of it. It was when he started talking again that things took a drastic turn.  
  
"Because it isn't fair you're over here all by yourselves." Ward's cocky grin got even bigger. "I'd be happy to give the two of you a good time." He smirked, clearly not knowing what was good for him. He leaned some to get a look at Jemma still sitting on the ground past Skye, and nodded at her. "You're hot when you don't look like such a prude." He laughed and made a point of staring at places other than her face before he turned back to Skye. "But you, Beautiful-"

Skye reeled back and swung a tightly coiled fist at Ward. She threw all of her available weight behind it. It may not have looked like it would have been much but Skye was fit. She had a small frame, sure, but it was covered in mostly muscle and she knew how to fight. She didn't even flinch as her fist collided with Ward's nose with a sickening crunch. His nose immediately started gushing blood as his head swung back with the jolt.    
  
He wasn't prepared for it at all. At the same time, Skye wasn't prepared for how angry she actually was. It wasn't just Ward, it was everything, all the emotion she had been compartmentalizing had rushed to the surface when Ward had made those stupid comments and leered at Jemma like that. 

"Skye!" Jemma was startled and frightened when she swung at him. She didn't know Skye could fight and when she saw Ward's face after she hit him, she was afraid Skye was going to get much worse in return.

Skye didn't even hear whatever expletives Ward shouted next. He yelled something at her and lunged like he was going to dodge around her to the bags, but Skye was quicker. She hooked the back of his legs at the same time that she curled her fingers and swung the heel of her hand so forcefully at his solar plexus it knocked the wind out of him before he'd fully landed on his back in the sand. With only one hand to punch, Skye dropped down across his stomach and swung repeatedly. 

"Skye, stop it!" Jemma shouted. She got to her feet and made like she was about to move to break it up, but she didn't know how and wasn't about to manhandle Skye when she was hurt. Ward was an awful person and Jemma was glad Skye was trying to defend her dignity, but she also knew she was going to have to take care of Ward after, because she wouldn't feel right if she neglected anyone medical care. Even if he was a douchebag. When Skye reeled her fist back to lay into him, Jemma saw fresh blood on her rib cage and tried not to let frustration for her bubble up over the concern. 

Skye got in three good punches (one to his left eye, one to his left cheekbone and one to his disgusting mouth that split his lip) before a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind and pulled her off. It was the co-pilot and Coulson was hot on her heels, placing himself between Ward and the others as Ward sputtered, spit up blood and raged while struggling to his feet.

"Break it up!" Bobbi grunted as she pulled the woman off of him. She had no idea what had happened. All she saw was a fight break out down the beach, but based on the fact that the woman was topless and beating up the man with only one hand, she figured he had instigated it without knowing what he was getting into.    


Skye knew it was irrational and she knew she was wound up about more than just Ward being a sleaze, although his comments about Jemma had sprung everything else loose. She struggled against Bobbi’s hold on her even as Bobbi struggled to make sure the shirt didn’t jar loose.   
  
"Jemma, what the hell happened?" Bobbi recognized Jemma Simmons, the doctor, as the one witnessing the fight. Coulson restrained Ward until he stopped protesting and gave up, sulking off to lick his wounds, and mostly his pride, after being beaten by a woman with one arm to work with.    
  
Jemma rushed to Skye and Bobbi, grabbing onto Skye's right arm to help her cool down. "He made unwanted advances." Jemma growled at his back as she told Bobbi, who nodded. She made eye contact with Skye and pointedly glanced at the bag with the knives before she made a decision. "And he was after those bags. He's been collecting supplies and he was going after that bag. There are knives in it and we don't want one person to have all the weapons." She explained.

It wasn’t until Jemma grabbed her arm that Skye’s fist unfurled from the tightly clenched ball she was gripping it into. She ground her teeth tight when Jemma mentioned the unwanted advances but slowly started to catch her breath. When Jemma locked eyes with her, Skye felt reluctant to tell anyone just yet about the knives. How were they supposed to know who to trust not to go on a power trip if in possession of them? It didn’t matter, though, Jemma made the decision. 

Coulson kept an eye on Ward’s retreating form. He glanced between Jemma and Skye and then looked at the box Jemma indicated. He ran a hand over his face and exhaled a sigh. “Okay,” First he looked at Skye. “If Bobbi lets you go, are you going to behave?” 

“I’m not a child,” Skye murmured. Coulson arched his eyebrows. Skye rolled her eyes. “Yes, fine.” She said. Coulson nodded to Bobbi to release Skye. 

“I understand why you didn’t want to let him take the weapons,” Coulson spoke up. He glanced down the beach. “We’ve been watching them all morning while working further down the beach to…” He cleared his throat so he didn’t have to say ‘ _ pull bodies out of the water _ .’ “That doesn’t mean we can turn this into  _ Lord of The Flies _ .” He sighed and looked at Jemma. “If one of us,” He pointed between Bobbi and himself, “goes with you, Doctor, would you feel comfortable taking at look at his injuries?” He pointed over his shoulder toward where Ward was sulking off. 

“If she’s going over there, I’m going too,” Skye said right away. 

Jemma looked back and forth between Skye and Ward walking down the beach and worried her lip between her teeth. She didn't want to pick and choose who she was going to help, but she also didn't want Skye to come with her if she was just going to cause more trouble.    
  
"I'll go with Bobbi after I fix up Skye.  _ Again _ ." Jemma stared Skye in the eyes as she spoke with a harsh firmness. "You need to calm down." She grabbed Skye's arm and took charge. She wasn't mad  _ at _ Skye, but she was frustrated she couldn't seem to keep her in one piece.   


Skye’s eyes widened. “You can’t-,”   
  
"Sit." Jemma pointed. She was taking no arguments and set up her sewing needle again. "If you keep tearing it open I'm going to have to cut away the edge of the skin to give you more stitches. It could get infected!" She was frowning and was clearly upset. She just wanted to keep her safe and sutures were how she could do that. But she couldn't do that if Skye refused to let herself heal.

Skye grumbled as she sat down when Jemma ordered it. She slowly clenched and unclenched her fist, trying to shake out the stiffness from mangling her knuckles on Ward’s face. She lifted her hand again after a moment, bent her arm and rested her hand on the back of her head to get her arm out of the way again. She frowned as she turned her eyes downward as Jemma continued scolding her. She was quiet for a long few moments. “You should go over there with more than one person.” She said. “There are-,” Skye cut off, biting her lip after hissing in pain when Jemma worked the needle through her side, for the third time in less than what? Twelve hours? She grimaced. “There are at least three of them,” She went on as she forced herself to stay still. “You can’t go over there practically alone.” She didn’t even know if Bobbi could fight. What if Bobbi couldn’t fight? Jemma would be going in there alone - what if they tried to leverage her for the knives, or something worse? Skye couldn’t let that happen, nope. 

"I'll be fine, Skye. I promise." Jemma sighed as she tied off the knot on the single stitch. She sat back on her heels and put her sewing kit back in her pocket. She rummaged through the new first aid kit for a few seconds before coming up with some gauze pads and tape. She secured one over the stitches on Skye's side, letting her hands linger a little longer than necessary, and then handed her the original black tank to put on. It was better than walking around with just the bandage around her chest.    
  
"We haven't turned to anarchy yet." Jemma sat back when she was done with her work and satisfied Skye's wound was taken care of. "That guy may be an arse but he's just a person, and so are the other two. We were all in that airport yesterday and weren't threatened by each other. The quicker we are to treat them as an enemy the quicker they'll be to turn into exactly that." Jemma explained softly. Her frustration had lessened considerably and she was now mostly trying to comfort Skye.    


Skye frowned. She knew how to read people. She didn’t have to be face to face with them. When she’d seen them pulling things from the water and taking only what they thought had value all for themselves she’d had a terrible feeling about them in her gut. The bad vibe had only increased when Ward paid them a visit. Skye also was privy to the information that there were dangerous people on the plane. Anyone of them could be one of those people who’d been looking for Skye and Miles. 

She pulled the tank top over her head and pushed her right arm through it slowly before she dropped the other shirt in her lap, quickly shoved her left arm through the armhole and tugged the shirt down. She could wear it for now until she could wring out and dry one of the other shirts in her suitcase. She was still frowning when she looked over at Jemma and held her shirt back out to her. “I don’t want anything to happen to you,” Enough had already happened to them both. She couldn’t just sit here while Jemma went over there after Skye was the one who’d kicked over the hornet’s nest. 

"And I'm glad for that." Jemma smiled. She took the shirt back, but cringed at the small blood stain on the shoulder where Skye had bled on it. She didn't like to think about Skye's blood anywhere but inside her body, but they hadn't gone through suitcases and found proper outfits for everyone yet, and she wasn't going to go digging through someone else's things and picking anything out. So she put it back on and buttoned it up completely except for the very top one. She didn't want to give Ward any ideas.    
  
"But I'll be safe. Bobbi will come with me. You can watch from back here and come running if I call. There are more of us than them, if I really need help I'll have it." Jemma affectionately patted the top of Skye's head as she got up. It was weird, but it also felt like something only a friend would do and not a doctor. "Can you agree to that?" Jemma asked. She held out her hand to help Skye get up.

Despite the affectionate little pat on the head, Skye kept frowning. She glanced down the beach for a long moment. “Doesn’t sound like you’re giving me a choice.” she said as she let Jemma help her up. She didn’t like it and she couldn’t make herself pretend to like it. She was exhausted. Jemma was about to go somewhere that she didn’t think was safe and she was going with someone Skye didn’t know well enough to trust. Was it overkill, to feel that protective of Jemma? Maybe. Skye wasn’t going to apologize for it, not after what had happened over the last twenty-four hours. 

"Come on, let's get this over with." Bobbi stepped in when she felt the two were almost finished bickering. The more time they spent on Ward the less time they had for tasks of actual importance.    
  
"Stay." Jemma joked, pointing at the ground by Skye's feet. So maybe she had built up to the joke with the sit and the pat on the head. What was a little fun between friends? Even if Skye was a we-just-met-yesterday-but-you've-saved-my-live kind of friend. She grinned and waved as she dipped to grab the first aid kit and walked alongside Bobbi down the shoreline to the other side of the wreckage where Ward and his friends were staying. They went silent and kept their heads down as they passed it as a sign of respect for the dead they had not yet managed to get out of the plane.

Skye made a face at the dog-related joke. There was a part of her that was somewhat irritated that first aid supplies had to be wasted on Ward, which was just another notch of something to feel guilty about since it was her lack of self control that caused the injuries. She paced back and forth for a moment. Coulson watched her. Bobbi and Jemma made it twenty yards before Skye started walking down along the beach. Coulson let her get almost to the wreckage before he stopped her from going any farther. So Skye was left to pace back and forth while watching from, she felt, too far away to do anything at all if something bad happened.    
  
"Coming back for more, Sweetheart?" Ward grinned when he noticed Jemma enter his domain. Bobbi kept her jaw set but didn't say anything. She was there to protect Jemma and didn't want to start a fight unless she had to.    
  
Jemma took some satisfaction in how strange his voice sounded. She had probably broke his nose and she was going to have to set it, which would be painful. She didn't particularly care with this patient.    
  
"I'm here to give you medical care and that's it." Jemma approached where he was sitting on a stack of flat suitcases and nursing his bloody nose with someone's sweater. It was a waste, just like him. 

Yeah, down the beach, Skye was pacing like an angry bulldog. Which would have been funny with Jemma’s little joke if it wasn’t for the fact that she was so worried about what was going to happen while Jemma was over there. When she saw Ward reach for Jemma she moved to run but Coulson stopped her again.    
  
"Your girlfriend doesn't seem to like you being over here." Ward chuckled and nodded his head to gesture down the beach. Jemma turned her head to look and she didn't need to see Skye's face clearly to know she wasn't happy. "Why don't you take  _ care _ of me, huh?" Ward asked in a suggestive tone. His hand stretched out and caught Jemma's arm and tugged her so the space between them was diminished.   
  
"Hey! Hands off, buddy." Bobbi made a fist and Ward let go and held his hands in the air, but they could both tell he was just amused.    
  
"What? The good doctor can't fix me up from over there." He pretended like he hadn't had ulterior motives and Jemma's blood started to boil. With no warning, since she was close like Ward wanted, she reached toward his face, grabbed his septum with her thumb and the inside of her pointer finger, and snapped it back into place. Ward yelped indignantly and smacked her hand away. He handled the pain like a wimp compared to everyone else Jemma had treated and she rolled her eyes.    
  
"Your nose is fixed." Jemma wore her own smirk. She looked his face over from a good distance and found what she needed in the first aid kit. She took a single piece of butterfly bandage, cut off an inch of it, and stuck it just over Ward's eyebrow where Skye's knuckles had split his skin. "There, right as rain." Jemma glared at his stupid smile and turned to Bobbi to let her know she was finished.   
  
"I hope you'll come back and visit!" Ward called as they started to leave.   
  
"In your dreams!" Jemma finally engaged and shouted back now that they were leaving.   
  
"Oh, you will be Sweetheart, don't you worry!" Jemma cringed and a shiver ran up her spine at what he was suggesting and Bobbi rose an eyebrow at her, as if asking if Jemma wanted her to go hit him. Jemma shook her head and they walked back to the "good" side of the beach.

Skye clenched her jaw from what she could hear of the conversation. She balled her fists at her sides but waited, as patiently as possible, for Jemma and Bobbi to finish making their way back. Her eyes landed on Jemma’s as soon as she was close enough, after she’d let them roam all the way over Jemma from head to toe, just to be sure she was alright even though she looked perfectly fine. She arched her eyebrows slightly to silently ask if she was alright. 

"It went as planned." Bobbi answered Skye's unasked question when she saw it. Now that her escorting duties were done, she parted ways from the other three to get back to helping everyone sort through bags. Coulson turned to the two of them and after also giving Jemma a quick once over (not in an uncomfortable way like Ward did), he asked them if they could continue being the two to take care of the injured. Jemma gladly took the job and she was sure Skye would too, since she seemed apt to stay glued to her side.    


Skye would have preferred to get the answer from Jemma but she gave Bobbi a grateful nod all the same when she received the answer before Bobbi went on her way. 

"I also think the both of you should each have a knife. It's more dangerous to keep them all in one place to be stolen than to evenly distribute them among the people who seem to be leading." Coulson suggested. He opened the case and offered them each a choice.   
  
"I think that's a good idea." Jemma hadn't liked the idea of one person having all the knives, no matter who it was, so this was a better way to go about it. She picked a short, slender blade she could use for cutting skin for medical care and attached the sheath to her belt. It felt strange to carry a weapon on her person at all, but she knew it would make Skye more comfortable. She didn't know if that worried her or made her feel safe under her protection.

Skye definitely thought it was a good suggestion. She waited for Jemma to pick out a knife that would be good for medical and surgery things. Skye, however, picked out a kabar hunting knife. It was a 12” knife with a 7” blade with a clip point shape. She hooked the sheath to her belt and told Coulson she’d bring him an update after they checked on the injured - which, yeah she was definitely intent on staying with Jemma if she had any say in it. 

"You would have enjoyed it. I got to reset his nose and he whined like a baby. The creepy sexual comments were probably to heal his fragile ego." Jemma chuckled as they headed back to their section of the beach.

Skye couldn’t help but smile a little bit at the story. “Yeah, well, can’t say I’m surprised at all that he’s a whiner,” She offered a half smirk as she moved to pick up her own suitcase since Coulson was taking the knife box and the other case. “I, um...I’m sorry you had to go and patch him up, though.” And that was the only part of it she was sorry about. But all the same, she was sorry. 

"You don't need to apologize." Jemma assured her with a sigh. She knew there was something between them even in the airport, but the crash seemed to amplify it by a hundred. Skye didn't want to leave her alone and Jemma honestly wasn't 100% comfortable unless she was near. The only people she really knew were Skye and Fitz. She said she still believed people were people, but it started to waver when she thought about what Ward might have done if Bobbi wasn't there. The rules were different here and Jemma knew that if they weren't rescued soon people would start going into survival mode and there wouldn't be much that mattered. Like Coulson, she'd read  _ Lord of the Flies.  _   
  
"I'm glad you're protecting me. If I could do the same I would, but the most I can do is help when you get hurt." Jemma looked away from Skye out to the ocean. She knew being a doctor was a valuable skill, but if it came down to it she wouldn't be able to save Skye like Skye had done for her. She wasn't strong like Skye was.

Jemma looked out at the ocean but Skye looked over at Jemma. She liked the fact that Jemma had some measure of faith in people. Skye had faith in some people, but admittedly it was a select few. It didn't stop her from wanting people to live up to specific general moral expectations but she always assumed that humanity, as a whole, would inevitably let her down. She fought her best against these thoughts whenever possible but in this particular situation, there was little wiggle room (at least in Skye's opinion) to hope for the best in regards to Ward and his buddies.    
  
She could see that Jemma was struggling with her thoughts, and she heard what it was Jemma was actually saying, so Skye reached out, wordlessly at first. Her fingers traced down the inside of Jemma’s forearm and over her palm until her palm was against Jemma's and she entwined their fingers together. She gave Jemma's hand a firm squeeze and stepped closer to her side. "Don't you dare stand there and think for a second that you aren't an amazing badass, Jemma Simmons," she said. "You turned yourself into a battlefield surgeon in the middle of the night less than three minutes after you came back to life," admittedly, Skye's grip on Jemma's hand squeezed a bit tighter at that last part. "You saved a bunch of people's lives with a sewing kit, pair pairs scissors, a flashlight and some fire," She said. "That's much more than any of the rest of us did." She pointed out.

"Thank you, Skye." Jemma smiled. She stared down at the sand as they walked, but now it was because she wasn't sure how to respond to such a compliment. She was glad that in Skye's eyes she wasn't dead weight. Metaphorically of course, Skye made sure of that. "For everything." She added and squeezed Skye's hand as well. She brushed her thumb over Skye's knuckles and it was another of many reminders that for some reason, Skye wanted to protect her with her life. Jemma didn't know how she earned it or deserved it, but she was determined to do the same for her from here on out.    
  
"Jemma!" Fitz came to a skidding stop in the sand in front of them and it caused a spray of it to get into their shoes. "You have to come, quickly." Fitz was out of breath and Jemma saw a small group of people gathered around one of the injured back at their makeshift camp. Jemma didn't even ask what was happening. She dropped Skye's hand and took off, not stopping until she was down on her knees next to Mace, who clearly had a fever. She knew before she pressed the back of her hand to his forehead, but it was confirmation.   


Skye was close behind, lugging her suitcase as they raced across the sand. She set the case down out of the way but inside the area and moved to wedge in so she could see what was going on.   
  
"What's wrong with him?" Bobbi asked. Jemma ignored her. She cared about her patient right now, not the concerns of everyone else. She lifted his shirt to find the wound site, but froze before she even got to the stitches. There was a large, dark purple bruise and Jemma frantically pulled the shirt the rest of the way up. Almost his entire torso was a dark purple and blue, stemming from the place Jemma had removed a particularly large piece of bent metal. Jemma's eyes teared up and she could tell by the look Mace was giving her that he knew what was coming.   
  
"I'm sorry." Jemma shook her head. "You're bleeding internally. Even if rescue came in an hour you wouldn't get to a hospital in time." Jemma tried to tell him in the least emotional way possible so he would understand, but her voice was cracking.   
  
"Can't you do something?" Someone spoke up, Jemma didn't know who, but it hit a nerve.   
  
"I'm not a surgeon!" She cried. "I'm a doctor and I went through med school, but I'm not a surgeon." Jemma didn't know how to explain that she knew elementary surgery procedures, but she went into more micro ways of healing after that. She wished she knew how to truly operate, but she didn’t. Mace was an Izzy.

Skye knew how bad it was by the way Jemma’s eyes welled. Everything else played out more quickly than Skye was expecting. From the people gathered around shouting, to Jemma’s outburst because of it. Skye felt anger well up in her at the expectation that Jemma could fix all of their ailments on a desert island with a fuckng sewing kit. So she stepped in. 

“Hey, why don’t we all give them some room, okay?” Skye started to disperse the crowd. “Take a walk and let the Doc talk with her patient.” She waited and continued to urge everyone she could away, even Fitz. It wasn’t until the last one was gone that she knelt down next to Mace and Jemma. For a long few moments, Skye just sat there in silence with both of them, one hand resting on Jemma’s knee, the other gently on Mace’s shoulder. 

“H-How…” Mace struggled to speak between groans of pain and labored breaths. “L-long?” He asked. Skye frowned. She knew she couldn’t answer that question so she looked at Jemma and gave her knee a reassuring squeeze. 

"Only a few hours." Jemma said softly. She prodded very carefully along his abdomen, cringing for him when his face contorted. He was swollen and his body cavity was full of blood. In addition, the wound was swollen and a slightly yellow discharge was oozing out of it. There was only one thing she'd be able to do to help him.   
  
"It will be very painful. There's a deep infection and your organs will slowly shut down without the blood flow." Jemma was tearing up as she spoke. Like the others, she couldn't save him, but he wouldn't die as quickly.

Mace groaned and coughed and struggled for more breath every time Jemma pushed along his abdomen. Skye grimaced at Jemma’s time frame for Mace’s life. She squeezed his shoulder gently. Mace reached a shaky hand out and grabbed Jemma’s forearm. He started to murmur, much too quietly to hear, in a strangled voice. When she leaned close enough to him, he took a shallow breath and repeated it, but Skye couldn’t hear what he said. It was, “ _ Please...e-end it.”  _

Jemma's eyes widened and her stomach turned over in her gut. What he was asking for was physician assisted suicide. He was going to die, Jemma had no doubts about that, but she'd never done this. She didn't have any supplies either, it would not be an overdose of medications. If she were to go through with it, it would have to be with her knife. Her hand brushed over it on her belt, but she was horrified she was considering it. It shouldn't have to come to this.   
  
"I can't-" Jemma muttered, shaking her head. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and she pulled away from Mace. 

Skye tensed when Mace grabbed onto Jemma. She strained her ears to try and hear but couldn’t. She frowned at how upset whatever it was made Jemma. “What? Can’t what? What did he say?” She looked from Jemma to Mace. “What did you-,” 

“ _ P-Please… _ ” Mace grunted through his tightly ground teeth.   
  
"I- I can't!" Jemma probably sounded hysterical, and it was because there was a raging battle in her head. Do no harm, that was the oath she swore, but could she really sit there and feel like she was helping when his eyes bore into hers, begging her to do it? Her hand brushed over the knife again and she even got to pulling it out of the sheath before her conscience attacked her again.    
  
"He- he wants me to-" Jemma couldn't even say it. She just looked at Skye and then down to her knife and to Mace's pleading eyes. She couldn't make this decision.

Skye’s eyes darted between Mace and Jemma. They widened when Jemma grabbed for her knife and she looked quickly at Mace again. It clicked into place after a moment. “Shit,” she exhaled. She turned her eyes to Mace and tried not to frown. He was clearly in pain and the dude was going to die, no questions about either of those things. Skye took a moment to let the gravity of the situation fully weigh on her. She gave Mace’s shoulder a light squeeze. “Sit tight for a sec, Mace,” she said after she locked eyes with him for just an extra prolonged moment. 

Skye turned to Jemma and moved to stand. She reached for Jemma’s arm and gently took it by the elbow. “Come with me - just for a sec, I promise,” She nodded toward the open beach a few feet away, it was away from Mace and in the opposite direction of where the others had gone. 

"But-" Jemma looked at Mace and back to Skye, but didn't protest when Skye gestured for her to come. She dragged herself to her feet and sheathed the knife. Her hands were shaking and she tried to hold one with the other.    
  
"I can't kill a man." Jemma whispered quietly. She couldn't move her eyes from Mace, even when they stepped away. “But he’s in so much pain.”

Skye glanced past Jemma’s shoulder towards Mace once they stopped, firmly out of earshot of anyone else. Honestly, Skye didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want Mace to have to suffer for however many hours he had left. She watched Jemma’s hands shaking and heard the tremor in her voice. She reached out a hand to Jemma’s waist to bring her closer and put the other one along her cheek and the edge of her jaw to turn it away from Mace. 

“Jem, it’s okay - hey, look at me,” She waited until Jemma’s eyes were on hers. “It’s okay. You don’t have to, alright?” Anything, anything that would stop Jemma from shaking and would keep that look out of her eyes, Skye was willing, even though she didn’t think she was up to the task herself. “You don’t have to do it,” She tried to sound as reassuring as possible. 

Jemma didn't like that look in Skye's eyes. She did that when she made a vow not to leave the plane without her and it had been in her eye when Ward approached them. It was the one where she was about to do something for her that for most people was a bit unreasonable after a first meeting.   
  
"Are you..?" Jemma still couldn't say it. She couldn't admit that he asked her to and she couldn't even ask if Skye was offering to do it for her. It was a terrible thing to have to do and Jemma didn't want to put Skye through even more, but she couldn't do it herself.

Skye didn’t  _ want _ to do it. She didn’t think anyone would (outside of maybe one of Ward’s crew, but that sure as shit wasn’t going to happen) want to do such a thing. She licked her lips and swallowed hard, a sign of her nerves peeking through whatever facade she was attempting to throw into place. “It’s what he wants,” she said. “I’ll do it,” She hesitated a moment, glanced in Mace’s direction and then looked back at Jemma. “I, um...I’m gonna need you to,” She dropped her eyes to Jemma’s collar for a moment. “I need to know how to…” Skye took a slow breath and met Jemma’s eyes again. “So it’s...the quickest way to…”  Look, Jemma wasn’t the only one who had trouble saying it, okay? Skye doubted anyone would have the resolution to be able to handle it, except maybe serial killers or something. Jemma couldn’t do it and Skye didn’t want her to have to do it. So, Skye would do it. Skye couldn’t explain her compulsions to make these promises to Jemma, or her exact reasons for feeling so protective of her. At the moment, she hadn’t had all that much time to sit and ponder over such things. All she could do was take everything at it came at them and do her best to navigate the situation. This was the situation and Skye was the current solution. 

"Oh. Um..." Jemma's eyes went down again. She was ashamed she couldn't do what needed to be done. She hated that Skye was doing all these things for her even if she didn't want to. Jemma didn't understand why, but now was not the time or place to ask.    
  
She ran several scenarios in her head, choosing comfort and quickness of death over cleanliness. It was sick and she was in complete horror at even having to have such thoughts. But eventually she came up with her answer and her eyes met Skye's once again.    
  
"Puncture-" Jemma paused and choked on her words. It felt wrong to discuss a man's death with scientific terms, but it was her best way to cope. "Puncture the carotid artery. He will fall unconscious almost immediately from the blood pressure drop and will bleed out in minutes. After the initial pain he'll be gone." Jemma sniffled and brought her hand up to Skye's neck. One caressed her cheek and with the other she ran her thumb over where the artery was located. "Here." She said quietly.

A patch of gooseflesh rose around the spot Jemma indicated on her neck that would need to be punctured on Mace. It caused a small shudder to roll down her back. She slowly exhaled the breath she was holding and nodded. “Okay,” She said. When Skye had gotten on that plane yesterday, the kind of trouble she was on the lookout for didn’t included beaches, surgeries, mass casualties or mercy killings on the list by any stretch of the imagination. “T-Thank you,” She said. She spotted Fitz a bit down the beach, watching them and looking impatient. She waved him over. “Go take a walk with Fitz for me...okay?” No one else needed to see what was going to happen. Skye’s mind was already reeling with the fact that it was going to happen. She struggled to come up with some way to block the others from witnessing it too, but she could figure that out after she made sure Jemma was away from this spot for this particular moment. Skye didn’t think she could do it if the others were watching. 

Jemma's hands slid down Skye's neck to her shoulders and continued down her arms until she was gripping each of Skye's hands lightly with her own. "Are you absolutely sure?" She didn't want this to be something Skye regretted. She was sure it would haunt her, as it would any sane person, but she didn't want Skye to regret it.

Skye squeezed her hands in return. “Yeah,” she nodded. “I’m sure.” It wasn’t the complete truth. Jemma needed to hear it, Skye needed to confirm it. So she said it. She gave Jemma’s hands another squeeze as Fitz approached and then nodded toward him. “Go. It’s okay. Really.” she assured. 

Skye waited while Fitz walked Jemma back over toward the others. She watched and caught Jemma’s eye a few times when she looked back. She did her best to look as reassuring as possible each time Jemma looked back. Coulson approached shortly after Fitz and Jemma walked away. Skye told him what happened. Coulson started to argue but Skye wasn’t having it.

“But if he’s just going to-,” 

“Coulson, it’s what he wants,” Skye cut him off. “Would you want to spend your last hours on Earth writhing in pain waiting an undetermined amount of time to just...die already?” She snapped quietly at him, making sure no one else would hear her. 

Coulson frowned. “Skye-,” 

“I need a tarp and something that’ll pass for rope so no one else has to see this,” Skye cut him off again. She squared her jaw and stared him down. “If you’re not going to help me with that, get out of my way.” 

They stared each other down for a moment until Coulson put his hands up in surrender and nodded. After some time, he came back with a tarp. Skye had gathered two branches by then that were about five feet tall. She’d grabbed the container of floss from her toiletry bag in her suitcase and had cut and strung multiple long strands together to make the best improvised rope that she could. Coulson helped her string up and place the tarp so she and Mace were blocked from view and Skye waited for him to walk away before she went to kneel above Mace’s head. 

“P-please…” Mace made the plea again. 

Skye nodded. She settled her hands on the sides of his head to steady it and then traced each side of his neck until she found the artery Jemma had pointed out on her own on both sides. “Got a family, Mace?” She asked as she looked down at him. Mace’s brow furrowed but he nodded. “Kids?” Skye asked. She felt the burn in the bridge of her nose as her eyes began to well a bit. 

“D-Daughter,” Mace croaked out. 

Skye clenched her jaw. She took a slow breath through her nose and closed her eyes just a moment and then opened them again. “What’s her name?” 

Mace coughed and Skye turned his head gently so he could spit out a mouthful of blood. She turned his head up again and arched her eyebrows. “C-Casey,” he ground out. 

“Casey? That’s a great name,” Skye smiled as the tears continued to well in her eyes.

Mace’s hand came up and settled over the one Skye had on his shoulder. “T-thank you,” He locked eyes with her. 

Skye sniffled. She pulled her hand form his after she gave it a squeeze. She wiped her cheeks quickly and pulled the knife from its sheath, set it in the sand without looking away from Mace’s face. “Tell me about Casey,” She said. 

Mace began to very slowly ramble about his daughter. “S-she’s...seven,” His voice slurred and was interrupted by coughs here and there. He murmured about what she looked like, her favorite stuffed dog that she took for walks. While he spoke, he closed his eyes. Skye picked up her knife by the handle. She stroked a hand through Mace’s hair and midway through one of his sentences about his daughter, pressed her hand to steady his head and stabbed the knife into the spot where the artery was. Mace let out a grunt that was followed by a long gurgle. Skye pulled the knife out, tears freely flowing down her cheeks by that point. Mace’s eyes popped open and were wide as he stared upward. His body struggled and he gasped for air as the blood rushed out of his neck in spurts. Skye set the knife down and held the sides of Mace’s head. 

It felt like it took hours. About a minute after she stabbed him, Mace was unconscious. His body struggled to keep breathing, choking the whole way. Skye knew there would be blood, but she hadn’t quite been prepared for how much blood. Her first instinct was that she needed to plug the hole and she had to fight it the whole time. It took almost six minutes for Mace’s body to stop struggling. It was another ninety seconds after that before the blood finally stopped seeping out through the large hole in his neck. Skye put her fingers against the opposite side of Mace’s neck and pressed them in. She searched for a pulse but found none. She watched his chest but it didn’t rise. Mace was dead. 

“I’m sorry,” Skye whispered to the emptiness around her. She wiped her face clean, cleaned off her knife and put it back in its sheath on her belt. She didn’t know what else to do so she hurriedly untied the tarp, laid it over top of Mace and tucked it around and under him so it wouldn’t fly away. She felt a swell of nausea sweep over her as Jemma and some of the others began to approach and had to forcefully swallow the bile that hit the back of her throat to avoid retching right then. She blinked away the last of the tears in her vision and took some slow breaths to steady her breathing as she backed a few paces away from Mace’s body. 

Even from afar, Jemma saw the mask over Skye's face. She was trying to be strong, and she was, but she was trying to hide how much what she did bothered her. When Jemma got closer, she stopped walking and picked up to more of a run. Her arms looped around Skye's waste and held her tightly.   
  
"It's okay to cry." She sniffled herself and ran a hand up and down Skye's back. She started to lead them away from everyone else who came to see that Mace was dead. Fitz tried to follow, but Jemma gave him a look that stopped him in his tracks and she and Skye went to the waterfront down the shore a ways on their own.    


Skye knew the others were getting close but she was still looking at Mace’s covered body when Jemma was suddenly wrapped around her. Her muscles tensed and she flinched a bit at the pain in her side. She closed her eyes a moment but her arms didn’t quite circle around Jemma right away. Before she really knew what was happening, Jemma was pulling her away from Mace and the rest of the group.   
  
"I want to try to patch you up in more ways than one." Jemma sighed and sat them both down. "If you need anything you let me know." Without thinking about it, as Jemma's hand rubbed little circles between Skye's shoulder blades, she leaned over and kissed her temple underneath the little injury from the crash. She was going to try her damn hardest to help Skye get through this, just like Skye was doing for her.

Skye felt herself sit down in the sand but she felt like she was miles away from that spot. Her muscles tensed again when Jemma touched her back again. She closed her eyes when the kiss came. There was a tightness in her chest that she couldn’t expel. She clenched her jaw tight and tried to force herself to take a few breaths but nothing seemed to quell the churn in her stomach. Jemma’s touch didn’t comfort her because she felt like she didn’t deserve the comfort. She did something that had to be done, she knew that. It didn’t mean there weren’t mental/emotional consequences. She wanted to tell Jemma that Mace had a kid, or that she felt like she was gonna puke, or even that she didn’t think she deserved to have Jemma sit there and comfort her. 

Instead, Skye leaned back and moved to stand up. She put a hand out to stop Jemma from reaching for her again. “I just…” She shook her head and took a few more steps back. “Alone...I need…” She stammered a bit and kept her eyes as far away from Jemma’s face as possible. “I just need to, um…” Skye hesitated only a second before she turned around and quickly walked in the only direction she really could without hitting any of the others, toward the tree line. 

"Skye," Jemma frantically got up on her feet. Her heart told her to go running after Skye and not let her go into the tree line alone, but her brain told her that Skye would need time to process what had happened and no amount of comfort would help if she didn't. "I'm sorry!" She called after her. She shouldn't have let Skye do it. Jemma was the doctor, she should have sucked it up and done what Mace wanted. Jemma had lost patients before, she should have been more emotionally equipped to do the job, but she wasn't, and she was angry at herself for letting Skye do it for her.    
  
"Give her some time." Fitz startled Jemma with a hand on her shoulder. When she did realize it was him, she twisted around and held onto him for dear life. Somehow she had gone from a plane home from a business trip to a nightmare where mercy killing was a decision that had to be made.    
  
Fitz walked her back to the "hospital" and helped Jemma redress and clean wounds she hadn't gotten to take proper care of the previous night. Once everyone was taken care of, Fitz sat with Jemma at the shore. Jemma kept looking at the trees, hoping Skye would emerge, but she didn't.   
  
"How did we get here, Fitz?" Jemma sighed. None of it made sense. Fitz seemed to shift uncomfortably instead of answering and Jemma knew it meant he knew something. "What?" She asked.   
  
"Planes don't just explode." Fitz shook his head. Jemma's eyes widened at the realization. The thought of terrorism hadn't even occurred to her. But why would someone want to blow up the plane?    
  
"Are you saying you think someone planted a bomb?" Jemma questioned. She glanced around them to make sure nobody was within earshot. If the bomber had lived, he or she could be among them and it wouldn't be best to let them know Fitz was onto them.   
  
"Not a bomb." Fitz shook his head. "A bomb would have just detonated. There was a lurch first, like the power to the engines was compromised. I think the plane was wired for something and whatever it was failed." He explained. It made sense, and Jemma wasn't about to go against his theory when he was the engineer.    
  
"So what do we do about it?"    
  
"Nothing!" Fitz had to check and make sure nobody listened after the brief outburst. "I'm an engineer and you're a doctor, we are not the people to handle terrorism. Let's just focus on getting off this island. Together." Fitz put an arm around her waist and Jemma rested her head on his shoulder, expelling a large sigh.    
  
They sat there for several hours into the late afternoon, quietly enjoying the calm and watching for any boats or planes. It had been almost a full 24 hours since the crash and Jemma knew that they should be here if they had any kind of coordinates of where the flight had lost contact. That meant they would be doing search of the flight path. She was tempted to ask Bobbi how far off course the plane had been. If they hadn't been directly on the flight path, the rescue team locating them would be like a needle in a haystack, or more like a marble in a lake.    
  
Jemma attributed the darkening of the sky to the ending day, but she and Fitz broke their embrace when a low rumble vibrated through their chests. Jemma grew up in England, she knew that sound.    
  
Just as she had the thought, a drop of water landed on the tip of her nose. Fitz looked uncomfortable as the sprinkles started, but within ten seconds a sheet of rain had dropped down on them.   
  
"We need to collect the water!" Fitz shouted. They were reacting fast. Jemma nodded and Fitz ran to gather help. Jemma sprinted to the wounded, laying unprotected in the heavy rain.    
  
"Bobbi, start building shelters out of the wreckage! Use the seats, the tarps, and the survival raft!" Jemma shouted at her as she passed. She grabbed a few others nearby and sent them with Bobbi to dig through the head of the plane and the surrounding area for wreckage and the rafts.    
  
"Skye!" Jemma shrieked into the darkened trees. Without thinking about it, she jumped over tree roots and frantically maneuvered around thick trunks looking for her. The sky lit up above them with electricity and Jemma knew she was standing in a field of targets. "There's a storm, you have to get out of the trees! We need help!" Jemma called. She couldn't see her and she had to wipe wet strands out of her hair so she could see.

Once the rain began, Skye turned herself around and started to head back to the beach. She moved quickly, not quite at a jog but close to it. She made her way back over the thick overgrowth and was about halfway back to the beach when she heard it. Jemma screamed her name and for a moment, Skye froze. The moment after that, Skye was running, full speed, crashing over roots and through hanging vines, cursing herself the whole way for not being around when help was needed. “Jemma!” She screamed as loud as she could over the storm. “GO BACK TO THE BEACH!” She screamed louder. “I’M RIGHT BEHIND-,” Skye cut off as she skidded to a stop at the other side of the tiny clearing in the circle of large trees from where Jemma stood wiping her hair out of her face in the storm. “You…” 

Another bolt of lightning lit up the sky and the thunder was almost directly on top of it as it struck no more than twenty feet behind Skye, in the direction she’d just come from. Skye ducked instinctively as the sound blasted her ear drums. She stumbled forward and looked at Jemma. “ _ GO! _ ” She screamed as she raced toward Jemma to run with her back to the beach. 

"Hurry up!" Jemma shouted. She took a few steps back, but didn't break into a run until Skye caught up. They escaped the trees together and Jemma waved toward the wounded.    
  
Fitz and some others had set up a sort of trough to catch the rainwater and it was already beginning to fill. Four pieces of scrap were positioned in a rectangle and one of the tarps was hung in the middle, collecting rainwater. Bobbi was struggling to keep four pieces of metal upright in the ground with one of the deflated emergency rafts strung across the top over the wounded.   
  
Jemma's eyes scanned the entire beach, determining what needed to be done first. She saw Mike, Ace, and many others all climbing into the head of the plane for shelter. She grabbed onto Skye's tank and pulled her close enough to hear her over a particularly violent clap of thunder. "Help Bobbi keep it steady! I need to get everyone out of the plane, I'll be right back!"

“What, no - Jem, wait!” Skye called after Jemma but she was already off. She looked back over at Bobbi struggling with the deflated raft and cursed to herself under her breath. She turned and ran for the makeshift hospital. She dropped on her knees to the closest of the wobbly pieces of metal and immediately began scooping at thick handfuls of the now soaked and muddy sand. She forced and compacted the sand around the piece of metal until it was as steady as possible with enough of the heavy, wet sand braced around it to keep it in place. She moved to the next one just as one of the others, Trip, came to copy her movements on a third. They worked together to steady the metal pieces. Once they were steady, they used the straps to secure the empty raft to each of the metal pieces. Skye quickly gave out orders. 

“You!” She pointed to the man that came to help steady the metal. 

“Trip!” He pointed to himself and gave her his name. 

“Right, Trip - anything else you can find that can hold water, get it and go bring it to Fitz, over there,” She pointed to Fitz next to his rainwater catcher. Trip nodded and ran off. “Bobbi,” She turned next to Bobbi since Coulson was already working with Fitz and now Trip, to find bottles or anything remotely bowl-like. “Stay with the injured. Anyone that can move without hurting themselves, group them closer together under the raft.” When Bobbi nodded, Skye turned and started running off toward the nose of the plane where Jemma had gone. 

_____________

"I know you're taking shelter from the storm but you have to get out of the plane!" Jemma shouted. The sound was even more amplified on the metal roofing of the plane. She felt like she was yelling at a brick wall. Ward and his friends had started the move into the plane and he, along with about half the other passengers, were sitting in the seats and trying to relax when they should be doing the opposite.   
  
"Not only should you all be out there trying to help collect water, but you're in danger!" Everyone was ignoring her and Jemma's frustration with them was flying. "You're all sitting in a giant metal can during an electrical storm!" Her face was red and she was trying to get her point across. At her last statement, a large majority of them seemed to realize their mistake and stood up, but others weren't convinced.   
  
"Do you want to get a little wet out there or get killed by lightening or die of thirst?!" She finally got the whole group up on their feet and was urgently gesturing for them to get out of the plane. She came after the huge crowd, but when she checked over her shoulder there was still an older man who appeared to be trying to nap.    
  
"Let's go!" She ran back and shook his shoulder, but he waved her off.    
  
"It's getting worse out there!" A scruffy man down the length of the plane yelled. He was standing at the exit made by the breaking apart of the plane and he seemed hesitant to leave while Jemma was still inside. She ignored him and tried again.    
  
"You have to come with us!" Jemma tried grabbing at his shirt and tugging him, but he was stronger and shoved her away like a horse swatting at flies.   
  
"That's enough! He's chosen his own fate!" Before Jemma knew what was happening, a heavy weight hit her waist and she was hoisted up onto the scruffy man's shoulder. She was indignant and angry and she wanted to help the one who refused to come, but he didn't let up despite her continued protests of "put me down"! 

He stepped out of the plane and when he had only taken several large strides in the sand, a crash sounded above them and facing backward, Jemma saw the lightning strike the plane just like she suspected. The close, flashing light and the surprise of the immense wave of sound startled the man carrying her fireman-style and he toppled over, slamming Jemma's back into the sand.

Skye was halfway to the plane in the heavy downpour when people started streaming out of it. Half of them headed back toward the regular camp and Skye shouted orders for them to help out with collecting water and covering the injured while she kept running. Another handful of them went down the beach - Ward’s crew. Skye scanned every face, calling out Jemma’s name as she looked for her. She was still almost thirty yards away when she spotted Jemma…being carried out of the plane by some dude. 

Skye skidded to a stop and blinked. Her mind whirled through possibilities. Had Jemma been hurt? No, she was moving and shouting to be put down. Wait, who the fuck was that carrying her and why the fuck did they pick her up to begin wi- Skye jumped and fell back in surprise at the blinding flash and loud thunderstrike. She pushed up on her elbows and looked for Jemma and the stranger. Her eyes widened when she saw them in the sand. 

“Jemma!” Skye scrambled to her feet and ran again. She kicked up sand accidentally in her rush to get to Jemma and as soon as she was next to them, she was pulling the unknown man off of Jemma. She dropped him in the sand once she saw he was breathing and coughing. And knelt down next to Jemma. “Jem! Hey! Jem, are you alright?” she reached for the sides of Jemma’s face after pushing her hair out of her face. 

"-fine!" Jemma wheezed, trying to catch the breath that had been knocked out of her. Of course it hurt to be dropped and fallen on, but she also looked to the man coughing up sand next to her. "Thanks." She breathed.    
  
"Anytime. I'm Will." He stuck his hand out while they were on the ground and Jemma gave him an awkward handshake, still being soaked by rain.   
  
"Your friend here was trying to get the last guy out, but he wouldn't leave. She wouldn't have left on her own." Will picked up on the daggers being shot at him by Skye, the one who also had a literal knife.

Skye let go of Jemma’s face when she sat up. She frowned again, thoroughly exhausted from...every single thing, really. Her glare shifted from Will over to the plane briefly. She gave Will another side-eyed glance and then turned her attention to Jemma. “Is it safe to go in after it’s been struck?” She asked, unsure if anyone stepping inside after the bolt was gone would be possible or if they’d have to wait. Someone had to check on the idiot that stayed inside. Skye figured it might as well be her. What was one more dead body for the pile, right? 

Skye pulled Jemma's attention again and she was immediately alarmed that Skye seemed to want to go back inside. "After the initial bolt it should be safe, but it could be struck again at any moment. He wouldn't have survived, don't go back in." Jemma frowned and urgently clutched Skye's arm. She wasn't going to lose anyone else to the lightning. She didn't know what they did to piss off Zeus, but in Jemma's opinion, he could sod off.

Skye glanced down at her arm when Jemma grabbed it. She frowned and glanced at the plane. Fine, it could wait until the rain stopped. Might as well. She nodded, briefly glanced at Will and then back to Jemma. “We should get back, help with the water,” She moved to stand and used Jemma’s grip on her arm to help her up. She pulled away and reached out to help Will up. “Thanks for getting her out,” She let go of him as soon as he was on his feet and then turned to head back up the beach. They had to collect whatever water they could while the rain kept up, right?

"This situation is terrible, but I'm very glad for the water." Jemma tried to change the two solemn faces with a silver lining while they trotted back to their main camp. Someone had died, but it had been his own fault and Jemma knew the only way to survive was to look forward.   
  
"Thank the heavens for that!" Will responded immediately. His enthusiasm made Jemma smile and she was glad at least someone didn't seem to be suffering.   
  
When they got back to the wounded, the shelter was still holding up. It was a big raft, so if everyone cramped together tightly enough, they could all escape the rain. They would still be sitting on soggy sand in the chilly weather, but it was better than having rain pour down on their heads.    
  
"We managed to set up two troughs, there's not much else we can do. It seems like it'll be enough for a while if the storm doesn't let up!" Fitz approached them in the rain and led the four of them together to a corner under the raft where there was still some space.

Skye couldn’t bring herself to be jovial. She was still thinking about the kid somewhere back in the states she’d left fatherless this afternoon. She remained quiet as they returned, while Fitz ushered them back. She excused herself so she could go to grab her suitcase. She grabbed the unopened box of protein bars out of it and then made sure it was securely locked. She set it nearby one of the corners under the raft with some other bags and hooked the keys back into her pocket. There were twenty-five bars inside. Skye grabbed four of them and then gave the box to Coulson and asked him to pass them out. 

When she returned to the corner where Jemma, Fitz and Will were sitting. She sat down, though not as close to them as they were seated and silently handed each of them one of the bars. She tucked her own into her back pocket, not really feeling all that hungry even though her stomach was very empty. She bent her legs at the knees and rested her arms along the tops of her knees as she looked around at everyone situated under the somewhat flimsy version of shelter they’d created and started thinking about the very daunting task of figuring out how they were going to protect themselves from the elements while they were stuck here. 

"You're an angel." Jemma smiled and tried to thank Skye for the food, but she was in a far off place and Jemma didn't press her for a response. Her time thinking had been rudely interrupted and Jemma would do whatever it took to help her, even if that meant leaving her alone. So she made some small talk with Will and Fitz as they ate their protein bars. It almost made Jemma sick since it was the first thing she'd really had to eat since the crash, other than the bite of one the previous night. She was grateful for Skye, but not just because she had food.    
  
"So what kind of doctor were you? I mean are you." Will asked, but found he was stumbling over his words. Jemma noticed his use of the past tense and cringed. He couldn't have already given up hope of escape could he? Maybe it was just a slip up.   
  
"Biochemist for the CDC." Jemma answered between bites. She was eating it very slowly, taking tiny bites and chewing it until there was nothing left. She didn't know how much food had been salvaged from the plane and didn't know how much would be rationed once the chaos died down, so she ate it like it was her last meal.    
  
"That's really impressive! You seem way too young to be a doctor, isn't that a lot of school?" Will questioned. Jemma knew it was small talk but she was willing to indulge. Anything was better than thinking about Mace and the man that had just been electrocuted, along with everyone else they had lost already.    
  
"I may have been a bit ahead. Well, a lot ahead. I graduated high school at fifteen and got started on med school right away." Jemma liked to talk about things before. She was proud of what she had accomplished and it made her feel like they hadn't lost as much. She was still a biochemist for the CDC, not  _ was _ .

Though she wasn’t sitting super close to the three of them, she was sitting closest to Jemma. She might have been trying to think over what had to be done now that it looked like they were here to stay for awhile but that didn’t close her ears off from listening to the conversation as it played out. She was glad Jemma was getting something to eat form the protein bar, but she could feel her hackles rise as Will started trying to chat up Jemma. Skye wasn’t sure if Jemma didn’t care that this was what Will was doing or if she didn’t realize it was happening. On top of having to listen to the flirting, this new information (really a confirmation about Jemma’s level of intelligence she’d already suspected from as long ago as the airport terminal) infiltrated the more insecure parts of her brain. A high school dropout who happened to be decent with computers who got recruited into a secret government agency to avoid prosecution was significantly less impressive than ‘super genius.’ 

“What do you do for a living Will?” Skye asked, halfway through the question before she’d realized she was saying it outloud. She could have made it sound a little nicer, if she’d properly filtered her thoughts rather than let them spill out before she’d even thought about them. It could’ve had less bite, especially considering the guy had saved Jemma’s life. Oh well, there wasn’t all that much she could do about it now that it was already out. 

Will caught on to Skye's biting tone, but he didn't know why she was being so hostile, so he chose to answer the question as if it had actually been posed.    
  
"I'm in training with NASA for space travel. Maybe eventually I'll get my shot to actually go up." Will answered Skye, but he was looking at Jemma and grinned when her face lit up.

An astronaut. Of course he was a fucking  _ astronaut _ . Astronaut in training. Whatever. “Well that sure is swell, Spaceman,” Skye pushed herself to her feet and forced herself to move away from the three of them when she saw the reaction on Jemma’s face. She felt far too possessive of Jemma in that moment and, frankly, she felt angry with herself for feeling that way. Jemma was a human, she did not belong to Skye. She was free to chat up astronauts in training after they saved her life from being fried to death by a bolt of lightning. 

Skye headed to the corner where Coulson sat talking to May and Bobbi. “We need to talk about what we’re going to do when the rain stops,” She said. 

Coulson and May shared a look and then Coulson looked up at her. “Have a seat, Skye.” He nodded to an open patch of sand. “We were just discussing the logistics of sheltering in place until rescue comes.” 

Skye glanced over her shoulder for a moment at Jemma, unable to stop herself from doing it. She turned her eyes away when Jemma looked up and moved to sit down to join the discussion. “We’ve got water covered now for a bit. Food and shelter are next.” She said, trying her best to focus as they began to fill her in on their ideas so far rather than thinking about Mace, or JT, or Izzy, the random guy in the lightning struck plane, or about Jemma and Will, or Fitz for that matter. She tried to push everything but the current conversation out of her mind. She was only mildly successful at it. 

_______________

It stopped raining eventually, once the sun had already dipped on the horizon, destroying any chance of them drying off in the sun. Jemma was working with Fitz, Will, and most of the others to gather as much dead wood as possible (without venturing far past the tree line) to create a large, sustainable fire. It wasn't for signal, since they doubted anyone would see it, but it would warm up a larger area and people would stop complaining about soppy clothes.    
  
Skye had gone to help with makeshift shelters out of scrap and wood that ended up looking like small tents. The plane could be used when it wasn't storming, but everyone thought it would be best to have others prepared just in case. In addition, about half of the survivors were against moving into the plane completely after what had happened. Jemma kept pausing her work and her chat with Will to stare, confused, at both Skye and Fitz. Fitz was particularly quiet and Skye was avoiding them altogether, which was strange since she and Skye had been stuck together like glue since the crash. Maybe neither of them trusted Will, but Jemma did and she was sure they would too.

Skye’s only interaction with Fitz had been to talk to him about whether or not there would be a way to ground the metal of the plane so that in the future, if they wanted to use it as a shelter, they wouldn’t have to fear turning into fried chicken. She helped move the electrocuted man from the plane as well, once the big fire was started. When all was said and done shelter wise, Skye helped light the large fire and left everyone (except for the shelter Jemma was going to use, near the ‘hospital,’ which she went and lit separately for them before moving on) to set up their own smaller fires. She took her suitcase after that and went to find some privacy.

First, Skye changed . Her clothes were still damp but not as bad as the ones she’d been wearing since the crash. She kept her same jeans on but, with great care so she didn’t twist the wrong way and pop any stitches, pulled on a sports bra. On top of it went a new tank top and then a button down denim shirt. She rolled up the sleeves and then sorted through the bag for the warmest long sleeve shirt she had that was relatively dry to bring to Jemma. She used a ten-digit code on her gun case to unlock it, made sure the twelve bullet magazine clip was full, slapped it into the gun, chambered a round and then flipped the safety on. She tucked it carefully into the back of her pants and made sure the back of her shirt was long enough to sufficiently hide the weapon. 

After sorting through her bag and throwing every single useful item she thought Jemma could use for the injured patients (a bigger travel sewing kit, a razor and 3 replacement cartridges, travel pack of dry soap sheets, her other toiletries like her mouthwash, one of her floss containers, floss picks, tweezers, Qtips, her foam makeup pads, hair ties, bobby pins, safety pins and two travel blankets). She locked up her suitcase and carted it back to the hospital area with everything else in her arms. 

Jemma, thankfully, at that very moment was at least by herself in her shelter by the fire so Skye approached her and tried not to be too awkward about it. She cleared her throat. “...Hey,” She said, stopping in front of Jemma and not sitting down right away. 

Jemma was just catching a breath and letting her nerves cool down when Skye appeared in front of her. Her insides warmed up some without the fire and Skye would be able to see how happy Jemma was to see her when the corners of her mouth tilted up and she smiled, one that reached her eyes and made them light up.   
  
"Hello, Skye. Join me?" Jemma pat the sand next to her. She was trying not to show how happy she was Skye was coming to her again. It had scared her to see Skye pull away, even a little bit. She wanted to be near her.

Damn, that smile was so distracting.  _ Take that, Astronaut Boy _ , she thought before she pushed the thought away. She gave Jemma a small, but genuine smile in return. She did hesitate before she moved to join Jemma in the sand. She tried her best when she sat next to Jemma to ignore the urge to lean against her side, to be as close as possible. “I, um,” she handed the blankets, toiletry bag and shirt over. “I thought you could probably, ah, make use of these,” she said. “I can grab you another shirt,” She added. “If that one doesn’t work. I just…was looking for the driest one I could find.” She explained while trying her best not to stammer. 

"Oh!" Jemma's surprised little sound at what felt like a bombardment of gifts made her frown. She didn't mean to scare Skye away from her though, so she quickly replaced it with a curious smile. Even if most of it was for her patients, every object had a high value now and Jemma was just pleasantly surprised. And then there was the shirt.   
  
"Thank you, it's perfect." Jemma hadn't even tried it on yet but she knew it would be leaps and bounds better than what she had on now. "Coulson has a pile of unclaimed clothes going, but I haven't had the heart to rummage through the clothes of the... less fortunate." Jemma was going to say dead, but it felt insensitive. Already it was becoming less of a tragedy and more of a passing sadness, and that concerned her. But she accepted the gift.

The tops of Skye’s ears flushed at Jemma’s initial reaction. She folded her legs in front of her and looked down into her lap and then nodded slowly when Jemma mentioned Coulson and the unclaimed clothes. “Yeah...I saw that,” She said. “If you want to rummage for anything else in mine, just, y’know...let me know and I’ll unlock it.” She assured when she looked over at Jemma.    
  
It was cold out after the rain and in the dark, so Jemma stripped out of the damp button down without even getting up and pulled the new tee over her head. It was just a long sleeve shirt, but it felt like a sweater compared to what she had been wearing. It was slightly baggy on her because Skye a bit taller and more broad shouldered, but it was amazingly comfortable. She rubbed up and down her own arm over the sleeve with her other hand and finally looked up at Skye. She didn't know what to say. The simple gift made her feel privileged. Skye made her feel that way for whatever reason. 

Skye didn’t have time to look away before Jemma peeled out of her button down, which left her eyes wandering for a moment before her brain caught up to the moment and she turned her eyes to her lap to give Jemma some modicum of privacy even though Jemma still technically had a tank top on. Skye couldn’t help but smile at the way her shirt looked on her, not at all surprised that it was a little oversized since Jemma was smaller than her. A few other thoughts flashed through her mind regarding circumstances that would lead to Jemma wearing her clothes but she kept trying to push them to the back of her mind. “Good?” She asked as her eyes fell on Jemma’s hands running along the sleeves. They shifted and finally actually traveled to Jemma’s face again. 

"Good." Jemma nodded. There was a small, embarrassed smile on her face because of the feeling she got by wearing Skye's clothes. She bunched up the sleeves in her hands so it looked like she had paws. It was soft and it kept her a lot warmer than her previous shirt. She fought the urge to scoot closer and lay down in her lap. She was so tired, and she would sleep better knowing Skye was there.   
  
She didn't resist long, but mostly because she was startled. A ferocious screech unlike any animal Jemma knew ripped through the air and Jemma jumped like a cartoon character, clutching Skye's arm and pressing up against her. "What was that?!"

Skye was actively resisting the urge to wrap her arm around Jemma's shoulders and inform her that she should get some rest when that wild screeching sound ripped across the air around them. The only thing that kept Skye from bolting to her feet was the fact that Jemma had wound herself around her arm and was suddenly pressed against her. Skye's heart raced, for multiple reasons in that moment. She looked toward the jungle with wide eyes, listening for the sound again and wondering just what the fuck could make a noise that fucking loud. She couldn't recall seeing any large animal tracks while she'd been in the jungle earlier but her mind had been in many different directions at the time.    
  
"I don't know," she murmured just before the screeches erupted again from inside the jungle. Skye looked to the darkened sky above the treetops but couldn't make out if anything might be flying over to jungle top. She did her best not to outwardly panic. 

"Whatever it is, I don't like the sound of it." Jemma was shaking. She couldn't help it. It had startled her and so much had happened, but that didn't mean it couldn't get worse. It could always get worse. Jemma held onto Skye even tighter when a different screech, lower in tone than the first, cried out. They went back and forth and more joined in and it sounded like a fight.

Skye frowned. She managed to work her arm free so she could move it around Jemma's shoulders. She couldn't just sit there and not try and comfort her. "Whatever it is," she grimaced at the loud  dueling sounds. "They sound like they're fighting..." she frowned and pulled Jemma in closer to her side as if that somehow was the only thing necessary to protect her from...whatever animals were making those noises.

"Let's hope they don't like sand or fire." Jemma tried to joke, but her voice quivered along with the rest of her. The shaking died down some as Skye held her and she shifted so her head was by Skye's collarbone and she held onto her with an arm around her waist. The fighting sounds continued on until there was one last awful screech and everything was silent.

Skye cringed as they listened. She wondered if Jemma could hear the hurried beat of her heart with the way she'd angled her head. Since she wasn't sure, Skye tried to breathe as calmly as possible to try and slow it down so she wouldn't alarm Jemma. It was difficult to keep it from beating erratically with Jemma pressed against her like that. "I'll pile more onto the fire in a few minutes," she said. She moved the hand of the arm that was around Jemma up and down the outside of her arm, partially to reassure her, partiality keep it warm and rested the edge of her chin against the top of her head.    
  
Skye waited at least another fifteen minutes without any scary monster movie-esque noises before she quietly said. "You should try and get some rest, Jem," It'd been a long day. Skye needed rest too, but the sounds of the animals had made her alert and now her goal was to stay awake to watch for any sign of any kind of animal attack in the night.

"So should you." Jemma added, but her voice was already quiet and sleepy. Her head was starting to drop and she had to consciously hold it up. To think the day had started when she woke up and Skye had finished swimming was unbelievable. It felt like it had been a week. Her will to stay awake slowly lessened, and with it her body slowly lowered as well. She didn't want to inconvenience Skye, but soon she had her head resting on Skye's thigh and it was so much better than the sand. Her eyes were closed, but a sigh still escaped her lips.   
  
"If I bother you just wake me up." She mumbled, but Jemma found herself hoping she could stay right where she was.

Skye wasn't about to separate from having the connection of some form of touch with Jemma. She might have backed off earlier today, but it had been two fold. She hadn't been able to sort her mess of thoughts about the Mace situation out and in her emotional state, she'd been jealous of the way Will's simple, flirting conversation had so easily calmed and distracted Jemma. So she'd taken a step back and removed herself from the situation to try and get control of herself.    
  
So when Jemma used her thigh as a pillow, it was automatic, reflexive even, that Skye gently combed her fingers through Jemma's hair and ran them in random patterns along her back. "You're fine," she assured just loud enough to be heard. She fell quiet after that, kept her hand tracing along Jemma's back, along her arm and occasionally through her hair, listening to/watching her breathe. She felt relieved to watch the simple involuntary act because she could still very vividly see that moment underwater in the plane and on the beach when Jemma wasn't breathing at all. So Skye just watched and waited for Jemma to fall fully asleep and didn't dare move other than rubbing her back or arm or combing through her hair, lest she accidentally wake her. When Jemma's breathing was steady, Skye grabbed one of the travel blankets and shook it out to lay it over her. 

"Hey Simmons, are you-" Fitz approached without truly looking. He assumed the shadow by the fire at Jemma's little shelter meant she was there. He was coming to check on her after he heard the screeches from the water trough. He'd be reinforcing it and the scare almost made him lose water, so he'd had to fix it before he could check in on her.  
  
"Shhhhh," Skye shushed Fitz when he first approached, not unkindly, just quietly, enough to let him know, even though it was obvious, that Jemma was asleep.  
  
But when he approached with the intention of getting them both to sleep, he frowned at what he found instead. Skye was working her way in and taking his place. He'd been friends with her long before the crash, but for some reason Skye was taking charge and doing what she wanted. She somehow earned herself the right to have a hunting knife and he didn't miss the way she was snappy at Will.    
  
"How is she?" He crossed his arms over his chest. He was grateful Skye had saved Jemma's life, but it didn't mean she could take her from him like this. His jaw was clenched and tight and he tried not to show his annoyance at just Skye's presence. It didn't work.

"Freaked out by whatever made those noises," Skye answered honestly. She glanced down at Jemma and ran her hand along Jemma's back over the blanket. "Buy sleeping at least," she looked over at Fitz and recognized almost instantly some of the same features she must have worn earlier; centred jaw, dark eyes, general irritated, broodiness. she wanted to feel bad about it. She understood. He wanted to claim Jemma as his own, mark his territory or, whatever. Skye wasn't trying to stake a claim of some kind. Jemma would associate with whoever she wanted to and Skye couldn't (and wouldn't) stop her. She felt the urge to explain herself to Fitz, why she was there and what not, but then scolded herself. She hadn't done anything wrong to warrant correcting.    
  
"How are you?" She attempted to smooth over whatever rough edges she could. Fitz was Jemma's friend and Jemma wouldn't appreciate Skye being mean to him, even if he was possibly mentally throwing a hissy fit. "There's an extra blanket from the stuff I brought from my pack if you want to rest too?" she offered, a vague attempt at peace accords.

"No thanks." Fitz answered curtly. He wasn't about to let Skye's being there scare him off, even if she did have a knife, so he sat down near Jemma and got close enough to brush an escaped strand of hair out of her face that had gone awry. Jemma's nose scrunched up in her sleep and even though he was annoyed at Skye, it made him smile.    
  
"Which shelter is yours?" Fitz asked casually. What he obviously meant was  _ it sure as hell isn't this one _ , but he was trying to be as polite as possible.

She bit her lip against the urge to scold that struck her, to order Fitz not to wake Jemma up when she just fell asleep. Skye had spent the whole damn day building shelters for other people. None of them had actually been hers. She'd run out of time. At the moment, it didn't seem relevant since Jemma was sleeping in her lap and not only was Skye not going to move her, but she damn sure wasn't going to let Fitz wake her up as part of a turf war.    
  
"Looks like this one until Jemma wakes up," Sky answered with a small shrug she tried to make it sound and seem as nonchalant as possible, but there was an underlying challenge unmistakable in her eyes.  __ Try me, dude, try me.  
  
__ "I suppose so."  Fitz grumbled. He seemed to give in to Skye's point for the moment. Sure, he disliked Skye, but if Jemma was sleeping, he would let it slide. For now.


	4. Do All Birds Shriek?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warnings:** Action, adventure, drama, injuries, stitches, tension, anxiety...y'know, the usual. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!! Thank you always for the kudos, comments and love!!   
> This one's a long one!   
> Hold onto your butts and enjoy the ride!!   
> <3<3
> 
> _____________________

During the night, Skye and Jemma had done a bit of shifting here and there. Skye waited for Jemma to wake up enough that she could take a moment to add extra wood to the fire to keep it going, and eventually they wound up lying next to and half on top of each other under one of the travel blankets. Fitz gave her quite a few glares in the morning, but Skye did her best to ignore them. She hadn't eaten much of anything since the plane, so her first order of business once she woke up was to eat half her protein bar from the day before. She offered the other half to Jemma (maybe purposefully waiting for Fitz to go fill his water bottle before she offered).    
  
After she filled up her own water bottle, Skye went to talk to Coulson, who was in the shallows working with Trip and a net Trip made, casting out to try and catch the camp some fish. She explained her plan about heading into the jungle to search for food and any other water sources other than just rain. Coulson told her to round up a few people to take with her. Mack, Yoyo and Hunter each volunteered despite their own still healing minor wounds. If Skye could do all she'd done with her wound, they could (and had been so far too) contribute as well.    
  
Skye spoke with Coulson again. He let Yoyo and Hunter each take a knife. Mack preferred to stick with the axe he'd taken from the plane wreckage instead. Skye had them gather an extra water bottle each and a pack of some kind each. She used her own messenger bag to hold her water and, hopefully to help her cart food home later.    
  
That first trek into the jungle, after the sounds they'd heard the night before, it was tense. Hunter knew how to set snare traps, so Skye gave him her floss container to use as rope. Every so often, he found a set of small tracks and would stop to set up a snare for them to check later. They came upon a couple of useful plants. Skye dug up two medium sized aloe plants by the roots (to avoid squishing them and losing their value) and loaded them in her bag for Jemma. She'd asked Jemma to describe a few plants that might help her if they came across them and this was one of them. They also came across a small patch of mango trees and took turns climbing up to pick fruit. There were a number of coconut trees on the beach that they'd already started raiding, so mangoes would be a decent change.    
  
The first trek didn't leave them with a huge haul but it was decent enough. They managed an okay haul to split among everyone: an entire backpack of mangoes, a dozen or so papayas, some bananas, three rabbits caught in Hunter's snares, an assortment of banana shoots, banana leaves, papaya leaves and palms (for various uses), four aloe plants, and half a backpack of noni fruit and leaves (Skye couldn't remember the technical name Jemma had given her for this when she'd drawn the fruit on a piece of paper for her but she'd been relieved to find it after Jemma told her it could be used as a coagulant, antiseptic, fever reducer and an analgesic - Skye was a little too proud to ask what that last one was and had just accepted that this plant would be incredibly useful).    
  
It was late in the afternoon when the jungle trek crew returned, quite a bit sweaty and ripe. Skye let the others take the edible items to Coulson and the main group. She took Mack's backpack and her messenger bag to the 'hospital' tent along with some extra mangoes and papayas to cut up for Jemma and the patients. "Hey," she said when she spotted Jemma inside. "We got some things from your list, Doc," she smiled and sat the bags down so Jemma could go through and see the various plants they'd returned with. "We can bring more tomorrow when we go back in," She said. "Maybe we'll even find some of the others on the list too. Hunter managed to snag a few rabbits. I think we picked more mangoes than we have coconuts and from what I saw when heading this way, it looks like Trip caught some fish," Perhaps they might not starve to death while living on protein bars alone after all.

Jemma looked up from redressing a patient's wound when Skye set the bags down and approached. A smile automatically spread across her lips and a relieved sigh came with it. She had no idea what was in the jungle that could make such horrendous sounds, but she didn't want anyone to have to find out, especially Skye.   
  
"Really?" Jemma got up after quickly finishing her work on May and came to check out the new supplies. As she rifled through the bag she recognized several plants she had asked for. They were versatile, so she would be able to more than just cut and sew now. She saw the mangos and papayas next and though she probably should have been more excited about the plants, her stomach had been rumbling and a protein bar and part of a coconut was not enough to eat for two days.   
  
"You found fruit?!" Jemma picked out a mango and sliced it in half with her knife, offering the other half to Skye. She'd have to distribute the rest to the few patients who hadn't been able to get up and walk around yet. "Oh my god." Jemma made an embarrassingly happy sound when she bit into it. It was the most food she'd had in days and fresh fruit was definitely preferable to processed, not very tasty protein bars.

Skye grinned broadly at Jemma’s reaction to the fruit. She’d already eaten a couple on the walk back to camp so she stepped over to May to give her the other half of the mango. When she stood back up, she stepped closer to Jemma, watching her face as she ate that little half mango like it was the best food she’d ever experienced in her life. She hooked her thumbs into her back pockets and rocked on her heels slightly as she smiled. “We have more than what’s in the bag, I just...brought a couple of them back for you,” She suddenly felt inexplicably bashful about this fact as she shrugged her shoulders up at her own comment. 

"Really?" Jemma tried not to sound too excited about it. It was probably better to contribute everything to the rationing system, but she was so hungry and her patients deserved a little more to eat while they were weak as well. "Thank you, Skye. I hope you don't mind if I share them all. I wouldn't feel right eating more than my share." Jemma smiled and started distributing the fruit to her remaining patients and came back to Skye. There were two left and Jemma wasn't going to let them go to waste. She tried not to scarf them down, so she cut off little slices with her knife and ate it in pieces. Obviously it wasn't the same blade she used for surgery, though. Coulson had let her take another of the smaller blades to keep with the medical kit. It wouldn't do to have her using the same knife for surgery as she did for practical reasons, whatever they may be.

Skye shook her head and smiled at Jemma's generosity. "No, of course not. There's enough to go around." She'd already known Jemma would give them to other people (fairly) and had packed the bag accordingly just to make sure Jemma still got enough of them herself. Skye didn't consider it favoritism since it wasn't like, in this case, there wasn't enough to go around. Her gift of the protein bars after the rainstorm might have been a bit of favoritism, but it was what it was and Skye didn't feel bad about that, either, since it wasn't as if she hadn't freely given over a ton of her personal items to take care of the rest of the camp.  Some minor indulgences were allowed. Right?  She moved to sit down in the sand, under the shade of the raft next to the bags.    
  
"I really do worry when you go into the jungle. Do you have any idea what made those screeching sounds we heard after the storm?" Jemma asked just before biting another fruit slice off of her knife.

Skye felt the tops of her ears redden. She shook her head. "Whatever it was, there was no sign of them, that I could tell at least, on the path we took." She assured. "Just rabbit tracks and some other little tracks Hunter found for small animals. We didn't hear any crazy screeches while we were in there either," Thankfully. Skye wasn't sure an ax and some knives would have held up well against whatever made those noises and, if at all possible, she wanted to keep her gun a secret as long as she was able to since its presence would lead to too many questions. Skye tried not to worry too much about it since she had limited control over their overall situation.

"I hope it stays that way." Jemma nodded thoughtfully. She was sure they weren't able to go up against whatever it was if they did come across it, but she knew the jungle trips were necessary, since she was eating because of it right now. All they could do was hope they were nocturnal and only go during the day (which was the smartest move anyway).    
  
"So you're reaping the benefits of the jungle trek too, huh?" Will appeared from out of nowhere since the women weren't paying much attention outside of their little world. Jemma gave a small wave since she was chewing to suffice as a hello and a yes. "Thanks for these. They're amazing." Will nodded down to Skye with a smile as he bit into a papaya.    
  
"If you need some more hands, or feet, or anything really, I'd be happy to join in on the next run." Will offered.

And just like that, Skye's tired but relatively relaxed mood dissipated on the wind. She tensed at the sound of Will's voice. She had no justifiable reason to dislike him, he'd saved Jemma's life and it wasn't like he seemed like a bad person or anything, but Skye just...she couldn’t help it. Even though Skye was fully aware that it was a mixture of jealousy and her own insecurities that made her want to dislike Will, she tried her best to control her external treatment of him while battling her little demons internally.    
  
"Yeah," Skye nodded. "I'll let you know in the morning, we could use some more people to bring back more next time," she conceded, trying to sound as relaxed and chill about the idea of being stuck wandering in a jungle all day with Spaceboy. She gingerly pulled the aloe plants, banana leaves and papaya leaves from her messenger bag and set them down in the sand then stood and hoisted the bag onto her shoulder. "I should go check in with Coulson and then see how Fitz is doing with grounding the fuselage," she pushed a small smile to her lips and glanced at Jemma. "Try not to sugar crash on those, yeah?" she lightly joked before she made her escape from the hospital area toward where Coulson was down the beach, helping Trip gut up the fish and shellfish they'd collected.

_______________

After she'd checked in with Fitz to find that he'd have the plane fuselage properly grounded in the morning, Skye had gone to talk with Coulson about the areas they'd explored on the jungle trek. Once all the food was cooked, Skye helped pass it out among the camp with use of some of the extra banana leaves they'd brought back to camp and had settled in with the others for a sort-of group meal. There were no crazy screeches from the jungle that night and Skye took a shift sleeping in the hospital shelter in case any of the injured needed anything in the night.    
  
She felt a bit more rested come the next morning thanks to actually filling her belly and being reasonably well hydrated. After getting some breakfast, Skye rounded up a new crew for the day's trek so they could bring more back than the day before's haul. Skye and Coulson went over the crudely drawn map she made the day before and told him which areas she wanted to branch out from after gathering some more of various fruits and plants.    
  
When all was said and done, she took a large machete knife with her from the knife box while their new additions, Kebo and Will were grabbing their own knives. She figured it would help with clearing the thicker vines and brush out of the way since they were going to try and venture further in today with their earlier start. They each had at least two full bottles of water. It was cooler than the beach in the jungle thanks to the tree shade but it was still a muggy mess and the mosquitos were a major pain in the ass today.    
  
"I'm just saying, mate," Hunter said as he and Mack were arguing about what they thought had made the noises that night. "We don't know where we are or if any humans have ever been here, have you never read a book, we could've stepped into The Lost World! - It could have easily been Godzilla!" He insisted.    
  
Mack let out a deep bellow of laughter as he walked behind Skye and Will. "And what was Godzilla fighting?" He asked.   
  
"What kinda question is that?" Hunter asked. "Dinosaurs, clearly!"    
  
Mack laughed, "Right, clearly," he shook his head.    
  
"Right then, what's your theory, let's have it?" Hunter bent by some small tree shoots and a rocks and pulled the floss container to get enough string to tie up a snare.    
  
"I think it was some kind of bird," Mack shrugged. "Birds make those kind of shrieks, right?"    
  
"Let's ask the Birds themselves," Hunter quipped as he finished the snare and stood up, brushed his hands off and looked between Skye and Yoyo, "Ladies," he grinned. "Do all Birds shriek?"    
  
Mack let out a groan and shook his head. Skye rolled her eyes but smirked. "About as much as British treasure hunters that step on seaweed..." She smirked over her shoulder at Hunter since he'd done just that earlier this morning. 

"Unless you want whatever was screeching to come down on us, Godzilla or bird, you should lower your voices." Yoyo said quietly over her shoulder. This seemed to shut them up, at least temporarily. The men were apt to be more silly, except for Will and Kebo, who were walking in the back of the pack and just looking around them at all the thick foliage. They were the new additions to the crew and had yet to see everything hidden within the trees.

"Hunter, did you notice these?" Will spoke up. He'd wandered a few meters to the left of the group in the back and had his hands on his knees, bent over and looking at the patterns in the ground. There were tiny tracks, varying from an inch to three inches in length, spanning parallel to their own path and veering away up ahead. There were dozens of paths, meaning either it was very frequently traveled or there were a lot of them. Whatever they were it could prove to be a lot of food if they managed to find the little pack and killed them. 

Skye chuckled at the sour, offended face Hunter made at her but. They both fell quiet at Yoyo's advice. Skye stopped hacking at the low hanging vines in front of her when Will spoke up.    
  
Hunter made his way back to look at the tracks Will picked up. "I saw some of them yesterday but they made so any circles back and forth, was damn near impossible to pin the buggers down for sure, mate," He said. "I left some snares near a couple patches of them." He took in their surroundings and oriented himself for a moment. "They should be a kilometer or so that way," he pointed off forward and over toward the group's lefthand side, which was where one set of the paths veered off toward ahead.    
  
"I think we've grabbed enough fruit and vegetation between us to bring back already, so, we should head that way to check your traps, see what else we can scare up on the way?" Skye arched her eyebrows and looked around to see if that seemed agreeable.   
  
"I think that sounds like a good plan. Fruit is wonderful, but meat would pack more calories per pound." Yoyo added. They couldn't live off of fruit alone.    
  
"I'm not protesting." Will straightened up and stepped over the tracks. He didn't want to disturb them in case it would make the animals change paths.

"Right then," Hunter pointed again on which direction his snares were and Skye followed Mack carefully over the tracks. The group fell silent again, alternating between watching the tracks as they started for Hunter's snare traps and looking ahead to cut the overgrowth out of the way. They were about halfway toward the next set of traps when a round of high pitched squealing stopped them in their tracks.    
  
Skye was the first to move. The closer they crept toward the traps, the louder the sound. It wasn't at all loud enough to sound like the screeches they'd heard from the beach at night, but it was definitely the wild squeaking of a trapped animal.    
  
When the trap was within view, the group halted again. The snare trap had the small creature by the leg. It scurried back and forth furiously as far as the short rope would allow it. It was about a meter long and looked like a two-legged lizard with short arms, a long neck and a long tail. It whipped about wildly.    
  
"What the hell is it?" Hunter asked.    
  
"Is it some kind of weird mutant lizard?" Will asked. He wanted to say what he knew they were all thinking, but it sounded too ridiculous.  _ Is it a tiny dinosaur? _ _   
_

Skye stepped closer, brushing off Mack's hand when he reached for her to stop her.  The little thing caught her scent on a breeze that blew through and the animal whipped around and froze. Skye stopped, just a few paces from it and crouched down to get a better look. The thing made a hissing sound and drew itself up as tall as it could make itself. It let out a few low whistle-like sounds and just a second later a large knife sailed past Skye's shoulder and head and nailed the animal right through its head, sending it and the knife sailing into the small tree trunk behind it, where the animal's body was pinned as the knife became imbedded.    
  
Skye fell back with a gasp, startled by the weapon that flew by her head. She turned to look at the group and saw Kebo, grinning like a moron, proud of his accomplishment and show of skill. Skye ground her teeth together and sprung to her feet. "What the fuck is wrong with you!" She screamed, stopped in her tracks toward Kebo only by Mack's very large free arm. "You could've fucking killed me!" she shouted, angry. Unfortunately she didn't hear the little sets of whistles from the surrounding area because of her racing pulse and her angry outburst.    
  
"Uh...guys..." Hunter slowly pulled his knife from its sheath and gripped the handle, backing away from the trap area.

"I think we found the animals who made those tracks..." Will trailed off. He had his knife at the ready out in front of him but had no way to tell which direction to point it. Little hisses and communicative squeaks and screeches came from all around them.   
  
"I feel like this is where the hunters become the hunted." Will joked. The moment he finished, one of the little reptiles launched from the bushes and latched onto his leg. Will yelped and the one attacking enticed them all to attack. It all happened in only a few moments. What seemed like at least fifty of them burst from the plants in all directions. Will stabbed down at the one on his leg and killed it, but immediately had to swipe at one that jumped on him in the next moment. He managed to get a few of them down before he heard an awful scream. It was human.   
  
He whirled around just in time to see the last bit of Kebo's skin covered by a reptile. It might have been a coincidence, but it felt like the little beasts were smart enough to know he was the one that killed their friend. It hardly took any time at all for Kebo's screams to stop altogether as he fell to the ground and Will's eyes widened. He was dead.    
  
"RUN!" He shouted. He knew Skye was usually in charge but she wasn't in his immediate eyesight and he wasn't 100% sure who was alive.

Skye and Mack jumped apart as the attack began. They tried to stay back to back with Hunter and Yoyo but there were so many at first. The little fuckers were fast! And they fucking bit hard! One of them got her in the shoulder before she staggered and slammed it (and her shoulder) hard against a tree to her left. It yelped and ran back into the foliage. She had just broken one's neck with a swing of the machete when she spotted Kebo being swarmed. She turned to run. "Back to camp!" She called to Mack, Yoyo and Hunter, trusting they could angle themselves in the right direction, unlike Will who had wheeled too far and went the wrong way. "We'll catch up!"  
  
Skye raced after him, preferring not to look back as she ran, heart pounding, pain searing through her left shoulder. Skye was a runner. She was fast and she knew it was a source of pride for her. You didn't have to worry about winning a fight if you could escape before the fight began. But these freaking...whatever they were (they were not tiny _dinosaurs_ \- there was _no_ way!), were fucking fast.   
  
"Spaceman!" She called out as she caught up to Will. "You're going the wrong way!" A sharp dig of pain pierced the back of her shoulder as one of the stray ones jumped from a tree trunk and dug its claws into her shoulder blade. Skye didn't stop running, but she stumbled and gasped in pain as it bit into the top of her shoulder. She swung the machete up, turning it flat so that if she missed she would only whack her shoulder with the flat of the blade. She hit it in the head and it let go and fell back but it's feet still clutched into her flesh to hold on. It clawed its way back up and dove for another bite, angling for Skye's neck. She lurched and tried to swing. It scraped her ear with its teeth just before she hit it again with the side of the blade. She caught up to Will just as one of the animals took a flying leap and caught him with its feet and teeth sinking into Will’s hip and side.

"Shit!" Will cursed and twisted so he slammed the little stinging beast into a tree trunk. He heard Skye shouting for him and turned around when the reptile fell off of him. He reached down grabbed it by the head, and snapped its neck to make sure it wouldn't be waking up again before he swung his backpack around to one side and stuffed it in the biggest pocket.    
  
"Lead the way!" He shouted and started running again to follow after Skye.

Skye skidded to a stop. She heard rustling behind her and turned in time to see one of the little bastards running right for her. It took a leap and Skye had just enough time to swing her machete reflexively almost like a baseball bat. It sailed a few feet and landed in the grass. Skye spotted Will tossing one of them in his pack. She crouched and twisted the neck of the one at her feet and managed to wedge it into her messenger bag and still got the clasps shut, though the tail stuck out from the side of the bag. She set the bag at her back just as Will came running her way so she grabbed up her machete and took to running again. It took some time but they caught up to Mack, Yoyo and Hunter about ten minutes later in a clearing they’d stopped to catch their breath. 

“It was like they knew he was the one that killed it!” Hunter rasped between gulps of air. At his feet lay two of the animals, one stabbed through the middle, the other missing a head. Mack was shaking one off of the pointed side of his ax. 

“Anyone else get a full bite?” Mack set his ax to his shoulder with one hand and the other poked at his forearm as his hand adjusted grip on the ax handle. “Think they have some kind of...venom?” He frowned. “Or did it hit a nerve…” He wondered.

Skye was too amped up to really tell if her bites were numb. They burned a bit but she was extremely sweaty and she was sure the salty beads of it were hitting every bit of the little bites. It felt like the bites went pretty deep as well. “We should load those into the packs and get back to camp,” She said as she caught her breath. If there was some kind of venom to their bites, Jemma might be able to tell from the bodies, right? She hoped so at least. 

________________

"Well what are you?" Jemma frowned when she found herself face to face with the bird. The plants she'd been picking at the treeline were still in her hand and, very slowly, she tucked them into her messenger bag and the notebook Skye gave her to catalogue hospital inventory came out in their place. She began sketching the bird as quickly as possible while she was still holding its interest. It wasn't much bigger than a chicken, but it was lankier and had a longer, thicker beak, probably just as wide around as its head. It was definitely flightless, by the size of its wings and the fact that it was walking around and not flying away when Jemma whistled at it.    
  
It made a small squawking noise and waddled further into the trees. Jemma folded the notebook back so it was more like a tablet and continued drawing it while she walked after it. She glanced over her shoulder every now and then to make sure she could still see the break in the trees where the beach was. The little bird picked up the pace, aware Jemma was chasing it, and made little squawks as it went. Jemma jogged after it and scooped it up, grabbing its beak between two fingers so it couldn't bite her.    
  
A screech ripped through the trees and Jemma startled so badly she dropped the bird. It scuttled off into the underbrush and Jemma was still frozen. She recognized that sound. It was whatever had been fighting the night it rained. Ice cold fear ran through her veins and she didn't know if it would be better to stay still or run. She heard rustling behind her and slowly turned her head.    
  
"Wha-" Jemma didn't even finish the word, her mouth was hanging open. Whatever she'd just caught was clearly a juvenile because there was a massive version, at least two feet taller than her, staring at her with the evil eye. It's beak looked big enough to snap her spine in half and its talons could gut her.  _ Hello, Mom _ , Jemma said in her head.    
  
She wanted to wait to see if it would leave her alone now that she dropped the baby, but she had no such luck. It screeched again and charged her and Jemma turned and made a run for it and let out the terrified scream she'd been holding in. She heard it pounding behind her as she sprinted and branches whipped her in the face. It was faster and more adapted to running about in the jungle and there was no way she'd outrun it. But it couldn't fly.    
  
Jemma reached for the first thick low branch she found and grabbed onto it with both hands. She used the one skill she'd learned from gymnastics in elementary school and pulled then pushed up so her hips tapped the branch, and she swung one leg over it. The bird was on her tail and Jemma quickly climbed to the next branch three feet higher, but was horrified to realize she'd chosen what seemed like the shortest tree in the jungle. All the thin branches above her snapped when she put any weight on them and the massive bird was already upon her, reaching up with its long neck and snapping. She just barely wasn't out of reach when the birds hopped and she had to hop out of the way herself. Her back slammed into the trunk and two more birds came from different directions.    
  
"Shit!" Jemma kicked at the face of one who got to close and it screeched at her again in anger. They kept snapping and Jemma kept kicking. The tallest one got uncomfortably close on a lunge and Jemma slammed her foot down, but it had learned from the last time and had its mouth open. It snapped down at her leg and Jemma shrieked. She jerked her leg out in time to not have her bones shattered, but the hooked tip of the beak dug into her pants and Jemma knew it had gotten her skin. The calf of her jeans came off along with her shoe and exposed a slice down her shin at immediately started bleeding. It was deep and long and Jemma cried out and retreated even further against the trunk. They kept snapping and Jemma was afraid she'd gotten herself killed by following a chicken. She couldn't kick them to death that was for sure.

Skye, Will and the rest of the crew were just finishing catching their breath and packing up the last of the dead animals when the screeching sound made them all freeze. It was followed, this time, by a very human sounding scream. Skye’s eyes widened as she wheeled in the direction it came from. She recognized that voice - that was definitely Jemma. That was Jemma screaming between the screeching sounds of whatever they’d heard in the jungle the other night. “Jemma!”  The name was off her tongue as Skye moved to start running and Mack threw his arm out to stop her, just barely managing to catch her by the strap of her bag to drag her to a halt.

“Let me go! Let me go!” Skye spun on Mack and swung a fist at his arm but Mack tightened his grip and pulled her back. “Mack, let me go, it’s Jemma!” 

“Skye, stop!” Mack shouted. “Listen!” He ordered right before a number of screeches rang out. “There’s more than one of whatever it is - you can’t run right into them by yourself.” 

Another one of Jemma’s shrieks rang out and Skye struggled against Mack’s grip. “She needs help!” 

“And we’ll get to her but we can’t be stupid about it,” Mack frowned. He let Skye go and then started giving out instructions for making their way to the sounds and surrounding it before they attacked. The absolute hardest thing Skye had to do was force herself not to run directly for the sounds of Jemma screaming and the shrieking...whateverthefuck that were likely attacking her. The whole time she battled against whether or not she wanted Jemma to keep screaming. The more Jemma screamed, the longer they knew she was alive. Every time she stopped and it was only the screeching animals, Skye panicked that Jemma was dead and had to fight the impulse to run. 

When they finally reached the spot, Mack silently spread them out. There were three of the birds in total. Skye bit her tongue to force herself not to call out to Jemma. Mack, and Yoyo angled for the one closest to them, Hunter and Will took the one on the other side and when Mack signaled, they lunged. 

Jemma shrieked again when more beings charged onto the scene and it took her a moment to realize they were people-  _ Skye- _ and not more birds.

Skye raced to the third one and swung her machete with both hands as hard as she possible could just as it was lunging for Jemma’s legs again. The machete connected and dug in deep and Skye barely had enough time to yank it free and back a few steps away as the gigantic bird staggered and wheeled on her. That was when she really got to see its actual size. It charged her and Skye nearly tripped on a raised tree root as she dove to the side and took another swing with the machete, which thankfully collided. 

Unfortunately, the large knife embedded into the bird’s head this time and it staggered out of reach before Skye could grab it, screeching wildly. He turned to race back at her and Skye, who had fallen back on that tree root, scrambled back, trying to find purchase to pull herself to her feet, and failing. The giant bird lunged at her with snapping jaws as her back hit the trunk of the tree Jemma was in and only missed because the one Mack and Yoyo were fighting ran off into the trees and Mack had managed to swing his ax around and took the thing’s head the rest of the way off. Its body fell on Skye’s shins, still twitching as Skye scrambled out from under it to get to her feet. Will and Hunter lost the other bird as Skye looked breathlessly upward into the tree. 

“Jem!” She felt both relieved and immediately worried about Jemma when she finally got a good looked at her - stuck up in a too short tree, her leg bleeding and freaked out. Skye’s own eyes were pretty wide in terror. They’d just watched Kebo get eaten by little mutant lizards and now Jemma had almost been eaten by gigantic fucking…turkeys or something. “Are you alright?” She asked as she reached up to try and help her down. 

Jemma stared down at the hand Skye was offering but couldn't get herself to move. Her fingertips were dug into the bark at her back, her chest was heaving, and her eyes were dilated almost to her irises. Her leg was stinging more now that she wasn't ignoring it in favor of kicking at the birds, but she still couldn't get herself to get down out of the tree.  _ It isn't safe! _ her brain warned her.

Skye could see how shaken up Jemma was - who wouldn’t be?? Hell, the hand she was holding out to Jemma was actually trembling a good deal thanks to the deadly combo of adrenaline, fear of Jemma’s well being and nearly dying under attack of both a bunch of mutant lizards and giant turkeys in one afternoon. Her eyes strayed over Jemma’s injured leg. “Jemma,” Skye said her name again, hoping to snap her out of the abject terror she was in up in that tree. “Jemma, it’s okay now,” She assured. “We just need you to come down and then we’ll take you back to camp. ” She hesitated a moment, steadied her own hand and locked her gaze on Jemma’s terrified gaze. “Jem...I promise, I won’t let anything happen to you.” Anything  _ else _ at least. She couldn’t do anything about the injury Jemma already had, other than help her stitch it up if it needed it when they were back at camp. She wanted to climb up into the tree to reassure her but she wasn’t sure the branches would support both their weight combined. 

Jemma's pulse slowly steadied to somewhere near normal and her tight grip on the tree slowly lessened until she let go completely. "Okay." She nodded. She cringed as she sat down on the high branch and let her legs hang over and touch the lower one. She reached out with a trembling hand and clutched Skye's fingers. It was maybe a four foot drop and she was afraid to try it with her injured leg.   

Skye smiled. “Good,” she said when Jemma moved down to the lower branch. She tried not to rush her but at the same time she wanted to get Jemma back to camp as soon as possible. She put her free hand on Jemma’s thigh of her uninjured leg and gave it a gentle squeeze. Behind her, Mack, Hunter and Yoyo were discussing the logistics of getting the dead bird to the beach to butcher it for food. 

Skye waited a minute or two before she asked, “Would you be okay with letting me wrap my shirt around your leg til we get you back to camp?” It was bleeding pretty good and it would likely bleed more once they got her to the ground. “After that, we’ll get you down and get you back to the beach...alright?” She wanted to rush Jemma back, but she didn’t want to force her since she was so scared. It was a terrible tug of war inside Skye’s head. 

Jemma took a deep breath and glanced down at her leg. She wasn't sure what it needed, but Skye was probably right in covering it and it would be easier for her to wrap it up when her shins were at Skye's chest level. She nodded and closed her eyes. She didn't want to see it because she didn't want to need any more stitches.    
  
"Those things shouldn't- they  _ don't- _ exist." Jemma said quietly. It wasn't real, it couldn't be. It was hard to distinguish it as anything other than a giant monster when it was chasing her, but now she knew. They weren't anything that should be alive today.

Skye unbuttoned her over shirt. She made sure the tank underneath covered the gun back there and shifted her messenger bag to make sure it rested at her back after she tugged her shirt off her arms. She folded and rolled her shirt until she could lay it over Jemma’s shin and then wrapped the sleeves around the back, crossed them and pulled it to the front. She arched her eyebrows and glanced up at Jemma. “What?” She asked. Looking back down, she added. “This is gonna hurt, sorry,” She said before she tightly tied the sleeves and double knotted it. When she was finished, she reached up and set her hands on the outsides of Jemma’s thighs, hoping in another moment or so she could catch her by the waist and help her down. “What do you mean they don’t exist?” She asked. That thing definitely existed, in the flesh, now lying on the jungle floor. 

Jemma hissed when Skye tied the shirt and reflexively jerked her leg up a bit, but she relaxed again after a moment. Jemma knew what she meant, but she found it was difficult to put it into words that were believable.    
  
"I- When I was ten, I went through a dinosaur phase." A dinosaur phase was an understatement. For a whole year her room had been full of dinosaurs and she carried a dinosaur encyclopedia everywhere she went. She was an information sponge at that point and dinosaurs were the topic she settled on. "They're not from  _ today _ . They're prehistoric." Jemma couldn't make eye contact. She felt like she was lying even though she wasn't. “Phorusrhacids." It was all coming back to her.

Skye’s eyebrows hiked higher up her forehead. Jemma went through a dinosaur phase. Skye would file that one away for future reference for sure. She tried to focus rather than trying to imagine little ten year old Jemma at a museum geeking out over giant dinosaur skeletons. Focus. This was serious time, not imagine adorable Jemma time. Right. Skye glanced over her shoulder at the giant turkey ostrich. Her head whipped back around, brow furrowed. She was about to ask another helpful, ‘what?’ when Jemma let out a scientific sounding name for the thing that was dead on the ground. She hesitated. “...You’re saying...it’s a dinosaur?” she asked, just to make sure she was hearing this correctly. 

"Not a dinosaur, exactly, in sense of the word." Jemma was beginning to ramble uncomfortably in an attempt to deal with her own discovery. "They aren't reptiles, but... they're from the Cenozoic era." Jemma was impressed at her own memory. She knew she had an eidetic memory, but still, it was a stretch. It was as if the encounter brought it all back. 

Skye tried to process all of that. “Uh huh…” Her brow creased again and she looked over at the thing on the ground again. Her head turned back and she looked at Jemma’s face as she started talking again.   
  
"This island predates our time. It's discovery would be world news, yet it hasn't been. It's impossible to have an undiscovered island like this with such advanced satellites..." Jemma's mind was running away from her. Nobody knew the island existed, so there wouldn't be a rescue team on the beach. Jemma refused to truly accept it just yet so she moved automatically, reaching and leaning so she could grab onto Skye's shoulders to prepare to get down. "Help me?" Her voice was small.

Skye’s eyebrows were up her forehead once again, still trying to wrap her head around all of it. “Whoa, slow down there a sec, Doc-,” Skye began to say. Skye clenched her jaw and stifled a grunt when Jemma’s hands hit her shoulders, the left one still tender from the bite she sustained in her first major animal attack of the day. Her hands, however, automatically went to Jemma’s hips, to steady her. She nodded. “Of course,” She shifted and stepped back so she could ease Jemma down, careful to keep a firm grip on her so she wouldn’t have to put weight on her injured leg. 

Jemma was willing to lay the issue to rest until they got back to camp, where she could rationally sort through everything in her head before she started rambling again. She put the dinosaurs in a box on the top shelf to be opened later. Now they just needed to get back. She tried to get off the branch as gently as possible, and Skye's support helped, but her balance was off because she tried to only land on her left leg, but she staggered to the right.   
  
"Easy," another voice said and Jemma felt a new hand on her, wrapped around her right upper arm to prevent the fall. She looked up and was relieved to see Will alive as well. She glanced around and noted that everyone seemed to be in a state of duress, and splotches of blood seemed to dot all over them, Skye included. Her brows furrowed and she frowned, but she forced herself to shove the unasked question into another box until they got back.

The last thing Skye felt like thinking about was Will’s proximity to Jemma. It was childish. Jemma was injured and scared. The goal was to get her out of the jungle and back to camp. There were secondary goals, but getting Jemma back safely was the main goal. Skye knew she couldn’t carry Jemma back to camp just then, much as she would have wanted to. So, she looked across Jemma over to Will. “Are you able to lift her?” She asked. Normally, yes she was aware Will could lift Jemma. “Without throwing her over your shoulder this time?” But he’d suffered a few bites of his own and she wanted to make sure he’d be up to the task. It would get Jemma back faster. That was the goal, right? 

"I got it." Will nodded. He was stinging in several places, but he was sure not as much as Jemma's leg. The blood was starting to dot Skye's shirt and he knew it would bleed even more if she walked on it.   
  
"It's not that bad, I can walk." Jemma argued. She didn't want to be a burden. She had wandered in here all on her own and she didn't think she'd be able to look any of them in the eye after they risked their lives for her if she didn't walk out on her own too. She moved to take a step and even with two people holding onto her, the right leg gave out. Will grabbed onto her and before she could protest again, he pulled her arm over his shoulders and scooped her up with an arm around her lower back and another under her legs.   
  
"Let's just get you back." Will shifted Jemma's weight and looked to Skye for directions.

Skye’s eyes followed Jemma the whole way. Will had her up in his arms before even Skye could fully react to catch Jemma’s stumble. Skye nodded. She turned toward the others. “Ready to go?” She asked. 

Mack and Hunter exchanged a glance. They both shook their heads. “We’re gonna hang back, Boss,” Mack said. “When you get back, Yoyo’s going to grab a few spare hands and we’re going to lug this thing to the beach-,” 

“No use wasting a good meal, yeah?” Hunter added. 

Skye hesitated. She looked between them both. “You’re sure?” She asked as she gathered the machete. Both nodded. Skye felt reluctant to leave them behind but, they seemed insistent. Skye glanced to Yoyo and then turned to Will and Jemma. “Alright, let’s go,” She took a quick moment to orient herself to the right direction and then stepped over to lead the way out. “So Jem,” She said as she walked. “What do they call these things in normal, non-science terms?” she asked as they walked, hoping to distract Jemma at least a little bit by making her ramble about things. 

Jemma started out tense in Will's arms when they began the short trek back, but when she realized it was probably harder to carry her this way, she relaxed some and felt Will squeeze her a bit for reassurance. She hadn't followed the juvenile bird very far before her sprint so it would be no more than a ten minute walk.    
  
"The paleontologists who studied them liked to call them terror birds for short." Jemma replied. She had to admit there wasn't too much else she remembered about them, but what else did they need to know besides the fact that they were supposed to be extinct, that they're giant, and- "They're also carnivores. Apparently they hunt in flocks." Jemma leaned her head against Will's shoulder and tried not to think about how close she'd been to losing a leg to one of them.

"Terror birds," Skye shook her head. "How appropriate," she glanced back and spotted Jemma with her head on Will's shoulder and quickly turned back around. It was hard to describe the feeling that sprouted in her chest, but Skye did her best to ignore it and stay on target. Get Jemma to camp, possibly stitch Jemma up, tell her about the crazy lizards.    
  
"We ran into our own set of apparent pack hunters," She called back to Jemma. "Much smaller than terror birds. I'll show em to ya once you're all patched up," she said.

Dots were starting to connect in Jemma's head. It wouldn't have made sense that everyone was bleeding in little spots because of branches and plants, but now Jemma's eyes widened. Skye was walking in front of them and Jemma could see now that the back of her shoulder and some of her back was bleeding. Without her over shirt on, the only thing blocking her view was Skye's hair, which didn't cover it completely.    
  
"Are you ok?" She asked. Her eyes scanned all over her body, but they wound up on her bag. The lizard looking tail was still sticking out and Jemma had a strong urge to jump out of Will's arms and see it right now. There was a dinosaur in Skye's bag. A dinosaur.    
  
"Most of us were bitten, but Kebo..." Will answered for her. "He didn't make it."

Skye still didn't want to refer to it as a dinosaur even as it was looking wayyy more plausible since Jemma's terror bird revelation. They crashed on a deserted island and a tiny dinosaurs tried to eat her and now she was carrying it in her bag back to the beach camp that was their home for the foreseeable future.  _ Well _ , she thought,  _ at least we'll make a ton of money on the book royalties when we get back _ . Skye frowned partially since Will answered for her, partially because Kebo didn't make it. Kebo had been a colossal idiot right before it happened, but that didn't mean he deserved to die.    
  
"Kebo aside, we're okay," she assured. "They were small bites. Hunter caught one of them in a snare. Kebo killed it when we got close and they swarmed us," she explained, not to upset Jemma but since she knew Jemma would be more upset being left in the dark. "Then we heard you," Despite the heat, a shiver rolled through Skye's spine as she thought about the sounds of Jemma’s screams.

"I still want to take a look at all of you when we get back." Jemma looked between Skye, Will, and Yoyo, trying to foresee any and all injuries.    
  
The rest of the walk was quiet. Jemma could tell Will was getting tired and Jemma was surprised she could ever be so happy to see the sand. They were trapped on it and at first Jemma hated it, but that was before she found out how much worse the jungle was.   
  
"You can put me down now." Jemma tapped Will's shoulder when they got back to the hospital tent. May and the few others looked at them curiously, but didn't say anything. Fitz was a different story.   
  
"What the hell happened?" He was shouting, mostly at Skye. He ran to Jemma and helped Will ease her into the sand without letting her leg touch the sand. They'd heard her screams, but Coulson hadn't allowed anyone else to go into the jungle since only Skye and her group knew what was what. "Where is everyone?" Fitz was panicking.

By the time they made it to the beach, after all the hiking, all the fruit picking, all the running and fighting, the animal bites...Skye was so tired she hadn’t considered what the others heard from the beach and she definitely wasn’t prepared for Fitz to look directly at her and basically accuse her of causing Jemma’s injury. As soon as he said it, the wheels in Skye’s mind shifted back to the airplane after the crash and those fifteen seconds between when Jemma stopped breathing and when the seat belt finally broke free. 

“Mack and Hunter are still in the jungle,” Skye said. She turned to Yoyo. “Let Coulson know what happened, see who he can spare to go back with you to get it?” She waited only long enough for Yoyo to nod and then turned back to Fitz. “Kebo was eaten by a pack of what I’m pretty sure Jemma’s gonna tell us are mini-dinosaurs and Jemma…” Skye looked over at Jemma, her brow furrowed. “I’m not exactly sure what Jemma was doing in the jungle, actually...we heard her screaming and ran to find her while giant prehistoric turkeys were trying to eat her after running her up a tree...” She didn’t need to explain herself to Fitz. She really, really fucking didn’t. But she explained it anyway and part of her hoped it overloaded his brain and made him pass out so she wouldn’t have to listen to his shrill panic attacks. Part of Skye wished she had less mental fortitude so she could just positively freak the fuck out the way Fitz did all the time rather than burying her fear and anxiety as deep as it would go in order to continue processing situations as they hit them. 

Skye walked away from Fitz and found a blanket to lay down in the sand. “Why don’t you set a spell? We’ll clean that off,” she nodded to Jemma’s leg, “and you can tell me if it’s gonna need stitches,” She was pretty sure it might with the way she was bleeding through layers of Skye’s shirt. Skye pulled her bag off her shoulders with a stifled grunt of pain stemming from both the stitches in her side and the bites on her shoulder, shoulder blade, ear and the back part of her jaw. She set the bag down and grabbed the first aid kit. 

Fitz just stood there with his mouth hanging open and Jemma needed him to stop freaking out. Blaming Skye made her angry with him and she didn't know why he took a disliking to her.    
  
"Fitz, go get some water." She snapped at him. It took a moment, but he turned around and headed for the water trough.    
  
"I'm sorry. He's terrible when he's panicky." Jemma looked up at Skye. She had put up with a lot of people's reactions to the situation, but her external confidence hadn't wavered much at all until now. Jemma could see in her eyes that Skye was believing what Fitz was accusing her of.   
  
"I was the one who wandered into the jungle like an idiot." Jemma added. She winced as she peeled the ruined shirt from her leg and gave Skye another apologetic glance. She was going to run out of clothes at this rate.

Skye tried to settle her thoughts so she could focus on Jemma’s injury rather than her own feelings about Fitz’s shouting and blaming her. “What were you doing in there, anyway?” She asked while she opened the first aid kit. Was there something else Jemma needed that Skye hadn’t found yet? Had she taken too long to get back with the various plants and such for Jemma to use that made her go wandering? Either way, she wished Jemma hadn’t gone wandering, but at least the jungle trek crew had been close enough to get to her when she’d been cornered. She took her bloody shirt from Jemma and, while they waited for him to return with the water, she used it to try and wipe some of the excess blood off of the areas around the wound. She grimaced a bit at the look of it, unsure if it was bleeding so much because of how deep it was or because this was another one of those areas of shallow skin that appeared to bleed worse like head wounds. 

"I was looking for useful plants at the treeline and saw what I now know was a terror bird hatchling." Jemma slid the notebook from her messenger bag and opened it to the drawing she made. She handed it to Skye and once her hands were free she busied herself with the first aid kit. She was embarrassed she'd lacked such basic common sense and got herself hurt. Next time she might not be so lucky.

Skye’s eyebrows hiked up her forehead as she looked at the notebook Jemma handed her. For a very brief moment, Skye wondered if it was normal for scientists to be decent artists for sketching/drawing. “ _ Jemma _ ,” Her name came out of Skye’s mouth in a scold before she could stop it. She sighed as she looked over at Jemma, her shoulders dropping slightly. “You followed an animal off into the jungle...and you get mad at me for going for a swim, really?” She was only half scolding her, really. Skye probably would have done the same in such a situation, though she wouldn’t have had the foresight to try and draw a picture of it and even if she did, it would have been a terrible attempt. Skye frowned. She sat back against her heels and looked down at the drawing again. 

She cleared her throat and kept her eyes down on Jemma’s drawing. “We’d just met back up after running away from the pack of...whatever they were we ran into,” she handed the book back to Jemma. “When I realized it was you screaming-,” Skye never got to finish the sentence since Fitz came bursting back into their personal space with a couple bottles of water. Skye, instead, took one of them so she could use it to start cleaning off Jemma’s leg instead. 

"Are there really dinosaurs in there?" Fitz knelt beside Jemma and picked up the sketch Jemma had been showing Skye. He studied it for a moment before a lightbulb went off in his head. "Those are terror birds!" He exclaimed. Jemma quirked an eyebrow at him and he elaborated, "I play a lot of ark. The video game." He explained.   
  
"So you're telling me there are real, live terror birds? Were those the screeches?" Fitz was going fast, trying to comprehend like the rest of them. It wasn't something easily taken in.    
  
"We'll talk about it with the whole camp later so we don't have to tell the story forty times. For now we need to take care of wounds." Jemma quipped at him.    
  
"Is it still bleeding?" Jemma frowned and looked around her knee to see her leg. The blood was still wet, but she didn't know if it was because it was fresh or because Skye was rinsing it off.

Skye lapsed into silence and dealt with her own thoughts while she let Fitz and Jemma talk. She was sure Jemma was going to lose her scientist mind when she saw the thing in her bag. But that could wait. “It looks like it’s still going just a little bit now,” She took out a mini-bottle of vodka that must have come from the plane and had been shoved into the kit and glanced at Jemma. “Do you want to stitch it, or should I?” She asked as she rifled through and grabbed the suture kit from the first aid bag with her free hand. 

"Would you mind?" Jemma asked. Her face was contorted in anticipation. She had to use her logical mind for this part. She didn't want to go through it again, but she knew she needed to. She didn't want to make Skye do it, but she was certain she wouldn't be able to do it herself. It was pretty long, spanning from about eight inches below her knee to her ankle, where the bird had gotten her shoe instead, leaving her only in a blood sock. She slowly and carefully unrolled it to get it off her foot.    
  
"It's going to be a lot of stitches..." Jemma groaned. She sighed when she saw the alcohol in Skye's hand and knew this was going to hurt a lot and she would have to sit still for a while to help along the healing process.

Skye gave Jemma a look. Of course she wouldn’t mind. She did move to sit on the edge of the blanket, cross legged, however and gingerly picked up Jemma’s leg after she pulled the sock off. She set the limb down in her lap and put the kit and the bottle down on the other half of her lap. She set up the thread and needle first then looked at Fitz. “Put that down and hold her hand,” she nodded toward Jemma after frowning at the notebook he was still studying. She waited for Fitz to comply while she used some of the water off to the side of them to wash off her hands. She dumped a bit of the alcohol onto her hands and rubbed them together and then she looked at Jemma. “Sorry about this,” She said, before she dumped the rest of the bottle on the wound to kill off whatever germs she could. She flinched in sympathy and then began the slow process of stitching Jemma up. She was a bit better at it this time, quicker with the knots and also better at grouping them together so they weren’t as far apart since she had the light to view it properly, unlike when she had to do Jemma’s forehead. 

“So, you had a dinosaur phase, huh?” Skye asked without looking away from Jemma’s leg while she sewed. “Bet your parents loved that - please tell me little ten year old you dug up your backyard looking for fossils or something,” She tried her best to distract Jemma though she figured there wasn’t really a way to keep her from feeling the pain. She figured she would try, a least. 

"That is actually spot on." Jemma chuckled, but it was cut off half way by a flinch. Fitz squeezed her hand and Jemma let out a shaky breath. Only two finished, and a whole half a calf to go. She wasn't going to openly say it to Skye and Fitz, but she was worried. Even with the alcohol, the chances of these things getting infected was a thousand times higher. She would have to be diligent about keeping it covered and out of the sand, just like her patients, but it was harder when she'd still need to get around. So she let herself be distracted from being stuck on an island by talking about her nerdy childhood.   
  
"My dream was to unearth a dinosaur skeleton, and I was convinced it would happen in my backyard." She laughed. "Drove my parents bonkers."

Skye chuckled between stitches so she didn’t tug anything unnecessarily. “Sounds like a missed opportunity for them - I’d have bought some dinosaur toys to bury through the yard while you were at school,” She smirked. She went on to the next stitch and tried not to think about infection possibilities. Surely some of the plants she’d gathered for Jemma could help with that, right? Skye hoped so anyway. “What was your favorite dinosaur?” she asked. 

"That would have been cute." Jemma chuckled at Skye. She had a kind heart and Jemma would have loved to meet her before survival skills were a necessity. "And it's a Troodon; they're the smartest." Jemma said this like it was obvious there was no possible answer. She found herself using the present tense, and Jemma realized it was crazy, but also now possible, so she was leaving her mind open.

Skye snickered softly. “So it’s the Jemma of the dinosaur world, huh?” She joked without looking away from the task at hand.    
  
Looking for more to discuss, Jemma thought about little things she could share with Skye and when she remembered, her cheeks flushed. "If we get off this island you're never to tell anyone," Jemma looked both Fitz and Skye in the eye as her grin spread. "I may or may not have dissected a few lizards."

Skye listened to Jemma’s shared tidbit of information while she worked and couldn’t help but smile about it. “I’ll take it to the grave, Doc,” She promised. She tried to think of something, anything really, from her childhood she could have offered in return. She came up with much less that would be suitable for this conversation than she would have liked. “What changed?” she asked instead. “That turned you away from dinosaurs, I mean,” She kept working. They were closer together than the ones on Jemma’s face so there were more of them to do but Skye worked as meticulously as possible while trying not to hurt Jemma too much. 

Jemma bit the inside of her cheek and held back tears at a particularly painful stitch in the middle that pulled her skin back together. She continued indulging in the talk about her childhood because anything was better than thinking about having her leg sewn up on a beach.    
  
"I suppose as I got older I was encouraged to grow out of it. The kids at school and my parents thought dinosaurs could only be a stage of childhood." Jemma shrugged. She wondered if in some parallel universe she could have ended up being a paleontologist.

“Bummer,” Skye tried not to let it bother her whenever Jemma made any sounds as she worked. It couldn’t be helped. All she could do was keep working and get the job done. “I mean, you’re clearly a genius so you still got to get your science on with all your degrees and stuff,” She rambled a bit. “But bummer that they stifled your badass fossil hunter vibe,” She was just a little tiny bit over halfway done. “Do you have any siblings? Were they ever dino hunting partners?” 

"Only child." Jemma grunted and kept her eyes up on Skye's face instead of her leg. She appreciated how hard she was working to help her and Jemma would be giving her a good round of twenty questions for herself later. "I think my parents were content with one well behaved, quiet child." Jemma chuckled. Her parents hadn't been rude or mean, but they never put up with any mess or excessive noise. She didn't know why they had a child in the first place. They just got lucky she was happier to read books and study things than play sports. They had thrown a fit over the disemboweled lizard on the kitchen table.

“One well behaved, quiet child that excavated their backyard,” Skye grinned and worked her way through a few more stitches. Now that she was in a groove, they moved a bit faster though she was still careful not to tug too hard or be rough about it.    
  
"Is it almost done?" Jemma huffed, but refused to look at her leg.

“Just about...mmm…” Skye glanced at her finished work and the rest of the wound right before she started the next stitch. “Three more after this,” She told Jemma. She fell quiet after that and concentrated on finishing the last of them. When they were all tied off, she cut the excess thread and set the suture kit tools aside. She pulled out a pre-moistened wet wipe that was soaked with alcohol, murmured a quick apology and, as gently as she could while still making use of the little towel, she wiped off the stitched wound and the areas directly surrounding it. When that was done, she cut a strip of gauze and taped it over the stitches. Skye went the extra step of grabbing one of the rolls of gauze from the kit, she wound it around Jemm’s leg to double up on covering the wound and then taped it off firmly so it would all stay in place. “Okay,” She said, digging through the kit until she found the aspirin bottle. She shook two out and handed them over to Jemma. “All set.” 

"At this rate we're going to run out of thread." Jemma sighed and took a look at her leg. She lost the bottom part of her pants leg and along with having no shoe, she was pretty pathetic looking.   
  
"I'm alright Fitz, go ask Coulson to set up a meeting for about an hour from now." Jemma shooed him away. By the end he was more pale than she was and he wasn't much of a help. He got up and did as Jemma said. She needed some time to calm down and then talk with the others about what to say. Jemma took a swig of her water with the aspirin and let the next mouthful go down slowly. They weren't in dire need of more, but she still wasn't about to go wasting it.    
  
"Thank you for saving my life.  _ Again _ ." Jemma fidgeted with the strings on the end of her ripped jeans before she looked Skye in the face. She felt like an idiot and she knew she was the one who put Skye in danger, not the other way around.

“Don’t mention it,” Skye ducked her eyes and busied herself with cleaning off the tools from the suture kit with the still wet wipe from the first aid kit and then tucked everything back into the kit. She wanted to try and explain to Jemma why it was important to her that nothing happened to Jemma - not because she was a doctor, which was important, but because of whatever connection it was they’d forged in those first hours together in the airport and on the plane, and in the small moments since then too. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to explain it and she wasn’t sure it would even make sense outside her head. “You can raid my suitcase, if you want,” she nodded to Jemma’s frayed pant leg. “For some pants? They might be loose, but,” She shrugged and cleared her throat. “When the others get back with that carcass, we can probably find your shoe,” She grimaced as she thought about how gross the thing would be. “Or I can check Coulson’s stash and see if they have anything in your size?” she offered, forgetting for a second about the dinosaur body in her bag and the fact that she’d been bitten more than once by the thing. Her own wounds had been everywhere but on her mind since she’d been focusing on the stitches and all. 

"We can do that later, I still need to check on your wounds." Jemma pat the towel in front of her and gestured for her to move over. There was no way Skye was getting away without being taken care of herself. "I'll check out your new wounds and then I should check on your stitches. They might be able to come out." Jemma explained.

Skye moved and sat on the blanket so her left side was facing Jemma to let her have access to see the top and back of her shoulder and the side of her face. There was a bite on the back of her left shoulder, a deeper bite in the top of her left shoulder, some fairly deep claw marks in the back of her shoulder blade, and the bottom of her earlobe and back of her jaw were scratched up pretty well too. “They’re just scratches, Jem, really.” The bite on the top of her shoulder might have been a bit more than a scratch, same went for the claw marks dug into her shoulder blade. Jemma was right, though, they were going to run out of thread if they kept stitching things and Skye didn’t want Jemma to waste any on her. 

"Some of them aren't just scratches." Jemma's brow furrowed in concentration as she tried to eliminate the ones that really were just scratches. The one on the back of her shoulder looked like it hurt, but it would heal on its own, but the one on top needed something by the way it was bleeding. She pulled the tank down from Skye's shoulder to reveal the scratches. One was deeper than the other and Jemma could get away with only stitching the deeper one. The bite however would be difficult to take care of. It was several thin, but deep punctures and there was no way she'd be able to suture it.   
  
"You're not going to like this..." Jemma sighed and squeezed Skye's arm. "One of the scratches does need a stitch or two. I can't stitch the bite but it's bleeding enough that I need to seal it. Cauterization seems like the best option." Jemma tried to say it softly but she knew it wasn't an appealing idea. "It would be less painful than stitches though and it'll only last a second."

Skye bit into the corner of her bottom lip as Jemma moved her shirt and looked over the wounds. She tried not to move at all and did her best to keep her muscles from flinching too much. She braced herself as Jemma gave her the rundown. She took a deep breath and exhaled a sigh at the prognosis as she hung her head forward a moment. “Okay…” she nodded, trying to resign herself to the pain that would be involved in cauterizing the bite. “Okay...I’ll get some fire if you want to set up the needle and thread?” She asked. 

"I'm sorry." Jemma gave Skye's arm another squeeze before she got up to start a fire. Jemma prepared the needle, making sure she cleaned it twice just to make sure they weren't sharing any blood. She set it aside since the bite should be taken care of while the stick Skye brought back was still red-hot from the fire.   
  
"I have to do it before it cools off, okay? On the count of three." Once Skye was situated Jemma pulled her strap aside and got the stick ready in her hand. "One, Two-" Jemma pressed the stick against the wound and grimaced at the hiss it made. It was quick though and the anticipation was the worst part, so she thought she was doing Skye a kindness.

This...this was not the first time Skye had had grit and bear it for something surrounding an injury. She’d learned to do that long before the plane crash ever happened too, much in the way she’d had to learn to read people to survive as a kid. She clenched her jaw and her head jerked to the side, her arm and shoulder never moved but she didn’t lose her battle against not making any noise when the searing pain hit as she let out a very graceful, “FUCK!” Her eyes clenched as she ground out another stifled groan and waited for the pain to subside. For a moment, she felt a pang of guilt for Izzy, when Jemma had tried to cauterize her arm. That was a much bigger spot than the one Jemma just cauterized on her. Skye’s fists were balled up against her thighs to the point that her nails were almost digging into her palms. She let out a long breath and shook her head. “Fuck,” she muttered on the next exhale. 

"I'm so sorry!" Jemma exclaimed. She didn't know how to comfort her and she felt so guilty the first thing she did was lean in and kiss her shoulder a few inches from the bite turned burn. It was the only soothing thing she could think of, even if it was just emotional. She rubbed Skye's back, taking extra caution to avoid her new scratches. "I'm sorry." She repeated it as a mantra. She knew she was helping people when she did things like this, but it felt a whole lot more like she was hurting them.   
  
"That's it for that, I'm going to give your cut three stitches and check your ribs and then I'm done, ok? The worst part's over" Jemma wanted permission before she proceeded. She wanted to know Skye was breathing and had calmed down before she made her hurt again.

Skye was still recovering from the jolt of burning pain when Jemma kissed her shoulder, so she hoped the sudden hitch in her breathing could be chalked up to still reacting to the pain. She nodded, and took another deep breath. “Yeah,” she nodded again, “Okay,” she tried not to sound as hesitant as she felt. Stitches, she could handle stitches.  _ Right. Breathe. _ She closed her eyes for a moment and took a couple of steady breaths. “Okay,” She murmured again once she opened them. She unfurled her fists and curled her hands around her bent knees as she was sitting there cross legged. 

Jemma sighed and prepared herself for more. Obviously she wasn't hurting from this in the same way Skye was, but she was still hurting in her gut. It was worse to do these things to Skye than anyone else, probably because she was her friend. She was going to do as few stitches as possible and three was the definite number after she looked again.   
  
The tank top stayed off to the side where Jemma adjusted it so she had easy access. She would have distracted Skye the way she had done for her, but it would be much quicker and done in less than thirty seconds if she focussed on it, so that was what she did. She tied off the last knot, clipped it, and rubbed another set of circles into her back.   
  
"How's that?" Her lips were pursed tightly and her eyes were just watery enough for Skye to be able to tell she was upset for her. Again she found herself wondering why it had to be like this.

Skye understood why Jemma was upset. She’d spent her time asking Jemma question while stitching her up both to distract Jemma and to distract herself from the fact that she was hurting Jemma. The stitches were a cakewalk compared to the cauterizing, that was for sure. Jemma was much faster at them than Skye, which only made Skye feel worse about taking so long to stitch Jemma’s leg. She leaned just slightly into the touch along her back. She felt awful when she saw the tears welled up in Jemma’s eyes, so she forced a small smile on her face. “Thanks, Doc,” She breathed on an exhale.

Jemma smiled when Skye seemed to be alright. She didn't want to have to do any of this to her, but they were almost finished, on the home stretch. 

  
"I just need to see if your other stitches can come out yet. It will sting but not nearly as bad as putting them in." Jemma pat Skye's back lightly when she stopped circling and reached for the hem of her tank top. It would be awkward but Skye could hold it over her chest. She didn't need as much room to take them out as she did to sew them in. But her hand came into contact with something hard and when she pulled it up, her eyes widened and her mouth opened on an inhale, words on the tip of her tongue waiting to come out-

Until that very moment, Skye had been so distracted and thoroughly worn out that she completely forgot about the gun. She was just about to lift her right arm up when she felt Jemma’s hand against the gun as she pulled the hem of her shirt up. Skye spun slightly in her spot, cringing slightly at the sudden movement, and Jemma’s gasping inhale was cut short by Skye’s hand. Skye’s own eyes were wide as she swung her other hand up to hold her finger up to her lips instantly to shush her. She glanced around at the closest injured patients and when she was satisfied that they weren’t going to hear her, she quietly said, “Don’t freak out,” as she reached back to pull the back of the tank down over the gun. She watched Jemma carefully for a moment and then pulled her hand away from her mouth. 

Jemma's mouth was still open slightly when Skye moved her hand and Jemma's eyes didn't leave her waistband. How she hadn't even noticed it, she had no idea, or maybe Skye was better at hiding things than she thought. "But you-" Jemma vaguely gestured to her waist. "But you have a-" Jemma looked around them before turning around and whispering under her breath. "a gun?!" Jemma's eyes were wide and she couldn't help but lean away a bit. Crash landing on an island full of dinosaurs changed her opinion on what kinds of truths she could possibly have to undermine and replace.   
  
"How did you get that?!" Jemma questioned. She hadn't yet shared Fitz's theory about an intentional crash to Skye and her brain couldn't help but make the connection, but she was internally hoping Skye had a very logical reason for this. She didn't want to believe Skye was anything other than the computer genius she'd been talking to on the plane and the woman who saved her life.

“It was in a lock box in the bags I pulled from the water the other day.” Skye lied. Normally, she could manage a straight faced lie when she had to without feeling shitty about it. There were situations it was necessary. Most of the times she did it, it was self-preservation related. Right now, however, it made her feel like total shit to lie to Jemma. All of the not-quite-truths she’d told Jemma made her feel like shit. “Dumbasses had the key attached to the handle,” She went on, leaning close as she spoke quietly so only Jemma could hear. “I figured it must be the air marshal’s. I didn’t want anyone to know it existed. It’d be worse than Ward and his cronies getting their hands on the knives,” Especially if it came to a point where they couldn’t forage for or catch food. “ I didn’t want anyone to use it -  _ I  _ don’t want to use it,” otherwise she would’ve just pulled the thing and shot the damn terror birds while they were snapping at Jemma’s legs. “When I empty my bag, I’ll store it in there, but for now…” She shrugged. She had limited options. She felt nervous under Jemma’s gaze as she watched her face, looking for any and all of Jemma’s reactions. 

Jemma carefully scanned Skye's face, looking for any possible signal that she could have any kind of malicious intent, but all she saw was fear. Her shoulders relaxed and she took a deep breath.   
  
"I wouldn't keep it in your bag. Who knows how desperate people could get, searching other people's bags doesn't seem out of bounds to  _ certain people _ ." Jemma made a pointed glance down the shore. "Keep it on you." She nodded. This was the best way she knew to let Skye know she believed her and supported her. But there were people around and other things needed to be addressed. Slowly, so Skye wouldn't react when she took it, Jemma slid the gun away and tucked it under the towel.   
  
"I still need to check on those stitches." Like nothing happened at all, Jemma's face was back to her normal expression: worried for Skye.

Skye didn’t relax right away. She felt another pang of guilt for lying to Jemma but ducked her head and nodded in agreement at Jemma’s advice, or her acknowledgement that she believed Skye. She wanted to tell Jemma everything. If anyone here deserved it from her, it was Jemma. She couldn’t, though and she knew it. “Thank you,” She said, forcing her shoulders to relax as Jemma hid the gun. She reached for the hem of her tank top on the right side to pull it up and to keep her arm out of the way so Jemma could check her stitches. “How long do the ones in your forehead have to stay in?” she asked to fill the silence between them. 

"I wish I could tell you, but I don't have a mirror." Jemma frowned. As she did it she could feel the tug of the thread, but she'd gotten used to it. "Yours aren't quite ready to come out yet, with all the activity I'd give them another few days. Be careful and you'll have them out in no time." Jemma smoothed the gauze and tape back over the wound. It was starting to heal but wasn't at a point where Jemma was certain it wouldn't reopen when it didn't have reinforcements. She tugged Skye's tank back down and reached up with her clean left hand to tap on her wound. It was hard to tell without seeing.   
  
"As for mine, if the skin looks strongly connected then they can come out. Usually they do after this amount of time, but I hope you have good judgement." Jemma joked, but with head wounds it was fairly easy to tell, she just couldn't feel it between the thread.

Skye was still trying to keep her mind off of thinking about two things simultaneously: Jemma’s touch along her side and the guilt from her growing list of lies. She shifted after smoothing out her shirt. She leaned in to get a good look at Jemma’s stitches, ignoring the impulse to stare at other parts of Jemma’s face, like her mouth, which was really close at the moment. She examined Jemma’s stitches, looking at the skin beneath them to see if it was sealed back together and healed over enough that it wouldn’t burst open if the stitches were gone. “I don’t know how one would want to rate my judgement,” Skye said, checking the whole gash before she sat back. “But the skin looks like it’s healed together on itself. I can take them out if you want…?” It wouldn’t be all that complicated, right? If Skye could put them in place, she could take them out too. 

"That would be best. The goal is to get the skin to heal together without fusing to the thread like a piercing." Jemma explained. She dug out the tiny scissors again and offered them to Skye, blade in her fingers and handle facing her. "It's exactly how you would think. Snip it and just gently slide it out." When Skye took hold of the scissors, Jemma placed her free hand on top of Skye's and gave it a squeeze. She couldn't tell her how proud she was of her for suffering through her own treatments and learning medical procedures to help Jemma herself. She also felt like she gained a little more bravery when she held Skye's hand. She knew it wouldn't hurt all that much, if at all, but maybe she wanted to hold Skye's hand anyway.

Skye nodded. It seemed pretty cut and dry taking them out, much easier it seemed than putting them in. She paused when Jemma squeezed her hand, more than willing to take a moment for comfort, especially so if it was also something Jemma needed after her ordeal. She offered Jemma a small, reassuring smile and after a moment took a slow breath through her nose then said, "Well, let's get these out and get that covered, then you can check out the creature in my bag?"    
  
Skye worked quickly but quietly to get the stitches out, her eyes shifting every so often to Jemma's face to see if it was hurting her even though there was nothing she'd be able to do about it if this was the case. She knew Jemma would probably insist on checking over Will and the others before she looked at the mutant lizard/possible dinosaur, but whatever. Skye figured Mack and the others would be back with the terror bird carcass by then too and maybe they could salvage Jemma's shoe. If not, Skye would rifle through the unclaimed clothes to find her some new ones.

Jemma kept her eyes closed and just enjoyed Skye's cool touch. The area was still sore, there was no doubt about that, but it was satisfying as each stitch came out and every time Skye grazed her forehead with a finger, a small shiver ran up her spine.    
  
"I'll try to contain myself as examine your little friends. For science." Jemma giggled and opened her eyes to see Skye's reaction. It was probably insensitive since Kebo had been killed just that day, but she didn't even know him and everything was a sore spot on this island, so she might as well joke.

The right side of Skye's mouth twitched upward. She was upset about what happened to Kebo, sure, because it happened on her watch. He'd nearly killed her by throwing his knife the way he had, though, just before the mutant lizard pack attack so Skye wasn't going to let her conflicting emotion about the situation take Jemma's moment of levity away.    
  
"Now don't hold out on me, Doc," She smirked a little bit. "I'm counting on experiencing the magic of Jurassic Jemma in action in all her paleontology glory." She quickly cut small strips of gauze to tape over Jemma's remaining cut once the stitches were gone. "All set," she said.

"Well then let's see the bugger." Jemma made a gesture with her hand and adjusted in her place, angling herself to try to see into Skye's bag even before she opened it. "We'll both share the Nobel prize when we tell everyone back home what we've found." Jemma joked. Fantasizing was exactly what they needed right now. Maybe it wasn't even just a joke. People would go nuts over this when they returned. She would take care to keep the evidence.

"Jurassic Jemma is also generous with her discovery credits, good to know," Skye chuckled and zipped the first aid kit shut. he dragged her back closer and popped the clasps. Flipping the top back, she reached in and pulled the very dead animal out of the bag with both hands and placed it in the small space between them. She brought her hands back to her own lap and looked up from the creature to watch Jemma's face as she examined the thing, whatever the hell it actually was. "We have a couple of them, in some of the other packs," she said. "Didn't know what they were. There were a lot of them at once, fifty easy. The ones we brought back were the ones that chased us while the rest of them..." fed on, "went after Kebo."

Jemma's eyes widened and she didn't even hear what Skye had said. Her hands were reaching and very delicately lifting the creature's head. Its neck was broken but other than that it was in perfect shape, an amazing specimen. If Jemma could have only seen this as a child. She never would have given it up. Her fingers ran over its scales and she looked at its claws and its teeth. The body structure and the way it hunted in giant packs made it obvious what it was.   
  
"It's a Compsognathus. It's not even from anywhere near the same time period as the terror birds." Jemma frowned. None of this made any sense. It was already crazy that there were dinosaurs, but the island didn't seem to follow the same timeline at all. "This is incredible." It was horrible, Jemma knew, but incredible.   
“We’ve found dinosaurs.” Jemma looked up at Skye with both wonder and terror in her eyes. What else could be here?

Skye blinked. "Gesundheit," she teased with a crooked smirk at the name of the thing. The dinosaur. Skye fought dinosaurs...in a jungle, on a previously uninhabited tropical island after crash landing on it from an airplane on a flight across the Pacific. Skye could practically hear the Twilight Zone theme song playing in the back of her mind, with the narrated opening of top of it, _ 'You're about to enter a world, a world lost in time, a world full of extinct creatures, where behind every turn there's a chance you'll be devoured by prehistory. You're about to enter, The Twilight Zone...do do do do, do do do do, do do do do...'  _   
  
Her brow furrowed as she watched Jemma poke, prod and examine the animal. "Dinosaurs...from different time periods in prehistory," she ran a hand over her face and sighed. "As if surviving a plane crash wasn't enough..." She looked at Jemma, less wonder in her own eyes, more fear and apprehension instead. She chewed on the bottom corner of her lip and considered the situation. Who knew what else was lurking in the jungle? What had the terror birds even fought with the other night? "How do we find a fresh water source without running into either of these things and without relying on rain..." she wondered aloud just as gasps and murmurs started erupting throughout the camp as the others came back dragging the terror bird carcass through the sand.

"I suppose we'll have to figure that out later." Jemma looked over her shoulder as a crowd began gathering around the giant bird before the crew even had it to the middle of the beach where their largest group fire was.    
  
"We'll be eating like kings tonight!" She heard Hunter shout, and excited cheers erupted from the group of survivors even if they didn't know what it was. Jemma gingerly lifted the dinosaur like it was a living baby and placed it in her bag to bring to the meeting. Like Skye had thought, nobody would believe it without proof and they took science from her and Fitz without fuss.    
  
"We're having a group meeting to discuss what happened. After that you can patch us all up now that the other two are back." Will jogged over and held out a hand to help Skye up before he lifted Jemma. They would at least be in agreement that she shouldn't be walking with her leg so freshly injured, especially without a shoe to keep her out of the sand.

Skye felt wary of the cheering. she understood it and she was happy for the morale boost for everyone, but all the same she felt wary. There was another shoe waiting to drop somewhere (not just Jemma's shoe) and she wasn't sure what it was or when it would drop, but she knew it would. She let Will help her up and when he went to scoop Jemma up, she quickly grabbed her hidden gun under the towel and tucked it in her back waistband, pulled her shirt easily over to cover it. She made it look like she was just stooping over to pick up her bag with the dinosaur and slung that over her good shoulder. She exchanged a glance with Jemma over Will's shoulder as she followed them toward the group.    
  
Skye’s face fell solemn as they approached. Ward and his current group of cronies, Garrett, Malick, Quin, Raina and a couple guys she still didn't know the names of yet had inserted themselves into the gathering crowd. Skye had been watching Garrett and Ward slither their way throughout the camp the last couple of days, taking people aside for whispered conferences, cutting off their conversations when anyone ventured by. She tried to keep an eye on it when she could but as of yet didn't know what that noise was all about, only knew it was suspicious.   
  
"She sure is a beaut, ain't she, fellas?" Garrett grinned, puffed his chest out and rested his hands on his waist as if he had some hand in retrieving the terror bird.    
  
"Sure is, boss," Quinn gave Garrett a jovial slap on the back. He pulled his hand away when Garrett glared at him and then rubbed his hands together. "So! When do we eat?"    
  
"As soon as you thank Jemma, Mack, Hunter, Spaceman and Yoyo for finding and bagging your meal," Skye said as they approached. Garrett fixed her with a sour look but Skye's shoulders were squared and her jaw stiff, head held high, daring him to challenge her with only the fierce look of her dark gaze.   
  
Coulson stood by the bird's neck with his hands on his hips, a thoughtful but dubious look on his face. "Now hold on a minute - we don't know if it's even edible. We could cook this and eat it and be dead by morning," he said, his tone cautious.    
  
Skye turned to Jemma, her features shifting to soften significantly though she was still guarded. "Got any insight on that for us, Doc?" She asked.

"You can put me down." Jemma tapped Will's shoulder and he slowly let her down. She felt ridiculous talking to the group while being cradled like a baby, so she stood on her left leg and reached over to Skye on her right for balance, being careful of her shoulder of course.   
  
"I don't see any reason to worry. It's not known to be venomous or poisonous so I would think our only concern should be cooking it all the way through." Jemma said. She couldn't be 100% certain it was safe, but she wasn't going to tell them that. She couldn't even be 100% certain the fruit was safe since it could be drastically different genetically than what they bought in the supermarket.

Skye reflexively reached out and hooked her arm around Jemma’s middle to balance her and keep her from falling. She wasn’t sure about the potential toxicity of anything they were already eating and drinking from this place. They had limited options, so, either way it was do or die. Skye gave Jemma’s middle a small squeeze, for no real reason than just because she could. Admittedly, Skye felt a surge of triumph that Jemma preferred to stand hobbled and holding onto her than letting Will cart her around.

“Right then, let’s gut the monster and have a barbecue!” Hunter slapped his hands together and rubbed them eagerly as he grinned. 

Coulson gave in with a nod after exchanging a look with Jemma. He still felt a bit concerned with how edible it could be, but he could see the reasoning in Jemma’s assertion. They’d survived the fish that he and Trip caught, so what was another caught animal? “Okay, let’s take care of this then, Trip, you’re with me. Robbie, Joey, Bobbi, Alisha, collect as much wood as you can to build the fire up. Mack, Hunter, Yoyo, Will, let Jemma have a look at your injuries,” He glanced at Jemma to make sure that was alright then turned to Ward, Garrett, Quinn, Raina and their crew. “If you want a share, you’ll help us clean, cut, carve it up, cook it and dry it out. That’s the deal.” He said, holding his hands out at his side as if to say, ‘ _ take it or leave it, up to you. _ ’ 

“Trip,” Skye said as Trip was starting to cut his way through the terror bird’s gut. He looked up at her. “You find a read sneaker in there, you give me a holler, yeah?” She asked. Trip arched his eyebrows and then followed Skye’s indication as she nodded toward Jemma’s foot. 

Trip gave them both a broad grin. “I’ll do what I can,” He gave them a wink and then got back to work. 

Skye looked over at Jemma. “You alright?” She asked. She wasn’t going to make Jemma walk back in the sand with the way her leg was but that didn’t mean she wanted to let go of her just yet. 

"I know I shouldn't walk, but it makes me feel a bit useless to be carried." Jemma held onto Skye a little more tightly and tilted her head so they were face to face. They were so close and Jemma just wanted to rest her forehead against Skye's and take a break from... all this.    
  
"You're a little ridiculous, you know that Jemma?" Will chuckled. "I might be carrying you but it's to the medical supplies, where you're helping all the injured." Will raised his brow and offered his hand out to Jemma. She eventually sighed and gave in, knowing that hopping would be a struggle. She gave Skye one more squeeze before letting herself shift into Will's arms to be transported again.   
  
"Are we going to share with the group what it actually is over dinner?" Jemma asked the both of them quietly. There were still compys in their bags and she didn't know what the group thought the bird was, but they hadn't questioned it as anything other than a mean, probably because it didn't look like a dinosaur.

Skye wasn’t prepared for the shift that brought them standing so close face to face. A number of inappropriate urges hit her all at once and wound tight in her lower belly. And then Will started talking and Skye had to close her eyes and take a steady breath. She wanted Will to carry Jemma back. It made sense. She knew Jemma didn’t like and she certainly loathed the idea of letting Jemma go at the moment, but all the same, she opened her eyes and eased back as Jemma moved away and Will picked her up. 

Skye cleared her throat and tried to jog her thoughts loose from where they’d been wandering, matching Will’s pace as they headed back toward the medical tent. She nodded. “They’re too excited about the food aspect,” She said. “When everyone’s gathered for dinner and filled their stomachs with more than just mangos and papaya,” she said. “We’ll lay it all out for them about everything. Hopefully by then it will have sunk in and they’ll be more attentive,” She glanced back at the others. 

"Sounds like a plan to me." Will added. Jemma nodded as well and held a hand out to steady herself on the ground as Will lowered her onto the towel. Yoyo, Mack, and Hunter were already there waiting, grim looks on their faces. They knew what they were here for and Jemma gave them all apologetic looks.   
  
"Skye?" Jemma raised her brows in question and glanced at the little black patch on the ground where Skye made the fire she'd used to cauterize her bite, silently asking her to prepare another.

Skye caught the look and pressed her lips into a tight line at the memory of Jemma cauterizing her shoulder. She gave Jemma a small nod, set her bag down and then went to work to gather enough fire to be able to cauterize wounds on four other people. It wasn’t going to be pretty at all but it had to be done.  _____________________

Trip rescued Jemma’s shoe and Skye went to retrieve it. She spent a great deal of time down at the water’s edge with some soap from her toiletry bag scrubbing the ever living hell out of the shoe and rinsing it out thoroughly. She found a decently sized branch to stand up in the sand so that she could hang the shoe from it near the fire in the hopes of drying it out faster. When it came time to eat, Skye helped with getting the wounded people in the tent fed first. Afterward (and sadly with Will’s help again), they moved out to the main stretch of beach to join everyone else for the meal.   
  
It really was a feast, all things considered. It wasn’t the best meat Skye had ever eaten but it worked with the fruit they’d managed to forage (including some extra citrus fruits they’d managed to find before the animal attacks). She sat close to Jemma’s side, not willing to stray too far. Happy chatter filled the air as people got their fill of food and went back for seconds and, in some cases thirds. Even Ward and the goons were jovial. It was almost nice if the lingering fact that they were stranded here after a terrible plane crash wasn’t ever present in the back of her mind on top of the fact that they had to tell people they were eating prehistoric birds and that dinosaurs had attacked them earlier.   
  
As dinner was winding down and people were settling into the sand with their full bellies, Skye looked over at Jemma. “Think this will ruin their nice meal vibe?” she asked. 

Jemma held up a hand and waited until she swallowed the slightly tough meat before she answered. "All good things must come to an end." She nodded. Looking around them in the dimming light, for the first time, everyone in the group looked happy. Just something as simple as a larger meal lifted everyone's spirits. Jemma didn't want to scare them, but they couldn't not tell everyone if they were living in the shadows of dinosaurs.   
  
"Do you want to start or should I?" Jemma glanced down at Skye's bag. She didn't know who it would be better coming from. Her, the scientist that looked at the body, or Skye and her crew, the ones who had encountered them, sustained bites, and brought back bodies. At least the dinosaurs that looked like dinosaurs and not giant ostriches, anyway.

Skye wiped her hands on her pant legs and moved to stand. She tugged her bag across her shoulders again and then held her hands out to Jemma. “We’ll start it together?” She suggested. They both had relevant information to give out to everyone and it made more sense to put up a united front between the science and the eyewitness evidence. “Think you can hobble a little bit to the center with me?” She didn’t want to make Jemma hop, but she didn’t want to keep making her let Will carry her since she’d expressed discomfort with the action earlier. 

"I can do it." Jemma nodded, but she grunted a bit as she got to her feet and awkwardly limped forward some. People were already beginning to look at them and wonder and the volume of conversation had gone down significantly before they even started.   
  
"So a lot of you might be wondering what exactly you're eating," Jemma started. This quieted the rest of the group and she and Skye had all of their attention now. "It's not an ostrich and it's definitely not a turkey." She drew it out some just so people would be prepared and wouldn't suggest these as alternatives. "The meat we just ate came from the animal that did this-" Jemma stuck her leg out. "And it's prehistoric in nature. They are Phorusrhacids, but often called terror birds. Essentially, they are dinosaurs." Jemma tried to keep it scientific, but she could already see she was losing them. She'd need some backup from Skye with the Compy and her more down to Earth speech to really explain what was going on.

Skye was careful to keep a firm grip around Jemma as she limped, trying to take as much weight off of her foot as possible as they moved through the sand while also trying not to kick up too much sand either. She stood next to Jemma while she spoke and just waited for her turn. Skye watched the expressions on various faces as Jemma explained what happened to her leg and what everyone had just been eating. There were some murmurs filtering through the crowd, though Skye couldn’t quite make all of them out.   
  
People became restless at Jemma’s explanation. Skye set her bag on the ground and flipped the top open. When she stood back up she cleared her throat loudly. “I know you’ve all stuffed yourself into near food-coma status,” She spoke slower than her usual cadence, carefully projected her voice to make sure she was heard by the surrounding group, over the sounds of the surf, the crack of the fire and the rumbling murmurs of the group. “But you need to know what we found out there. That sound you heard in the jungle a few nights ago? That was one of these birds…” She pointed to what remained of the butchered carcass a little ways down the beach at the moment. “We have no idea what it was fighting but we heard those sounds before we heard Jemma screaming and found three of those things surrounding her.” She said. “That wasn’t the only thing that attacked our group in the jungle,” She paused and let that sink in. She glanced at Jemma and then crouched down and scooped out the compy’s body. She stood back up. 

“While out there, we found a small animal similar to this one stuck in one of the snare traps. Kebo,” Skye paused and cleared her throat. “Kebo killed it and within seconds we were swarmed with upwards of forty or fifty of these guys,” She held the dinosaur body out. “This, too, is a dinosaur, it’s a-,” Skye turned to Jemma then as she kept holding the compy up for display, looking for the full name of the dinosaur. 

"It's a Compsognathus, but we'll call it a compy for short." Jemma finished for Skye. 

Gasps and whispers slowly increased in  volume until Ward finally stood up. "So you're telling us we're on an island full of dinosaurs and you didn't tell us immediately?!" He accused. Several of his friends and even the others began agreeing and protesting, saying they should have been told what they were eating first.   
  
"Quiet, everyone. It's a lot to process but pointing fingers won't help anyone." Coulson stood up and silenced the rest of the group. They slowly settled back down and tried to digest the information while waiting to see what would happen next.    
  
"No one should go into the jungle unaccompanied under any circumstance." Jemma made eye contact with each and every person as she swept the crowd. It was almost hypocritical to say, but she had learned her lesson.    
  
"This has to be an episode of Punked." Jemma heard someone say. She definitely wished this was true.

Questions and comments came at them rapid fire after that. 

“Why’d you hide it from us?” - Robbie

“What’s to stop them from tracking you back here and attacking us all?” - Creel, one of Ward’s cronies 

“We had a right to know about this!” - Quinn

“Are they going to eat us?” - Ace, bless his heart. 

“No, Ace,” Skye called out to him first. “We’re not going to let them eat anyone-,” 

“How can you promise something like that?” Garrett asked. “Lying to an impressionable young boy?” He shook his head as he stepped closer toward Skye and Jemma. Skye bristled, her muscles stiffened and she felt her hackles rising. “You seem to have appointed yourself as some kind of leader, Skye, and I could maybe admire that...if you hadn’t gotten one of your men killed today,” He pointed out with a devious little smile as further murmurs rushed through the surrounding crowd. 

“Kebo got himself killed,” Skye replied. “He nearly took my head off with a knife and as soon as he killed the compy in the snare, the others attacked. It was a coordinated effort-,” 

“A coordinated effort,” Garrett shook his head. “You expect us to believe pea-brained lizards led a conspiracy to attack and kill Kebo?” 

"Those 'lizards' are anything but pea-brained!" Jemma's shrill objection was laced with anger. She couldn't stand by and watch him blame Skye like everyone else, but nobody seemed to be listening to her. "This wasn't Skye's fault! None of it was!"

“It happened on my watch - regardless of who was at clear fault,” Skye snapped. “I take responsibility for that - it shouldn’t have happened. We were caught by surprise.” 

“I’m glad you’re woman enough to admit your shortcomings, Skye,” Garrett reached out and clamped a hand down on the top of Skye’s injured left shoulder. Skye ground her teeth together and felt the bridge of her nose burn as pain shot through her shoulder and down her back. She refused to flinch away from Garrett. “I think you’ll understand, in that case, why the rest of us would choose to relieve you of your burdens and take over for you from here-,”

Skye shrugged Garrett’s arm off and took a step to the side to get out of his reach. She glared at him and fought to keep her voice steady and deathly calm. “Not only did you not even bother asking what it was you were going to eat, you haven’t done a damn thing to help anyone but yourself, so you can either sit down and shut the fuck up unless you’ve got something actually helpful to say instead of being divisive...or you can go back to your own section of beach and continue playing with yourself.” Skye snapped by the end. 

“That’s enough!” Coulson interrupted again. He looked between Skye and Garrett, who were in the middle of a staredown. “We’re in this together. Now, all of us were excited to have our meal. That meal wouldn’t be in our stomachs right now if it wasn’t for Skye, Jemma and the rest of the group who risked their lives to find food and water for us-,” 

“They didn’t find water,” Quinn cut in. 

“That’s right,” Garrett said. “We’re still living off whatever the clouds feel like bringing us on any given day. 

“That’s why I’ll be taking volunteers back into the jungle in the morning,” Skye cut in. “We’ll be foraging and continuing the search for a fresh water source. Knowing the risks involved after what happened today, I won’t fault anyone who doesn’t want to go with me.” She looked around at the group. “Either way, that’s what I’ll be doing tomorrow.” 

For a moment it was silent. Not a single person spoke up for fear of being mistaken as a volunteer. Jemma watched everyone turn their heads and look at each other. They were waiting for someone to speak up. They all wanted water, but none of them were willing to risk anything. Jemma would volunteer herself, but in her state she would be much more of a burden.    
  
"I'll go." Bobbi, the copilot stood and Jemma breathed a heavy sigh of relief. She had been afraid Skye would have to go on her own, and she knew she wouldn't hesitate. There were monsters out there and Jemma feared for her.   
  
"We'll jump back onto the bandwagon." Mack and YoYo stood up. Hunter remained seated, and Will looked to Jemma, silently asking her what to do. Jemma wanted him to go so it was safer, but he ended up looking away and deciding to stay in camp.

Skye had been holding her breath as she waited for volunteers. She honestly didn’t expect any and it didn’t matter if no one volunteered, Skye was stilling going out there even if it was alone. Someone had to. She knew Garrett, Ward and their crew were watching her and she didn’t want to make a big expulsion of a sigh of relief when Bobbi volunteered. So she regulated the slow breath she exhaled through her nose and turned to look at Bobbi. 

Before she could speak, Mack and Yoyo spoke up and Skye gave them a solemn, grateful nod. She wasn’t surprised by Hunter or by Will. Honestly, she was alright with Will staying behind considering he’d run off in the wrong direction and she’d had to chase after him when the compy attack happened. She didn’t like the idea of him staying at the beach and hanging around Jemma like a lost puppy dog either, but, well, she had limited options. 

“Thank you,” Skye said to Bobbi, Mack and Yoyo. 

“I’m certainly not going to follow the angel of death into the jungle,” Garrett mimed washing his hands clean of the situation and turned to saunter away. 

“I wouldn’t expect a coward to stick his neck out on the line for anyone,” Skye set her jaw tight and ground the words out. She crouched down to put the compy body back into her bag, not sure what to do with the thing, really and just needing to occupy herself with something so she didn’t go throwing punches at people again. 

When she stood back up, Garrett had crossed through a few people in the crowd. He grabbed Skye by the back of her neck and yanked her toward him. “Now you listen to me, you little-,” 

Jemma's breath hitched in her throat and her muscles tensed when Garrett got closer to Skye. Her hands balled into fists and she began a lunge, but Will wrapped an arm around her waist and stopped her from going anywhere before she really even started.

Before he finished his sentence, before Coulson, Trip and Mack had finished starting to move toward the two, in a flurry of sudden, graceful and swift movement, Skye broke Garrett’s hold on her on her and had managed to flip him onto his back in the sand at her feet. It had been reflex. When Garrett first grabbed her, she’d been facing Jemma. Her pupils had blown wide and her muscles seized, locked in fear. An expression of abject terror had been on her face. In that next moment, Garrett was on his back in the sand, the window knock out of him and Skye standing over him, her legs slightly apart, knees bent and her hands up and ready to defend herself. Her breathing had gone suddenly shallow and staggered and she could feel her pulse racing in panic. Not the first time Skye had been grabbed from behind by someone who meant to do her harm...also something she’d promised herself as a kid that she’d never let happen to her again. 

Jemma's eyes were wide and her jaw hung open slightly. Even Will's grip on her relaxed slightly as everyone stared at Skye. Jemma had no idea she could fight like that, but it seemed there was a lot about her she didn't know yet.

“The next time you put your hands on anyone else on this island without their permission,” Skye glared down at him. “I won’t stop at throwing you on your ass. That’s a promise.” She tried to keep her balled fists from trembling but there was only so much she could do considering the constant range of emotions she’d been cycling through nonstop since the crash. Things could only ever be suppressed for so long. Skye forced her hands to unfurl. She grabbed her bag, slung it over her shoulder and stepped to the side, turning so her back was to Jemma but she was between Jemma and Garrett and his buddies as Ward moved to help Garrett up while glaring at Skye. Skye watched their every movement, her hands twitching at her sides in anticipation. 

Now that the initial danger had passed, when Jemma squirmed away from Will he let her go and Jemma very carefully walked up to Skye. She didn't want to startle her, so she breathed a quiet "Hey," before she touched Skye's arm and ran her hand down to Skye's so she could hold it firmly.

Even though she heard Jemma's movement behind her, Skye's muscles still jumped a bit when she touched her. Her hand did wind firmly around Jemma's, though. She didn't turn her away from Garrett's retreating form until he was far enough down the beach that it was hard to see them without fire light. She tried to regulate her breathing to calm her pulse down, aware of the eyes, aside from Jemma's, on her at the moment. How was she supposed to explain that one to them? Skye knew how to defend herself from some of her younger years, as a teen, but those skill had certainly become much more refined after her recruitment into the agency.

"That's enough. Let's try to enjoy the rest of the night. Remember to try and conserve the water we have left until the exploration party finds a new source." Coulson knew the time for getting along had passed for the night, so he ended it and those who were done eating began to disperse.   
  
"Are you ok?" Jemma asked quietly. She knew Skye probably wouldn't talk when Will was still hanging around, but she had to ask anyway.

Skye swallowed against the sudden dryness in her throat. She was acutely aware of Will lingering near them when Jemma asked that question. She wasn't even sure she would have honestly answered that if she and Jemma were completely alone right then. "Yeah," she lied, though she didn't do a very good job of hiding that it was a lie. "I'm fine," she added with a nod.    
  
Coulson turned to Skye as the crowd separated. "Can I have a word with you about tomorrow?" He asked Skye.    
  
Skye released Jemma's hand. She felt her stomach churn, like she was about to go to the principal's office for a lecture and detention slip. "Yeah," she agreed. She grabbed her bag by its strap and held it out for Fitz, who had come over after the crowd was moving away and looked between Fitz and Will. "Will you guys help Jemma back?" She didn't wait for them to answer, she knew they would do it. Skye spared a last glance toward Jemma and then followed Coulson away from the area so they'd be out of earshot from everyone.

Jemma watched sadly as Skye left. She wanted to take her away and let her calm down and see if she wanted to talk about it, but it was too late. Fitz pulled her arm over his shoulder and wrapped an arm around her waist to help walk her back. She didn't want to be carried everywhere, so she let both Fitz and Will support some of her weight. Every right footfall, a sting shot up her leg and Jemma barely put any weight on it to avoid tearing the stitches.    
  
"You should get some rest." Fitz advised when they deposited her by the small shelter. "You've had a long day and tomorrow I should be done grounding the fuselage. We'll be able to move into it and not worry about storms." He explained. Jemma nodded, but she wasn't really listening. She was watching Skye and Coulson down the beach even though she couldn't pick up on any conversation.    
  
"I'm going to go help clean up from dinner. If you need me give a shout." Will told her. Jemma nodded.

Coulson gave Skye a lecture about controlling her temper. Skye told him that she refused to let someone manhandle her or anyone else in the camp and that he shouldn't expect her to tolerate someone violently grabbing her. Coulson lectured her then about needing to maintain peace and order while everyone's nerves were frayed. Skye had to bite hard into her tongue to keep from making an outburst about frayed nerves. Skye had quite a few frayed nerves, she'd had no time to sort through them all and it didn't look like she was about to get any either. They spoke briefly about the trek for tomorrow and then she broke away from him.    
  
Skye went back to the main fire where she'd propped a branch and hung Jemma's shoe to dry. She pulled the sneaker free and checked it over to make sure it was totally dry and then headed up the beach. First, she stopped at the small shelter she'd made herself on the edge of the camp. She set up a small fire to get it going and then dug through her bag, first for some new underwear and jeans that she changed into inside her shelter. She tugged a new overshirt on over her tank and covered the gun with the extra layers then she rifled around for some clothes to offer Jemma if she wanted to change.    
  
With an armful of clothes (pants, a tank, a long sleeve shirt and a button down shirt) and Jemma's now clean sneaker, Skye made her way over to Jemma, both because she wanted to drop the things off and because she would need to get her messenger bag to prepare it for the trek in the morning. "Hey..." She said as she approached, keeping her eyes angled down.

"Everything alright?" Jemma glanced up when she approached. She threw Fitz a look that meant he should take a walk and he got up to check on May and the only other remaining patient. She pat the sand next to her, hoping she would stay and keep her company for a little while. Fitz was her friend, but somehow she found herself enjoying Skye's presence more.   
  
"What's all this?" She looked at the bundle of clothes Skye had in her hands. She was getting a bit chilly with half of her pants leg missing, so she was hoping she had found her something.

Skye hesitated. she watched Fitz as he stepped away and then stood for another moment before she finally gave in and sat down in the sand. She could stay for a few minutes and then she'd ask Jemma what she wanted to do with the compy body, then she'd take her bag back to her shelter to prepare for tomorrow.    
  
"It's for you," Skye said. "I know my stuff's a bit bigger on you, but it's the best I could," she handed the pile over. " And your shoe. I think it's fully dry now." She explained her pile of gifts much like she had that second night when she'd delivered blankets and supplies. "How's your leg?"

"It's doing pretty well, considering." Jemma tilted her leg side to side to show her. She'd gotten used to the stinging every time her skin moved even slightly. "And I'm sure whatever you're offering is better than this." Jemma chuckled and pinched where the front of her jeans now ended just below her knee.    
  
Jemma sorted through the bundle and grinned when she saw the shoe. She was sure it hadn't been pleasant getting it back to her in such a good state. The previously white shoelaces were stained red, but other than that it could have been normal. She accepted the pants and the raglan top with maroon sleeves. She didn't want to take anything else, she was already accepting too much. Her own tank was holding up well enough and she figured they should use everything as long as they could. She'd have the shirt Skye gave her before and the new one to rotate out so she didn't feel so dirty though.    
  
"I can't take all your clothes." Jemma handed the button down and the tank top back to Skye, but she still had a small smile on her face so Skye would know she was grateful. She realized as she held the pants that she was going to have a bit of trouble getting into them on her own without getting sand in places she didn't want sand. She was going to have to ask for help to stay standing for the maneuver and her face flushed pink. Changing tops before had been one thing, but nobody had seen her in her underwear in quite some time.

Skye glanced at Jemma's leg, for once not actually in a clinical way like she had when she was stitching it up. Her thoughts wandered for a moment until Jemma handed the shirts back. "Are you sure?" she asked while still not quite letting her eyes reach Jemma's. "I had a lot packed. I've been away for longer than I'd like to admit, so, it was a large suitcase." Skye had only changed so many times, well mostly because of her shirts being stained with blood. She hadn't really had much time to try and wash them in the ocean even if that meant having somewhat salty clothes.    
  
Caught up in her thoughts - not only both the previous inappropriate ones about Jemma's legs and the ones about wanting to make sure Jemma had what she needed to feel comfortable as far as clothes went, but also about all the things she'd been (rightly?) blamed for since the crash, Skye caught Jemma blushing but wasn't sure why. She assumed she must have been staring or zoning out, but asked, "What?" with a curiously arched eyebrow anyhow, just in case it was something else.

Jemma was sure her face reddened another shade or two when she looked up and saw that cute wondering face. She loved when her eyebrow quirked up like that and she caught her bottom lip between her teeth to hide the nervous smile, albeit unsuccessfully.    
  
"It's nothing, I just..." Jemma took a deep breath and held up the pants some, "...need some help." A nervous laugh bubbled up and she glanced past Skye's shoulder instead of looking at her face.

Skye's brow came together as she watched Jemma dissolve into nerves. Jemma couldn't meet Skye's eyes for an entirely different reason than the ones preventing Skye from meeting hers. It clicked in her head, what the problem was and her own cheeks and the tops of her ears went a few shades of pink. "Oh," she said. She set the things in her hands off to the side and moved to her knees. "Right, yeah. Of course," She tried to think of anything but Jemma taking her clothes off and failed miserably, which instantly made her temperature rise a few sudden degrees and caused another tight pull in the lower part of her abdomen.    
  
Skye looked around for something to hold and found a blanket. She hooked it around her shoulders for now and then stood up. She held her hands out to help Jemma up once she was out of the sneaker she still had on. When she was sure Jemma was mostly steady, she let go so she could grab the ends of the blanket and dropped it behind her back. She stuck her arms out again, both to balance Jemma and to try and keep her blocked from view as best she could with the blanket. There was only so much she could do about the exposure but she did what she could. She kept her eyes forward, occasionally on Jemma’s face, but, fuck, did they want to stray down the length of her body.

"Very clever." Jemma laughed again to hide her anxiousness as she caught her balance. She had to stay within an arm's length of Skye to stay behind her cover, and she would like to since there were still many people milling about. Once they both took a few seconds to breathe, Jemma removed one of her hands from Skye's arm and fumbled trying to unbutton her jeans. The combination of only using one hand (since the other was holding onto Skye for balance), trying to keep most of her weight on one foot, and the fact that she and Skye were face to face made it hard to get the button undone.  Eventually she popped it open and the tips of her ears started burning like the rest of her face when the sound of her unzipping her pants reached their ears. Jemma tried to keep her eyes off of Skye's face, but occasionally they made eye contact and she shifted her gaze away. 

Skye couldn’t help but smile at the way Jemma kept laughing now and then with her nerves. “You don’t have to be flustered,” she assured. “We’ve all had to put pants on before,” She smiled to let Jemma know she was just joking around to try and make her feel better.    
  
It was much harder to shimmy the skinny jeans over her hips and down her legs. By this point her entire being felt flushed. She finally managed to get them down to her knees and very carefully bent over to get them over her cut and off her ankles. She didn't look up to check and make sure Skye wasn't looking because she wouldn't know how to respond if she was. She was even more embarrassed that she might have enjoyed the flattery of being looked at, and not in the creepy way Ward did.  
  
Skye wasn’t gonna look. Skye wasn’t looking. Skye was emphatically not going to lower her eyes. Skye lowered her eyes to Jemma’s mouth but Jemma turned her gaze away. Skye was going to lower her eyes, but only to Jemma’s collarbones. Skye wasn’t gonna look, no sir. No, she wasn’t going to look at all. Oh for fucksakes, this was fucking torture, she wanted to look. Skye’s imagination was a wild and untamed place. She closed her eyes momentarily to try and focus. She wasn’t sure at this point if the heat was radiating off of her or off of Jemma but thinking about it made more heat pool between her legs. She’d closed her eyes at the worst moment as the sound of the zipper amplified in her ears. Skye popped her eyes back open - but she didn’t lower her eyes, nope. Skye wanted to take a long, admiring gaze at Jemma from head to toe. This moment was cruel and agonizingly slow. She did her best to steady Jemma whenever she wavered.   
  
Jemma barely managed to get one foot through the new pair of pants when her balance wavered. Her grip on Skye's arm wasn't strong enough and with her good foot stuck in the pants, she stood up straight and wobbled back and forth, trying to catch herself, but the sand under her feet wasn't flat and she slipped, falling right into Skye's chest.

When Jemma bolted upright and wobbled, Skye immediately reached out and leaned to balance her. Instead, Jemma listed forward and suddenly smashed into Skye’s chest while her feet were off balance in the sand. Skye’s eyes widened. They were going down. She managed to throw her arms around Jemma’s waist as they fell and then Skye was on her back in the sand. The fall both on her back and with Jemma’s weight landing on top of her, expelled an, “Oof,” as the wind knocked out of her. Not only had that graceful fall happened but in her haste to grab onto Jemma to try and stop her fall...Skye wound up with her arms wound around Jemma and her hands firmly grasped on each cheek of her ass. Skye clenched her eyes shut a moment. This couldn’t be reality. There was just no way. She tried to calm her racing pulse and catch her breath but her face and neck were filling into shades of bright red and she was entirely distracted by Jemma’s knee and thigh which had landed right between her legs in the fall. 

"Oh,  _ God _ ." Jemma groaned. They were both frozen in place and Jemma refused to open her eyes, but she knew where their hands were. Skye was accidentally gripping her ass, and in the sudden fall, Jemma had grabbed onto her shirt. Now she found she had one hand buried into the sand by Skye's waist and the other was, she guessed correctly, firmly over her right breast.    
  
If Jemma didn't know any better she would have feared spontaneous combustion. Not only was her skin on fire, but a sudden desire to press her leg against Skye a little more made her legs tingle. She couldn't move. Skye's eyes were closed, but Jemma's weren't. She stared down at Skye's face and she bit her lip. She knew she was supposed to move first, since she was on top, but Skye's hands were still on her rear end and she just stared at Skye like an idiot.

There were too many sensations coursing through Skye to pinpoint any one in particular. The heated tense coil between her legs and lower abdomen. The straining hardened nipple against her bra and Jemma’s palm. The sweat beading on her bright red forehead and cheeks. The inability to actually breathe anymore than a few shaky, shallow rasps. The initial puff of hot air against her collarbones when Jemma groaned. The urge to shift her hips. Her acute awareness of the flesh beneath her own hands. The wild and erratic jackhammer thudding of her heart bounding around her rib cage. When she finally opened her eyes, they were dazed and her pupils were blown wide. She hadn’t expected for her eyes to come into direct contact with Jemma’s when she opened them so she froze again.  _ So _ , she thought,  _ this is it. I survived a plane crash, a freak thunderstorm, attack by dinosaurs, attack by terror bird, attack by douche bag middle aged man, but this... _ **_this_ ** _ is how I die. It’s been a real wild ride, Life. So long and thanks for all the fish. _ Skye wasn’t sure what was going to happen first - her heart was going to explode or she would just die of her own embarrassment. Despite all of it, all she wanted was to give into the urge to lift her head and kiss Jemma. It was  _ so _ fucking tempting. 

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" Jemma was suddenly very aware that she was currently pantless when she heard Fitz's voice. Her hand jerked away from Skye's chest and she rolled off of her, scrambling for the blanket to cover up her legs and underwear so Fitz couldn't see. She was still sitting on one of Skye's hands and she scrambled to break all contact as Fitz stared down at them with his brows raised.   


Skye’s eyes widened further, if that was at all possible, when Jemma was suddenly scrambling off of her. She felt the loss of touch - however embarrassing it had been, it was still a loss when it happened. She had to wait until Jemma was off of her hand before she could push herself to sit up. Her head spun with a particular kind of lightheadedness. She blinked a few times and looked over at Jemma, pupils still so wide it was almost all that could be seen of her eyes.  _ Great _ she thought when she finally glanced at Fitz and saw him staring, or glaring really whenever it was directed toward Skye.  _ Another thing to be blamed for.  _

Syke cleared her throat when she finally thought she could find her voice. “She fell while changing,” She forced herself to her feet and grabbed the clean pants to shake the sand out of them. She set them on the towel on the ground next to Jemma and then held her hands out for the blanket. “I’ll hold that, you pull those on without standing,” She suggested. “Fitz will turn around,” She added, glancing over her shoulder at him.  _ Focus. Focus, focus, focus, focus. Deep breath, _ Skye pep talked herself. As soon as Jemma was changed, Skye would make a quick exit and they wouldn’t have to worry about the awkwardness of their joint embarrassment. No doubt Skye would spend the rest of the night thinking about this, though. 

"Got it." Jemma dressed herself as quickly as possible, no longer caring about the sand. She just needed to be covered and cool down. If she had it she would dump a bucket of ice water over her head to clear her thoughts and get that burning heat out of her body.    
  
"I'm good." Jemma called out from behind her blanket wall. She buttoned up the pants and dragged herself to her feet. She felt like reaching out to Skye for balance, but she didn't think she could handle the shock of electricity it would shoot up her arm, so she hopped over to her shelter and sat back down.   
  
"Thanks for the clothes, Skye." Jemma couldn't look at her, but she still thanked her.

Skye definitely sent her eyes everywhere but directly at Jemma. She nodded and left the other shirts where she’d set them down so Jemma could have them. “You got it,” she cleared her throat and stepped over to where her messenger bag was sitting. “I’m just gonna...do you want...what, um…” She paused a took a steadying breath. “What do you want me to do with the, um,” She pointed to the compy body in the bag. 

"I'll keep it." Jemma blurted out. The awkward barrier between them was not unknown to Jemma, so she quickly reached into the bag and pulled out the now stiff dinosaur. She was going to dissect it when she had the time and find a place to store the skeleton and the skin. Jemma liked to pretend it was a souvenir. This way people would believe them when they got back.

Skye nodded. She flipped the bag shut and slung the strap across her shoulders. “Right,” She stood up and cleared her throat again. “I’m just gonna, um, go and...yeah, um…” She finally glanced at Jemma for a very very brief moment. “Goodnight,” She dropped her eyes and made a quick exit out the side of the sheltered area and back toward her own shelter quickly, where she was destined to spend the night in a deep bout of extreme frustration.   
  
____________________________   
  


Skye spent the night barely able to get any sleep. It took no time to set up her bag in preparation for the next day. She’d cleaned and sharpened her knives. Then there was nothing to do but wait and try to sleep. Her body wanted sleep badly but her brain refused to let her stop thinking about Jemma lying on top of her. By the time she fell asleep, it felt like only minutes before the sun was up and it was time to gather and head into the jungle after a quick leftover meal for breakfast.   
  
The day was long, incredibly hot and humid, and there were three different rain storms throughout the morning and afternoon. The jungle trek crew failed to find a water source. They were careful to avoid compy and terror bird tracks. Thankfully, they didn’t run into any terrifying predators. They did fill up their bags with oranges, limes, figs, mangoes, papayas and some more of Jemma’s various plants from her ‘medical uses’ list. So the trek wasn’t a total bust and Skye didn’t have to feel guilty about anyone else dying on her watch. She got to know Bobbi a little better as well, which was nice. 

It was late afternoon when the group returned to camp. Skye delivered the food to Coulson with the others and then loaded all the plants for Jemma into one backpack and let Bobbi take it over since she was going to check on May. Skye, instead, spoke to Coulson and Trip about what they saw and what areas they explore based off the crudely drawn map she was making of each trek. She glanced in the direction of the makeshift hospital every now and then but only managed a few glimpses of Jemma. More often than not, she was met instead with Fitz’s angry glares instead. 

Throughout the day Jemma had been glancing at the treeline where Skye had disappeared and straining her ears for the sounds of predators. Thankfully she heard nothing but the waves rolling onto the shore, and Skye arrived back "home" on time. She tried to catch her attention with a wave, but she kept looking away and it made Jemma frown. They had both embarrassed themselves last night but that didn't mean they needed to ignore each other. She even sent Bobbi with supplies instead of coming herself, when before she would have taken every opportunity.    
  
She caught Fitz glaring at Skye a few times, but she could only imagine what he thought was going on. His initial accusations about the lavatory on the plane made Jemma snicker to herself, but then she remembered how compromising their position after the fall had been and she struggled to get the soft feel of Skye's chest and her thudding heartbeat out of her mind. It was proving difficult.    
  
"Hey, Sweetheart, mind giving me some of that healing magic?" The voice made Jemma's skin crawl and she had no idea how he had managed to sneak up on her. A much rougher, less welcome hand smacked her ass and Jemma yelped and whipped around, tense and angry. He just laughed and Jemma wished in that moment that she could fight like Skye so she could land a good punch on his already bleeding face. All he had was a cut on his cheek, but he seemed to be demanding attention for it.   
  
"What is wrong with you?" Fitz came to her defense when he saw what happened, but Ward didn't seem to care about listening to him. Instead he stepped closer to Jemma and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close enough to "get a good look at his injury" as he said it.

Skye had finished talking with Coulson and had been on her way back toward her own shelter when she stopped to deliver a special request for Trip that he’d asked for in the hopes of weaving together a bigger net for his fishing endeavors. His shelter wasn’t all that far from the hospital shelter and she was actually facing the shelter when she heard the smack and looked up in time to actually witness Jemma yelping and spinning around. She spotted Ward and, once again, felt her hackles rise. She dropped her bag in the sand and was already moving toward the medical area before she even realized what she was doing. 

Just as Ward was laughing and reaching out to snag Jemma by the waist, Skye reached them from off behind Ward’s side. “Ward!” She said to make him turn his head. As soon as he moved she swung a hard punch to the side of his rib cage which knocked the wind out of him and dropped his grip on Jemma. She grabbed his hand and wrist and twisted his arm hard behind his back and in the next moment he was on his knees in the sand, wibbling and trying to catch his breath. “What’d I say to your buddy last night about touching people without permission?” She demanded, her voice verging on a throaty growl. “Think you’re exempt from that warning?”

" _ Fucking bitch _ ," Ward hissed on an exhale. He raised his free hand over his head in submission and wrenched himself free of Skye's loosened grip. He took a step away and shook out the sore joint before practically growling and Skye. "I was just being friendly with the Doc, you don't have to go all island police on me." He grumbled. Jemma gave Skye a desperate  _ thank you _ look and crossed her arms over her chest as she stared Ward down.

“That wasn’t friendly, it was sexual assault, asshole,” Skye snapped at him.    
  
"What did you do, anyway?" Jemma questioned. She really hated Ward, but she also knew she wasn't going to be the kind of doctor who started to pick and choose patients she would treat based on how much she liked them. She wouldn't, however, be above cauterizing the cut instead of stitching it just because it hurt more and wasted less materials on him. It was still as effective.   
  
"I took some hunting buddies and went out to snag another one of those giant turkey dinosaurs, but they fell through and I managed to escape with my life." Ward's chest puffed out like running away was some kind of achievement, but it was then that she noticed the knife at his belt. He actually had gotten ahold of it somehow and went hunting. She scanned around the beach, instantly searching for any missing faces. She didn't recognize any, but for some reason it felt a few bodies short.   
  
"Did you just leave them in there?!" Jemma took a step closer, braver when she was more angry.   
  
"What did you want me to do, drag the bodies back while being chased?"

Skye stood next to Jemma, her fists clenched at her sides, ready to move if Ward made any other unwanted advances. Her jaw went from clenched tight to slacked and hanging agape at the story. She spotted the knife next and stepped toward him. She swung her fist up and when he lifted his hands to block it, she yanked the knife from his belt and backed away holding it up. “On your knees,  _ now _ .” She ordered. She looked over at Fitz. “Go get Coulson,” She said before her eyes were back on Ward. “Who did you take with you, which way did you go, did they have any weapons to defend themselves?” She demanded quickly. 

Fitz was hesitant to leave the tense scene when Jemma was still present, but she jerked her head as a signal for him to get a move on. He dashed down the beach and Jemma turned back to Ward, who slowly lowered onto one knee. He was an asshole, but he recognized when he did and didn't have power.   
  
"We snagged the rest of the hunting knives when nobody was looking. Took two of the guys, I don't know their names." Ward shrugged. "But I didn't force them, they came of their own free will!" He argued. "We went in the direction of the Doc's screams yesterday and followed the tracks to the flock."    
  
"You still got them killed!" Jemma snapped back at him. She'd seen enough people die and she was fuming that Ward somehow didn't bother enough to help protect people instead of essentially killing them.

Skye stared at him in disbelief. “What the fuck is  _ wrong with you?! _ ” She shouted. “Do you think this is some kind of game?!” Her shouting became louder as she went on. “THESE ARE HUMAN LIVES YOU’RE PLAYING WITH YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!” She was in his face as Fitz and Coulson came running back. 

“Skye!” Coulson shouted. 

Skye shook her head. “TRIP!” She called out of the shelter. He’d already been watching but waited to approach until she called him over. She knew that he knew how to throw a punch. When he came over, Skye signaled for him to wait next to Jemma then she turned to Ward. “If you want Jemma to take care of that wound on your face, you’re not going to move from that spot.  You’re going to put your hands in your back pockets and when she’s done patching you up, you’re going to get up and saunter back to your buddies with your tail between your legs like the coward you are, do you understand me?” She asked. When he didn’t answer at first, Skye bellowed. “DO. YOU. UNDERSTAND. ME?” She demanded. 

When she was satisfied with Ward’s answer, she turned to Trip and handed him the knife she was holding. “If this asshole lays a finger on anyone, break his jaw.” She said. 

Trip looked from Skye to Ward after tucking the knife in his belt. He crossed his arms and smirked at Ward as he let out a long whistle. “Damn, boy, you barked up the wrong tree!” He smirked. 

Skye turned to Coulson. “This asshole and his buddies stole the rest of the hunting knives,” ‘ _ While you were lying down on the job apparently,’  _ Skye kept that thought to herself. “He took two people into the jungle to track down terror birds and then ran away because he’s a fucking coward. We need to look for them-,” 

“You can’t go look for them now. The sun will be going down soon,” Coulson frowned.

Skye glared at him. “We can’t just leave people out in the jungle with those things!” 

“We can’t potentially sacrifice more of our own either,” Coulson pointed out. 

Skye set her jaw. “Fine.” She said. “I’ll go,” She shook her head and turned to walk away so he could grab her bag where she dropped it at Trip’s shelter. She had her knife and her machete. She’d bring her bag with her and she had the gun if she absolutely needed it. 

"Where do you think you're going?" Jemma threw caution about her leg to the wind and jogged to catch up when she saw where Skye was headed. She didn't care about Ward's cut. "You misunderstood, Skye, he saw them. They're already dead." Jemma ran the last few feet and caught Skye's arm to whirl her around.    
  
"Don't go out there, they're gone." Jemma pulled her into a hug and held her arms at her sides so she couldn't go anywhere. There was no way she was going to lose Skye because of Ward.

"You don't know if he actually saw them die, while he was busy running awa-," Skye didn't get to finish her sentence because Jemma suddenly had her in a hug.  Skye didn't move.  She kind of couldn't either, with the way her arms were pinned to her sides. She considered Ward a coward, but what did that make her?  She had run away when Kebo was swarmed by the compys. They had seen Kebo die, however, because those fuckers worked fast. Skye's muscles were tense,  but she didn't pull away from the embrace. She closed her eyes a moment and tried to breathe while her brain kept racing.

"I can't lose you." Jemma whispered, holding her tighter. Skye was the strong one. She had Fitz, but he didn't know what he was doing. Skye was the reason she got up in the morning with faith that they would be ok. It had been nearly a week and no rescue had come. It was hard not to give up, but Jemma kept going because Skye made her feel like it was worth it and they'd get out of this. She wasn't going to risk her hope if the two men were already dead. It was selfish, but it was how she felt. They'd seen those birds. If they were even injured and all they had were knives, then they were already dead.

Skye didn't move. She felt the sharp pang of pain in her chest at Jemma's words.  She'd spent a lot of her time here so far battling internal wars to try and figure out what the right thing to do was in whatever circumstances that came at them, but Skye felt powerless to fight this one. She could barely move her arms below the elbows with the way Jemma was holding onto her but eventually,  she lifted them enough to rest along the middle of her back.  "Okay, " she acquiesced to the demand that she not go back out there, a whispered surrender.

"Good." Jemma nodded into Skye's shoulder and slowly released her, letting go like she was an animal that might turn and run, so she was prepared to hold on again. When she was sure Skye wasn't going anywhere, she wiped the tears from her eyes before they could get anywhere. Skye was staying with her and it would be alright.    
  
"Now come help me burn Ward's face." Jemma joked to relieve the tension and distract from her weaknesses.

Skye dropped her eyes in an effort to ease her guilt at making Jemma cry. Or making her almost cry? She felt bad about it. She felt bad that more people had died, even if it was through their own stupidity at following Ward. She nodded and moved to Jemma's right side, slipped an arm around her waist to support her weight so she wouldn't have to hurt her leg even more walking back. "Leave him a nice big scar," she murmured as they made their way back through the sand.

Jemma sighed and her stiff muscles relaxed when Skye started helping her back to the hospital. Ward was still frozen in place with Trip guarding him and Jemma maybe felt a teeny bit of joy at the thought at hurting him for medical purposes. "He definitely won't forget about it." Jemma nodded and said while he was still out of earshot.   
  
"Can you get a fire started for me?" Jemma asked when they got back. She was confident Ward wouldn't try anything when both Skye and Trip were there.

“Gladly,” Skye saw Ward’s eyes widen. He started to move to climb to his feet. 

“Ah-ah,” Trip reached out to push him firmly back down to his knees in the sand and shook his head. He held his hand up, palm out, in front of Ward’s face and firmly said, “Stay.” He paused half a beat. “Good boy,” He ruffled up Ward’s hair and smirked at him as Ward glared. 

Skye went to gather up a burning branch. She made sure to grab one a big larger than would be necessary for the size of cut on Ward’s cheek and felt a somewhat sadistic pleasure in hearing him trying to insist to Jemma that she could just stitch him up so she didn’t have to cauterize it.   
  
"Use this, it'll be cleaner." Jemma passed Skye the medical knife by the blade. Sure she'd love to cauterize his face with a branch, but it was easier for her to use the blade since the cut would fit under the flat side. She didn't want to waste time on him.

Skye gave her a small salute as she took the knife to hold over the flames still licking out of the wood. “Are we taking bets on whether or not he cries?” She asked, unable to bite her tongue. 

Trip let out a snort of laughter. “Shit, is there anyone who thinks he wouldn’t?” he asked. 

“Touché,” Skye conceded. When the knife seemed like it was hot enough, Skye held it out to pass it back to Jemma. “Do you need someone to hold him still?” She asked. 

"Probably." Jemma nodded when she looked back at Ward. He was squirming and Trip had a firm hand pressing down on his shoulder.    
  
"It's ok, really, just a scratch." Ward shook his head and tried to stand up, but Trip chuckled and pressed him back down again. He shifted behind him so both his hands were on Ward's shoulders as Jemma stepped closer.   
  
"It's still bleeding." Jemma argued. She wasn't going to pretend she wasn't plenty happy to burn his face, so before he even saw it coming, Jemma swiftly pressed the red-hot blade on his face over the wound. He howled in pain and Trip let him go so he fell backward into the sand, a red burnt blotch on his face in the shape of her blade. It wasn't bleeding anymore.

As terrible as Skye knew it was from having her own bite wounds cauterized the day before, it was supremely satisfying watching the whole thing happen to Ward while he was trying to weasel out of it. It was even more satisfying to see that there were definitely tears on his face from it. She pulled her hunting knife from its sheath on her hip and advanced on him while he was still on his back in the sand. Grabbing at his collar she pulled him up and held the knife close to his face. “Go back to your camp and don’t let me catch  _ any _ of you stealing from anyone on this island or touching  _ anyone _ inappropriately,” She dropped him and backed off. When she didn’t move right away, she kicked at the sand in front of him. “Get out of here and keep your hands to yourself!” She shouted before Ward hastily climbed to his feet and started off.  “Try not to get anyone else killed with your stupidity, asshole!” She called loudly after him. 

Coulson frowned. He’d been watching the whole thing but hadn’t intervened. “Was all that really necessary?” 

“Yes,” May was the one who said it. She’d moved to sit up when Ward had slapped Jemma in the ass and had witnessed it all. Coulson frowned again. “Some people need to be taught a lesson every now and then.” She said. She looked at Coulson. “You need to find out who he killed.” 

“He didn’t kill them, they-,” Coulson started to reason but Skye get him off. 

“ _ He _ is the reason they’re dead,” She said. “He killed them.” 

Jemma sighed now that her part of the conflict was over. There were still two people dead in the jungle, but they had done all that they could other than find out the names of the dead. She glanced down the beach, but she didn't notice anyone missing immediately. Everyone she knew was still there and it would probably help her sleep easier. It felt wrong to admit that, but circumstances were different here.   
  
"Skye, don't go just yet." She saw her itching to leave and Jemma turned and started digging in the unclaimed suitcase she'd taken once it was emptied out. She used it for all the plants that had been collected between herself and Skye. She pulled out a green leafy plant, ripped a handful of the leaves to shreds, and put it into an emptied half of a coconut. She was sure it looked strange as she ground it up with a rock, but eventually she got the desired paste and came back to Skye with the "bowl".    
  
"Some of these plants are good as pain relievers and anti inflammatories. I'm sure your shoulder is still burning, let me help." Jemma gently walked around Skye until she could tug the neck of her shirt away from Skye's neck to reveal the blistered burn. She scooped up the green plant paste with two fingers and gently touched it to Skye's burn before she spread it around lightly. Hopefully it would help sooth her inflamed skin.

Skye hesitated, glancing over her shoulder toward where her bag was at Trip's shelter. She kept her head down, her shoulders sagging a bit as she gave in and stayed where she was at Jemma's request. After the bonfire discussion about the terror birds and dinosaurs, people who had been just fine with her earlier that day were now wary and shied away. Whether it was the fact that they felt slighted that they hadn't talked to everyone before the terror bird barbecue, or the fact that someone had died on her trek, or the display of violence she showed toward Garrett, or maybe a combination of the three, Skye didn't know. Jemma, Mack, Yoyo, Bobbi and Trip were the current exceptions. Mack and Yoyo, she could understand, they were with her when the Compys attacked and had been with her on the foraging trek the day before that too. Bobbi and Trip she suspected were keeping an eye on her behavior at Coulson's behest.    
  
Jemma, though...Skye couldn't quite figure out her reasoning. Jemma had drowned on her watch and very nearly hadn't made it back. She also, as Fitz was all too happy to point out when they'd come back to camp with an injured Jemma, had nearly been eaten on Skye's watch. She knew nothing about Skye's history other than the half-truths she'd had to tell and where everyone else, including Coulson, we're casting side eyed glances her way wherever she went now, Jemma just kept finding reasons to make her stay and be still without even questioning it.    
  
Skye grimaced when Jemma pulled the shirt to the side as it had started sticking to some of the blistered areas already but she didn't move other than to grit her teeth. She kept her eyes down, closing them briefly for a moment and angling her head to give Jemma room to put the paste on it. "Thanks, Jem,” she spoke quietly when she said it, much less bark than the tones she used with Garrett and Ward, or while arguing with Coulson, even. It was hard to think straight when, even though Jemma was touching her shoulder to cover it in plant sludge, Skye's mind kept rolling back the tape to the incident between then from the night before. She exhaled a long breath to try and cool her thoughts off, hoping Jemma would just think it was the pain from the bite/burns.

"Anytime." Jemma smiled softly even though Skye couldn't see her face. When she finished applying the plant matter, she stepped away, but only to grab a piece of gauze to tape on top to hold it all in place. "That should help." Jemma very gently moved her clothes back into their proper place and awkwardly cleared her throat as she stepped away.  
  
Skye took the throat clearing as her cue. she needed to get out of there before this turned into another awkward situation. As luck would have it, Fitz was already wandering back toward them, his usual sour scowl on his face when he saw Skye near Jemma. "Right, I should...go pick up my, um, things from, uh...from Trip," she cleared her own throat. "T-thank again, Jem...see you around," she turned before she could talk herself out of it and into staying and headed out across the sand to retrieve her bag from where she'd dropped it at Trip's shelter. She made it back to her own shelter and settled for the night, adding more wood to build up her fire for another restless night of half-sleep.


	5. Just An Asset

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warnings:** If you've made it this far, you're golden. Usual action, adventure, violence and wound/gore warnings as always.
> 
> This one's a long one for you!   
> We'll be replying to comments as well, we see you, we love you! We're sorry we're so slow!!   
> Thanks for reading along with us!!   
> As always thanks also for the kudos, comments and love!   
> Hold onto your butts and enjoy the riiiiiiide! <3 <3   
> ;)
> 
> ___________________

The next day was a bit of a blur. The heat and humidity were more intense than any day so far on the island. Skye would have considered this a terrible thing if it hadn't led to a couple of afternoon storms that had helped replenish some of their water reserves, which was a relief since Skye's treks into the jungle with Mack, Yoyo and Bobbi had been fruitless as far as finding a water source went. Skye knew there had to be a water source that was relatively close to where Hunter had laid his snares since the compys had to drink somewhere, so did the terror birds. The problem was that they needed to find the water without running into either. Skye spent the days walking with confidence into the jungle that was likely to find a way to to devour her and then pretended not to be relieved to return to the beach camp in the late afternoons with whatever fruit/plant hauls they had.    
  
Skye felt a little more wary of some of the other survivors because of the suspicious stares they gave her. She wondered if they thought she was doing something other than bringing back food and helpful plants to actually keep them alive and looking for water. At least she had back up from Mack, Yoyo and Bobbi since they were with her on the trek.    
  
During day six on the island, while Skye and crew were in the jungle, The camp began moving from their makeshift shelters into the fuselage of the plane now that Fitz had finished grounding it to protect it from future lightning storms. When they'd returned, Mack and Yoyo packed up their shelter to move and Bobbi followed suit, helping May move from the hospital shelter. Skye used the remnants of some of the other shelters to build herself a larger, more secure shelter outside the fuselage. she gave it three sturdy walls and a thick roof to prevent any leaks and had fixed a tarp to it to give her some form of door for privacy now and then for things like changing clothes. mostly, she kept the tarp tied open so the heat from the fire outside the shelter would filter in.    
  
Aside from the treks into the jungle, or from briefly dropping useful items off to Jemma before going to update Coulson when returning, Skye began keeping mostly to herself unless she was needed for something like helping with fires or whatever else they deemed her worthy of helping with. Skye felt like shit for avoiding Jemma. She didn't want to avoid Jemma at all. Jemma was the one person she felt most comfortable around, despite her guilt issue feelings. Fitz and Will seemed to be in a pissing contest to stake a claim over Jemma's attention, and on top of that, Skye didn’t want her presence around Jemma to taint the way the others looked at Jemma.    
  
In the morning on the 7th day on the island, during a grouped breakfast of fish and fruit, Coulson, Skye, Mack, Yoyo, Trip, Bobbi, May, Will, Fitz, Jemma and Hunter were discussing the possible routes to continue down on the jungle trek for water. Skye had dumped a couple of coconut shells full of seawater in the sand and drawn out a map that noted the beach, their camp, the plane, and the trail they had taken through the jungle.    
  
"If you had more volunteers, you could split and make another search group, to take both of these paths," Trip pointed to the forked split that marked the last spot the group had come to on their trek the day before.    
  
"That's a good point," Coulson mulled it over, hand rubbing over his chin and jaw.    
  
"I'd be glad to pitch in and make up a second team-" Trip began to say.    
  
Skye shook her head. "No, we need you here, Trip. You're the only one who's been able to catch any fish. We need that, fruit and the occasional snared rabbit or rodent aren't going to cut it alone." She reasoned. She wasn't expecting Jemma to be the next person to speak up.    


"I could go." Jemma suggested. So far, Skye and a few others were the only ones out of the group of more than thirty that had really gone into the jungle. Jemma had once, the time she'd been attacked by terror birds, but in her opinion, that was hardly enough. Nobody had been injured lately and she felt she wasn't contributing enough just arranging and making an inventory in the back of her notebook of what they had. It was boring and tedious and she very much wanted to go see the jungle. Things that might just look like bugs to anyone else could be prehistoric creatures and Jemma wanted to see more of them. There had to be herbivores for an ecosystem to survive, there couldn't just be monsters. "My leg is feeling much better." Jemma's eyes were hopeful. "It will increase the number enough to safely split into two groups."    
  
"Are you crazy?" Fitz crossed his arms over his chest and immediately shot her down. Jemma opened her mouth to protest but Will was already speaking up too.    
  
"Not a chance. You need to stay here, it's not safe for you out there." Will was less loud about his refusal, but it was still a hard no and Jemma frowned.  
  
Skye was quiet as Fitz and Will jumped to deny Jemma her request. It wasn't even their call since they weren't even on the crew trekking into the jungle. Skye watched Jemma's face carefully. She understood Jemma's desire to go. Jemma wouldn't have gotten injured by the terror bird if it wasn't for her curiosity. And besides that, having Jemma along would make scouting for useful plants easier since Skye was going off of drawings and descriptions that Jemma had given her. Despite knowing there were pros to bringing Jemma along with them, the thought of purposefully putting Jemma in harm's way made Skye's heart skitter and her stomach churn.    
  
"I don't think it's a good idea for our-" Coulson didn't get to finish since Jemma cut in, wanting to respond to her detractors.  
  
"It's not safe for anyone." Jemma argued. "What makes me less capable than any of you?" Now she felt insulted. They were looking at her like she was a helpless baby animal. Sure she'd gotten hurt a few times but she needed to learn to survive just like everyone else. "Skye?" Jemma looked to her friend for support. Skye was always on her side.

Skye was decidedly not looking at Jemma as a helpless baby animal. She wasn't looking at her as a commodity (doctor) either. Jemma wasn't helpless. She was entirely capable of numerous things that Skye would never be capable of even if she spent lifetimes trying. So, if anything, Skye was watching Jemma with admiration in her eyes. These facts, and the previously thought of pros to bringing her, however, did not override the protective need to keep Jemma as far out of harm's way as was humanly possible. There were some traumas that could be ignored or pushed to the side and processed later, but watching Jemma drown, towing her lifeless body to the shore and mercilessly beating on her chest sure that she wasn't going to come back from it after she'd promised to get Jemma out of the plane? Skye would never be able to process that or get the imagine of her lifeless body out of the back of her mind.    
  
The pleading look in Jemma's eyes as she looked to Skye for backup and support pulled on multiple strings in Skye's chest. But nothing overrode her need to make sure Jemma stayed among the living until they could get off this damn island. She locked her eyes with Jemma's, "I'm sorry," She said. "I don't think you should go, Jem," she dropped her gaze guiltily from Jemma's and moved to stand from where she'd been crouching in the sand. "I don't think-," she was about to say she didn't think a second group at all was wise because it stood a chance that one of the groups could get lost but Jemma cut her off.

"You, Skye, out of everyone," Jemma cut her off. She crossed her arms over her chest in a defensive way and her eyes portrayed her hurt as well as a flashing neon sign. "Are the last person I expected to not have faith in me." She huffed.  
  
"None of us want the only doctor going into the jungle." Will tried to explain, but Jemma's glare shut him up. 

Skye dropped her eyes. She'd been carrying around a lot of guilt from the last week or so since they'd arrived here. Having a fresh batch of it from the one person she felt like she had a real, solid connection of any kind with cut her exactly where she knew Jemma meant for it to. Her head snapped up when Will spoke up to put words in her mouth.    
  
"What? No! That's not-," Again, Skye never got to finish her thought.   
  
"So I'm just an asset?" Jemma rose her brows at him and he held up his hands in surrender, wide eyes and head shaking. Jemma wanted to do more than babysit May, who was starting to walk around and probably wouldn't need her help soon. She couldn't just be on standby doing nothing unless someone was injured, because hopefully that wouldn't happen every day.

"That's not at all why I don't-," Skye tried again, this time it was some of the others that cut her off. She tried in vain to catch Jemma's eyes, hoping she'd be able to convey something, anything, to explain her reasoning, which had nothing to do with Jemma's medical or other skills.    
  
"He's right, though," Hunter spoke up. "We've a shortage of doctors, we can't chance losing the one we have."    
  
Skye glared at him. "She's not-,"    
  
"I hate to say it and don't mean to upset you, Jemma," Coulson said. "But it is a fair point, we do have to be wise about every decision we make."    
  
"Right, and sending the good doctor to frolic among the monsters is not on the list of viable options," Hunter chirped up again. Soon the remainder of the group piped up, murmuring their agreement with saving the group doctor and preventing Skye from explaining herself.    
  
Skye looked over at Jemma, once again feeling the jab of pain in her chest at the hurt (and angry) look in her eyes. Skye lifted her thumb and forefinger, curled them into an 'ok' shape and tucked them into her lips. With a deep breath, she blew out a long, piercing wolf whistle which successfully silenced everyone.    
  
"First of all," Skye spoke loudly now, making sure they wouldn't interrupt her again. "Jemma's a human being, so stop talking about her like you own her." She looked directly at Jemma. "I don't want anyone more than necessary going into the jungle.  _ I _ don't even want to go myself. It's a necessity but we can lower the number of people we put into potential danger by keeping our group to its current construct." She looked around at them. "Taking anyone else in before we know where the water is risks people getting lost or worse. Myself, Mack, Bobbi and Yoyo know our way out from the trail we've set. If we bring people in and split up, we risk people running off in the wrong direction," she glanced at Will, "if or when trouble strikes." She turned back to Jemma. "So no, Jem,  I don't want you going into the jungle. It has nothing to do with my faith in you..."  _ It has to do with my faith in myself to keep you safe _ , Skye felt suddenly afraid to admit it.

"Whatever you say, captain." Jemma said sarcastically. She did a fake salute before she turned tail and started walking back to the hospital with her arms crossed over her chest. Skye was throwing more logistics at her to cover up how clearly she didn't believe Jemma would be able to handle herself. She didn't think Skye would, but she was underestimating her and it made Jemma angry. Fine, she'd go back to what everyone had chosen was where she belonged and where she should stay. She rarely left the rectangle that was the makeshift hospital and when she did, it was just for group meetings she really had no say in anyway. She'd do her doctor and scientist things if that was what they wanted.

Now that Jemma had the angry energy in her, she was going to use it to butcher the compy Skye had brought back. She had left it covered in salt she had gotten from evaporating ocean water. It preserved the skin, which Jemma obviously wanted to keep for her research. It hadn't begun decomposition since Jemma had left it out, so she knew it had worked. She spent quite a while getting the skin off the beast as whole as she could and she thought she was pretty successful. She drew out images of the internal anatomy and for most the task would be gruesome and nauseating (May gave her a weird look and then got up to reside elsewhere for the time being), but for Jemma it was a good outlet for her angry and destructive energy. Once she finished drawing she planned on cleaning the bones to get a perfect skeleton. 

Skye's already shaky confidence took a solid hit at Jemma's sarcasm. She moved, preparing to chase after Jemma, wanting to explain herself but Bobbi stopped her with a quick shake of her head. Coulson drew her back into the discussion about the path the jungle crew should take for the day.    
  
When the group broke, and the others went to prepare their packs, Skye made her way to the hospital shelter with the intention of explaining herself to Jemma. As she came closer, she realized Jemma was working on something that didn't involve any of the other survivors. She was cutting  into one of the compy bodies with vigor and purpose.  Skye stopped and watched a moment from a bit of a distance. She chewed on her lip, indecisive about what to do. She finally decided on retreat. She didn't want to chance further angering Jemma while she had sharp knives in her hands.    
  
Mack caught up to her and handed her two full water bottles to add to her pack full of empties. "You made a tough call," He said to her. "For whatever reason you made it, it was a tough one," he gave Skye's back a light pat. "You both need some time to cool down. Talk to her when we get back," he nodded toward where Bobbi and Yoyo were waiting for them.    
  
Skye shared a last longing look over her shoulder in Jemma's direction before she hung her head and fell in step with Mack.  _ And if I don't make it back? _ She entertained the thought only to the edge of the jungle, then she took a breath, squared her shoulders, pulled the machete from its sheath and lead the way into the previous trail as if she had nothing but confidence in their ability to head into the jungle and make it back alive.

When Jemma saw Skye going into the jungle with the rest of those they deemed the fittest, Jemma got an idea. If they didn't think she could handle herself she was just going to have to prove them otherwise. She wanted to see what was in the jungle, so she was going to take her knife and her journal and go see for herself. Jemma didn't need to be coddled.   
  
After the hour or so it took to finish her current job, she stored the skeleton and skin in the same suitcase she was using for her clothes. The unclaimed items in all the bags were in a group inventory, but people were free to take the bags themselves for storage, and Jemma made use of it. She pulled the small satchel she'd been using since the crash out of the suitcase and packed the notebook and a pen with it. She kept her knife on her belt and filled her empty plastic water bottle before she tucked it into her bag and slipped off before anyone returned to the hospital or noticed she was gone.

_____________

Skye did her best to push her distracting thoughts about the morning altercation with Jemma out of her mind. It proved a difficult task as even though Skye knew she had to pay strict attention to both where she was going and to the time. They would need enough time to travel back before dark. It took about an hour to reach the fork in their trail they’d been discussing on the beach and as soon as she stopped in front of it, Skye found her thoughts again wandering to the hurt/angry/betrayed expression on Jemma’s face after Skye had denied her a chance to come with them. She struggled with whether or not it had been the right choice. Maybe she was being too overprotective for her own selfish reasons. 

“Hey,” Bobbi put a hand on the back of her uninjured shoulder. “You can’t win ‘em all, Kid,” she said with a small, sympathetic smile. “C’mon, maybe we can find some creepy crawly to bring back to her and give you a chance to grovel,” She nodded ahead and started down the left hand path, choosing for Skye since her mind was occupied. 

“You’re not  _ that _ much old than me,” Skye murmured. Bobbi chuckled and they continued onward. 

Two hours later, they were a few kilometers further, having had to cut away a large swath of dense jungle in their paths to make it through. Even with the thick foliage, the heat and the humidity were incredibly rough on this particular day. Skye began to worry that they would run out of their own water too quickly. Everything clung to everything. They were moving sluggishly through every step.   
  
“Stop!” Skye shouted just as Mack was raising his ax to swing it at a particularly thick curtain of vines and tree branches. Mack grimaced as he pulled a muscle when he pulled his swing. 

“That better have been for good reason,” Mack groaned as Yoyo reached to work the knot out of the spot just below his shoulder blade as he set the ax down. 

Skye motioned for them to to stop moving. She pointed directly ahead of them to the spot Mack would have hit if he’d made a full swing. There was a beehive the size of two watermelons mashed together hanging directly in their path. “Back up...slowly. Don’t disturb it,” She said as a few stray bees buzzed around their heads. 

“Aw, hell,” Mack groaned. He picked his ax up and the group slowly started to backtrack through the path they’d made on their way. 

“Now, what?” Yoyo asked with a sigh. 

“I stopped seeing any animal tracks about an hour ago,” Bobbi pointed out.   
  
Skye nodded. She sighed. “We got enough from the storms yesterday. Let’s backtrack to the fork and then we’ll decide if we go up the other path or back home,” She decided. It only took about an hour and a half to make it back to the fork. The day was a wash. The group decided to head back to camp, stopping to check and reset some of Hunter’s snares on the way. Unfortunately, they hadn’t bagged any animals this time. They stopped to fill a couple of bags with more fruit as well and Skye gathered a few more aloe plants since the sun exposure was starting to lead to sunburns for people on the beach all day long. Their trek back was slower than normal, defeated and worried about their lack of a freshwater source outside of the sometimes afternoon storms. 

_____________  
  


Jemma walked the first hour in awe. The first time she'd been in the jungle she was so focussed on the baby terror bird and then running for her life that she hadn't gotten to take it all in. There were trees that towered higher than buildings with vines and other plants hanging down, about a third of the jungle floor was made up by large, only partially buried roots multiple times thicker than her own body. The other two thirds was covered by knee high plants and smaller trees that blocked any path with their gnarled, twisting branches. There was moss covering roots and rocks almost every free surface. It was so green, but also dark, the sun blocked by the thick canopy. It was incredible.    
  
Jemma walked another few hours (always marking trees with a J, just in case) and sketched many of the plants and insects she ran into. There was a constant buzzing sound in the rainforest, but a particularly loud, nearby sound worried Jemma until she saw the kaleidoscopic flash as light reached her eyes through thin, clear wings. A dragonfly with a length from head to tail was at least the length of her forearm, if not longer, buzzed by her head and landed on a tree root in front of her.    
  
Jemma acted quickly. She knew she wouldn't be able to catch it by hand, so she dug into her bag and was relieved to find some random things Skye had given her in the beginning along with her mini sewing kit. She used green thread and tied a slipknot, all while barely moving and watching to make sure the dragonfly was still resting and flexing its gorgeous wings.  She bit and broke the thread a foot or two from the loop and tied it very securely to the end of a roll of floss, which was thicker and stronger. Ever so carefully, she climbed as high up in the twisted tree the dragonfly was resting under and laid down on her stomach. She slowly lowered it and was glad to find that her bug friend couldn't see, or at least wasn't concerned about, the thin green thread until it was too late.    
  
She had it over its head and antennae without touching it and she swiftly jerked up. The dragonfly took off immediately, but the makeshift leash had tightened around it and once it hit the end of the length Jemma allowed it she felt its immense strength as it startled her and she almost let go. Once she was safely back down the tree, she reeled it in and waited until its frantic buzzing stopped and it stood on her thigh. Boy, would the childhood version of Jemma have been proud of this. Jemma now was proud of this. She had leashed a nearly two foot dragonfly. She tied a better loop that wouldn't come loose around its thorax with another piece of floss and tied it back onto the "leash."    
  
Jemma was clearly better at more than just doctoring. Dragonflies liked water, ginormous or not, so Skye would be able to use it to find a water source if she hadn't by the time she got back. Grinning now that she had indispensable proof that she could be useful in more than one way, she started back for camp with her protesting dragonfly buzzing along. It would calm down once she weighed it at the beach and gave it some water and shade and left it alone.

__________

After they reached the fork and began to make their way back, Skye started to become increasingly convinced she was suffering from heatstroke. She started seeing the letter ‘J’ on tree trunks and was too afraid to ask the others if they were seeing the same thing. Each one made Skye more paranoid that she was losing her mind because of her guilt, insecurity and the fucking humidity. The group were only about a half an hour out from the beach when Skye suddenly stopped in her tracks and stared wide eyed at the sight in front of her, which made an unsuspecting Bobbi bumped into her back.

“Skye-,” Bobbi cut off her grumble when she saw it too.   
  
Skye rubbed her eyes with the back of her sweaty hands and squinting. “Do you...is that-,” 

“What in the hell…” Mack murmured.   
  
“Does she have a…” Yoyo trailed off.

“ _ Jemma?! _ ” Skye blurted it out (loudly) once she realized that the others saw what she was seeing - a wild Jemma in the jungle toting a...a gigantic fucking….dragonfly ( _ Did dragonflies even get that big?!?!?! _ ) on a string, like it was a helium filled balloon, through the thicket of the jungle. 

Jemma whipped around when she heard the noise, not recognizing until a moment later they were voices instead of sounds. When she did see Skye and the rest of the group staring at her dumbly, she couldn't help the small, prideful smile that graced her features. She lowered the hand that had the floss tied to her wrist and pulled the unhappy bug in. He settled when she held him around the middle and Jemma turned around to step over roots and make her way to the group.    
  
"Contrary to popular belief, it seems I do fare well in the jungle." Jemma couldn't help the venom in her voice. Skye was the one who looked exhausted and probably not capable of even defending herself if something did happen. It made her worry some and the smile disappeared as could-haves ran through her head. But they were almost back to camp now, and judging by the state of the crew, they hadn't found water. Maybe Jemma would be the one to save the day herself despite everyone's belief that her place was in shelter.

As she drew closer to them, the first thing that flashed through Skye’s mind was absolute panic. Thoughts came faster than she could keep up with in her current overly defeated state. She looked like shit because she felt like shit, for a large plethora of reasons. How long had Jemma been out here?? How long ago had she spotted those ‘J’ letters on trees?? Had she even told anyone that she was leaving camp?? Skye’s eyes actually welled just a little as she struggled to catch up with her brain. “ _ Are you out of your fucking mind _ ?” It was the first sentence that managed to make it past her throat and off her tongue. It wasn’t even a shout. It was the cool kind of calm that came before an absolute shitstorm of anger (and fear and panic, concern). 

"It seems like that's you." Jemma frowned, nodding at the group, referring to their confused expressions and seeming inability to function. She wanted to get into an argument with Skye and explain that she wasn't going to be useless. She wanted to tell her she'd discovered a very possible way to get water, but she could tell Skye wouldn't be listening to anything.    
  
"I'm just fine, you need to get back to camp, get some water, and sleep." Jemma ordered. It was her turn. She wasn't going to put up with Skye or anyone ordering her around anymore. Even if it was stupid to go into the jungle alone, that was her choice. They could have let her come with them if they were so damn worried about it.   
  
"Well what are you waiting for?" Jemma raised her brows, turned around, and kept walking. If Skye wanted to scold her she could do it later.

Skye’s jaw tensed as she ground her teeth together and watched Jemma’s back as she disappeared. The whole way she was walking through compy tracks with her nose stuck up in the air and no idea if she was walking towards where they’d gone or away from it! Did she honestly not realize how fucking insane it was to be out there alone?! Skye had three fucking people with her and spent most of her day fucking terrified of what they were going to run into, or who else she was going to lead to their deaths, of dying herself before she managed to find water for the rest of the group. This time the heat Jemma caused in Skye’s face was from the spike of blood pressure that came with the anger that surged through her. 

“Skye,” Bobbi said carefully. “Breathe…” 

“Have you ever seen in cartoons when the steam,” Yoyo whispered to Bobbi and Mack, miming clouds of steam bursting from her ears. Bobbi and Mack both nodded. 

Skye was jogging then, catching up to Jemma. “Hey genius,” She snapped. She slowed her pace only enough to glare over her shoulder toward Jemma, this time she was the one with the hurt, anger and (fear) betrayal in her eyes while staring Jemma down. “Next time you venture out on a suicide mission, you might want to pay attention to which direction the compy tracks you’re trampling through are heading,” Jemma wasn’t the only one who could lace a tone with venom. Skye turned to face forward, readjusted her grip on the machete in her hand and continued to stalk her way through the jungle. The sooner she could make it to the beach, the better. Her pace slowed, however, because her brain wouldn’t let her get too far ahead of the others for fear that something might surprise them on the last leg of the trip. She mentally cursed herself for not simply stalking away and leaving it at that, especially while her mind (and heart) were reeling painfully from...everything currently weighing on them. 

Jemma had been trying to remain cool until Skye had time to calm down, but her temper flared when Skye insulted her intelligence and her next breath came out heavily from her nose.    
  
"Hey!" Jemma snapped back. She caught back up to Skye and made a show of putting her bug on her shoulder so she could talk animatedly with her hands. "The scat isn't fresh and there are leaves on top of those tracks. It doesn't matter which way they go because they haven't been here recently." Jemma huffed right back. Did Skye think she was stupid enough to waltz through the place she had almost been eaten without paying attention to every detail?   
  
"Stop putting  _ everyone _ else's safety over your own, it's going to get  _ you _ killed. Take this." Jemma's voice was softer and she tossed Skye her half-full water bottle. It was her turn to march ahead because she didn't want to see Skye mad at Jemma for taking risks when Jemma had been sitting on the beach all days previously praying to a god she didn't believe in that Skye would come back that evening.

Honestly, if the bottle didn’t have water in it, Skye would have thrown the fucking thing. The plastic crinkled angrily in her death grip just before Skye shoved the bottle into the her bag with the rest of the currently useless ones without drinking it. She ground her jaw together so tightly she felt the throbbing stab of pain in her temples and her grip on her machete was so tight, her fingers were stiff and her knuckles were bright white. 

The beach didn’t come into view soon enough. By the time they heard the water and saw the sand, Skye could feel the rapid, angry thudding of her pulse in her temples, her neck and her wrists. She went to her shelter and pulled the string on the tarp. Inside she had dug out a hole under the stretch of palms that laid under the makeshift bed of cushions from the plane that made up her bed. She moved some of the sand to open up the suitcase she’d buried there. She hid the machete there and put the gun into her 10 code lock box. She locked up the suitcase, covered it again in sand, moved the palms and her bed back into place and then grabbed her bag and headed out of the shelter and down the beach away from the hospital to talk to Coulson. Though she saw out of the corner of her eye that people were starting to congregate near Jemma to see what the hell that giant fucking bug was, Skye didn’t let herself look that way. She didn’t want to give Jemma the satisfaction and, more importantly, she could feel the angry tears of frustration behind her eyes and was still clinging too much to what little shreds of pride she still possessed to let Jemma see that. 

_________

"Give him as much line as you can, but keep him tied on you so he doesn't get away. He can be strong when he takes off." Jemma tugged the slipknot from her own wrist and held out the loop for whoever wanted to be the handler for their bug guide.    
  
Coulson had called a meeting the night before and had been about to berate Jemma when she explained her plan to find water using the dragonfly's pull to his habitat. Everyone who was originally fed up with her disappearance had gone quiet at the prospect of a wealthy supply of water. Except for Skye. She had sulked in the back and Jemma had still been steaming on the inside, but she was also sad her quite brilliant plan hadn't earned her any praise from the one person she cared about it from. She knew Skye was mad, but she'd been ignoring her before it all had even happened so she wasn't sure why her emotional attachment was lingering. Skye didn't seem to want her around or anywhere but the hospital.    
  
Yet Jemma still looked hopefully to Skye as she held the loop out more in her direction than the others. "He should lead you to water." She repeated when the silence started to get to her.

Skye hated the fact that this  _ one time _ Jemma ventured into the jungle netted this particular ‘brilliant plan,’ or whatever the fuck. How about the first time she followed a fucking bird into the jungle and nearly had her goddamned leg torn off?? No one remembered that fucking moment did they? After the night’s meeting, Skye had slipped away to her shelter, set a fire and gone to sleep. Honestly the first three hours of it was actually pretending to sleep whenever anyone came anywhere near enough to her shelter that they might be able to see her. Her nerves felt frayed. She had no idea how to get through to Jemma that she didn’t even  _ want  _ to go in the fucking jungle herself, let alone without anyone to watch her own back. Whether her solo trek had netted something useful or not it was extremely dangerous and all that Skye could think about was a pack of compys swarming Jemma and killing her like they had Kebo, or a fucking flock of terror birds devouring her in two bites. When those thoughts weren’t running through her head, those moments of trying to perform CPR on her ran through her mind instead. 

She might have been hydrated and a little more well fed than yesterday, but her eyes were dark and restless, much more distracted than usual. She eyed the loop and when none of her three companions ventured to take it, Skye stepped forward and took the string from Jemma, trying to ignore the spark that jolted down her arm when their fingers brushed in the exchange. She kept her eyes away from Jemma’s, not at all trusting her emotions to stay in check, and slipped the loop around her left wrist with a nod to let Jemma know she’d heard her. When she was sure it was securely around her wrist, she looked over her shoulder to Mack, Yoyo and Bobbi. “Let’s go,” She gave a jerk of her head toward the treeline and led the way, adjusting to the tug on the line as the ginormous dragonfly buzzed and pulled at it. 

Jemma raised a hand to wave and opened her mouth to wish them luck, but no words came out and her hand went back down when Skye's back was to her. She hadn't meant to upset her, she just wanted to prove she wasn't just a resource. She could help with more, she was helping with more, and she didn't know why Skye was so focused on not wanting her to get hurt but also ignoring her. It was confusing.   
  
"Don't let her mess with your head." Fitz's hand on Jemma's shoulder jolted her back into her body and she nodded. Now she got to lay under what used to be the hospital, doing nothing all day. Now that May was better and everyone had moved into the fuselage except for the few in stronger shelters just outside, she could focus on dismantling the original hospital shelter with Fitz and putting the resources elsewhere.

________________

However reluctant she was to do so, Skye followed Jemma’s instructions and let the dragonfly lead the way. It took them down the right hand path when they reached the fork and tugged impatiently whenever they moved too slow for his liking. An hour and a half in, they hit the edge of a very small stream. The dragonfly tugged and tugged, dragging Skye along and bringing the others behind her. They murmured the whole time about how unbelievable the situation was and how lucky they were to have extra help. Skye remained quiet as they kept going.

Mack hacked at a particular hanging of vines and a stray branch fell and scratched the hell out of the back of Skye’s neck and her right arm as it fell and pinned her. It drew blood in multiple places but luckily that was the extent of it and she didn’t lose the dragonfly. Against her better judgement, Skye just kept going through the pain, hoping something wouldn’t smell her blood and attack them. Eventually, the stream they were following became a small creek and when they’d been walking for just over two hours (marking their trail as they went of course and making sure to clear an easy path along the way), they started to hear it. 

“It can’t be,” Mack murmured as the sound grew louder with each step. 

“What else could it be?” Yoyo asked him. Mack merely shrugged. 

Another fifty yards after that and the jungle opened up into a rocky clearing and the loud noise they’d heard was confirmed. They all stood still at the edge of the clearing, staring at the sight before them. A twenty or so foot tall waterfall that spanned about eight feet across emptied into a large pool of water that had to be at least fifty yards across from edge to edge. It was surrounded by a rocky outcropping with various overgrowth, river rocks, boulders, muddy banks. The pool emptied into the creek, which eventually became the stream they found. 

Bobbi let out a cheer and went running to the water’s edge. She dropped her backpack from her shoulders, kicked out of her shoes and waded right out into the water. Mack and Yoyo followed her, though they didn’t wade into it. Mack knelt on a rock and scooped handfuls out to pour over his head to cool off. Yoyo splashed her face, soaked and wrung out her towel before she wiped at her neck and shoulders. They were laughing and gushing about the find.    
  
Skye stood in her spot, the dragonfly angrily tugging at the string and pulling her arm with it every now and then. She couldn’t fucking believe it. She really couldn’t. Of course this plan worked. A fucking genius came up with it, why wouldn’t it work? Jemma came up with it. Of course it worked. Skye felt simultaneously overly relieved that they had a perfectly usable water source and filled with dread that Jemma would take this to mean that she should just wander off into the jungle by herself all the time. 

The dragonfly buzzed her ear and then flew away to tug on the string. Skye walked to the edge of the water and knelt. The dragonfly dive bombed a mosquito and then settled on a nearby reed to eat, giving slack to the leash. Skye carefully removed the loop without letting to go so she could slip out of the backpack and her messenger bag that she had. She slipped the loop back onto her wrist and began filling water bottles. Eventually the dragonfly came and perched on Skye’s shoulder. She tried to ignore the case of the willies that having a bug the size of half her arm on her shoulder sent through her. 

After the others had their fill of enjoying the water and filling up all the water bottles they’d brought with them (no small haul), they hefted all the packs onto their shoulders and began to make their way back toward the beach. The load was much heavier than the empty bottles and they had no extra room for grabbing any fruit or other plants on the way back. Mack, Bobbi and Yoyo were animatedly talking as they went and Skye let herself fall to the rear. She was glad they were happy. She knew everyone at the camp would be overjoyed by the find. Skye was relieved that this stress was off her back for now too. At the same time, her insides were churning about what consequences would come from this. 

A cooler day than yesterday, Skye had put her overshirt on before they’d started back to camp. She didn’t need Jemma to see the scratches. People were already gathering and cheering when Skye stepped out of the jungle a few paces behind the others. She made her way around them, tied up the dragonfly’s leash to one of the sturdy posts of the water trough so she could dropped her backpack and unload the bottles (All but one) from her messenger back in the makeshift container next to the trough that was for full bottles of water. 

“I knew you could do it!” Trip was the first to notice Skye and gave her a jovial slap on the back between her shoulders. Skye grimaced and moved to her feet. Trip threw his arms around her and picked her up off the ground into a bear hug. Skye grunted and he put her down. “How can you not be happy??” He asked. “You did it! You found water!” 

Skye looked over at the dragonfly, who was tugging on his leash and trying to get back to her shoulder. She shook her head. “No I didn’t,” She said. Trip looked at her in confusion. “Jemma found it,” She grabbed her messenger bag. “Go celebrate,” She nodded toward the group surrounding Mack, Yoyo and Bobbi.   
  
“What about you?” Trip asked. 

“I need sleep,” Skye gave him a pathetic smile and turned. She slung her bag over her shoulders and headed for her shelter. It was early afternoon. It would take only a four hour shift to get to the waterfall and back. They could assign regular shifts for it. Less time meant they could do other things that didn’t involve going into the jungle. Skye settled into her shelter. She pulled the string on the tarp that covered the front of the shelter and set her bag down. She pulled her over shirt off and started to inspect her scrapes and cuts to see what she could of them to see how deep they were. She had minimal success thanks to their locations along the back of her neck, shoulder, the back and side of her arm. Bruises were forming around a number of them as well. Skye exhaled a defeated sigh as she sat down on the end of her makeshift bed. She drew her knees up and leaned her elbows on them. Dropping her head she rested her hands along the sides of her head and resigned herself not to make use of Jemma’s medical skills in light of the particular fight they were currently having. 

_________

"They found it! The group came back with water!" Jemma looked up from her doodling when she heard Will's voice and his upper body bent around the entrance to the fuselage. May and the others napping away the day and taking refuge from the beating sun were suddenly on their feet to get a share of the water. They had been starting to run low and people had been drinking very minimally, so now they were willing to indulge a bit more.    
  
Jemma got up because she wanted to see if everyone made it back uninjured and to get her dragonfly back. She was hoping it had been of some use so she hadn't angered Skye for nothing. She stored her notebook in the seatback pocket since people had been choosing areas of their own. She followed after Will but split away from him when he went for water. Jemma was more worried about locating everyone who had gone to make sure they were safe, especially Skye, even if they were at odds. Skye saved her life and until recently had been rivaling Fitz for being her best friend.    
  
"Skye?" Jemma called out. She managed to lay eyes on everyone from the group except for her. The dragonfly was by the water, scaring some people away, but still no Skye. If anything had happened Skye would be the one to sacrifice herself and Jemma's heart skipped a beat in her chest as her eyes scanned the beach. Nobody from the group looked upset, but Jemma couldn't find her and she was worried anyway.    
  
She hopped down the three foot space between the broken end of the plane and the sand and nearly sprinted to the shelter Skye built. She didn't call out before she swept across the tarp with her arm and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Skye inside, at least until she caught sight of her arm.   
  
"Are you ok?" Deep concern showed on her face as she dropped to her knees on a cushion and laid a careful hand on Skye's elbow. The whole fight had been blown way out of proportion and Jemma wasn't going to let them break apart completely.

Skye jumped nearly a foot at the sudden invasion, wholly unprepared for it. "Fuck!" She reflexively threw a hand to her chest as her nerves frayed just a little more. It took great effort to take a deep breath and as she was exhaling it as slow as she could to calm her suddenly racing heart, Jemma had already invaded her personal space. She flinched at the touch, her muscles already sore from the fairly constant abuse they'd been taking. "It's nothing," She barely resisted the urge to reach for her overshirt to pull it back on. "Just scratches," she glanced toward the entrance of the shelter a moment then set her elbows loosely back down along her knees with care since her arm did hurt.    
  
"You should go celebrate," she told Jemma. Skye was too wrapped up in her worries and not in proper enough control of her emotions. She didn't want to fight. The longer Jemma stayed, at least if recent events were anything to go by, the more likely it was that a fight would happen. Skye wasn't sure she had it in her to be able to handle Jemma giving her that betrayed look again. "They're probably waiting for you." It was more than confusing, the want to wish that Jemma would stay with her for the night, that they could work out whatever the hell was going on between them, and yet having the same strong urge to push her away and keep her distance.    
  
Skye wanted to ask Jemma if she realized that the only reason people weren't angry with her for going in the jungle alone was because they selfishly benefited from the extreme risk she took - they didn't care what happened to her out there, so long as they were safe and sound with food in their bellies and a water source. But she also wanted to tell Jemma that she wouldn't be able to live with herself if something happened to Jemma, let alone if she brought Jemma into the jungle with her and something happened to her when Skye was supposed to be protecting her. She wanted to tell Jemma so many things, like the fact that she didn't think Jemma was merely a doctor, or that she didn't think Jemma was incapable of anything. She didn't have the words to say what she wanted to say to Jemma and, at this point, she wasn't even sure that Jemma would believe anything she had to say anyway.

"I don't care if they're waiting for me." Jemma's brows were still furrowed as she inspected every little cut on Skye's arm. Skye needed her more than they did right now, and Jemma would rather be here than out there celebrating when she knew Skye was feeling miserable. She noticed Skye got a water bottle but hadn't had any to drink yet, so she picked it up and nudged Skye some before putting it down again, closer to her this time.   
  
"What happened?" The lines on her forehead weren't from anger, but sympathy and worry. She nudged the tank top strap to see under it and finally determine she was alright. Words couldn't express how relieved she was that she didn’t have to stitch or burn or do anything painful to her. They'd all been through enough.

Skye eyed the water bottle but didn't reach for it right away. She'd had her fill before they left the waterfall and pond. She'd brought the bottle of water with her so she wouldn't have to leave her shelter while people were still up in the day. She didn't want to tell Jemma that. She wanted to tell Jemma that she thought Jemma would find the waterfall beautiful and there were probably things there that she could catalogue, but that meant having to take Jemma there.  "Got into a fight with a wayward tree branch while cutting our way through," she answered. She frowned at her lap and held her arms clasped at the forearms while trying to figure out where to start in trying to explain herself while her brain kept insisting it was pointless because she'd pushed too far and it was too late now to fix it.

"You should wash them when you get a chance." It felt too personal for Jemma to do it now with all that was going on, but she wanted to do something and advice was what she had.   
  
"I hope the dragonfly helped. Was he useful?" Jemma was trying to make light conversation. She just wanted to be considered as much a part of the group- the part of the group that helped make decisions instead of be the topic of decisions- as Skye and everyone else.

Skye nodded, to let Jemma know that she'd wash the scrapes at some point.  She tensed when Jemma asked about the dragonfly.  She frowned at her lap again and sighed. "If I say yes, are you going to go running off to the jungle alone to try and get yourself killed again?" she finally looked over at Jemma after asking it. She could have just let sleeping dogs lie,  but no, Skye couldn't seem to let it go, and no wonder she couldn't,  since she couldn't stop thinking about what happened in the plane. All she was trying to do was keep Jemma safe. Today alone,  Skye didn't move fast enough to dodge the tree branch because she was so focused straining her ears, fearing she would hear Jemma screaming in the jungle again when she ran into trouble.

Jemma stiffened at the accusation and her gentle hands pulled away from Skye, kept to herself. She could feel her frustration bubbling back up and Jemma didn't know why Skye was so adamant on continuing to nip and snap at her. She felt it in her chest and the back of her throat and it made Jemma want to bite back too.    
  
"I am not nor will I ever be trying to get myself killed." Jemma's jaw stiffened and she looked away from Skye. Tears were stinging the backs of her eyes because damn it, she just wanted them to get along. "I wanted to contribute and none of you thought I could do anything other than stitch wounds and burn people." Jemma knew she was getting worked up again and she didn't want to be, but she didn't know why Skye didn't seem to bother talking to her anymore.    
  
"I can't keep going when all I do is inflict pain on people. I want to do something that feels like helping. I was going to go crazy doing only that and putting up with Fitz complaining all the time!" Jemma's voice was slowly raising and she couldn't help it. Skye didn't understand why Jemma would go into the jungle and Jemma didn't understand why Skye was so upset. "You haven't been talking to me and I felt like I did something wrong before I even went into the jungle, so if there's a reason you suddenly decided to hate me, just say so." Jemma had waved her hands around while she ranted and they crossed firmly over her chest when she finished and she stared Skye down expectantly.

A range of emotions played out across Skye's face. Disbelief at first, as she rolled her eyes and shook her head, barely biting back a sarcastic, 'Well you could've fooled me,' comment but then she saw Jemma's eyes well. Guilt came next, for upsetting Jemma once again. Irritation that once again Jemma thought Skye didn't want her going because she assumed Skye thought she couldn't contribute, when that was emphatically not the case at all. The irritation turned to disbelief again when Jemma accused Skye of hating her and that morphed into anger, which was initially directed inwardly since Skye had made decisions to distance herself from Jemma for a multitude of reasons; Fitz kept blaming Skye for any injuries Jemma obtained (regardless of whether Skye was directly responsible or not), Skye still couldn't get over the drowning incident let alone the whole incident with Mace that had happened less than a day later, people in the group had been starting to turn on Skye and Skye was worried that always hanging around Jemma would make them turn on her. Nerves already frayed, worn out physically, mentally strung out and having bottled up all her most traumatic emotions for over a week now, something in Skye just broke and sprung free, with gusto and fury.    
  
" _ Hate you _ ?!" She snapped incredulously. "Really, Jemma?? You seriously think that I have such little respect for you that I think you're not capable of doing anything but playing doctor?" She grabbed her overshirt and tugged it on angrily before pushing to her feet. She reached for the tarp and was prepared to bolt but stopped and turned.    
  
"You know what? If you want to see the people who think that about you, that you're only good to patch them up when they get hurt and nothing more, go fucking pow wow with your new fans out there!" she pointed in the general direction of the water trough area that existed outside her shelter. "The minute you suggested that stupid bug might bring us to water, they didn't give a flying fuck about what could've happened to you to get that fucking thing - know  _ why _ ?? Because why should they care about anything so long as they get water, food and their medical needs met without having to stick their own necks out on the line!" Skye was shouting by that point, almost shaking with anger, or distress in general. Even as she let loose, nothing seemed to quell the anger, because she was letting it loose on Jemma when most of it was anger at herself for failing to properly handle...pretty much everything.    
  
"You ran after an animal the other day because it caught your scientific eye and then you wanted me to bring you into the jungle where there are no doubt countless things for you to marvel at and wonder off into who fucking knows what that could try and fucking eat you again...after you've been bashed in the head, drowned, forced to perform random surgeries, had your leg nearly torn off and you think  _ I'm _ unreasonable for wanting to keep that shit from happening to you? I'm sorry, Jemma, for fucking caring about keeping you alive. Did it ever occur to you - considering the way you ran after and stopped me from going to look for those guys Ward got killed - that maybe I can't lose you, either?! No?" Her hands gestured wildly as she spoke and her eyes were welled up, casting blurs across her vision as she expelled the words off her tongue.    
  
"No, you think that I'm supposed to kneel down and grovel for forgiveness now because your plan worked. You think you going into the jungle alone was no big thing, when I go in there with  _ three _ other people and have to convince myself the whole way that I'm going to make it back out alive! You think you're somehow immune to danger because, what? One time you made it back with no incident? Thirty seconds, Jemma!" She ranted. "It took  _ thirty seconds _ for a swarm of fucking... _ dinosaurs _ to overrun and kill a man in the jungle in front of my eyes and not ten minutes later, I hear your blood curdling screams from somewhere else in the fucking jungle - I spent the entire trek today wondering if you were back in the jungle and hoping that if you were, I would be close enough to hear you scream for your life, Jemma!" She ground her jaw against the tears welled up in her eyes, fighting them as she trembled.    
  
"Fifteen seconds - that was the difference in the plane between you dying and cutting that fucking seat belt strap away - I already let you die once," She lost the fight against the tears then and they went cascading down her cheeks, clearing her vision just enough to aim her gaze directly at Jemma. "You can't expect me to agree to allow it to happen again," she shook her head slightly. "I won't. I can't."

Jemma sat there, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape, tears she didn't even realize were there streaming down her cheeks as Skye yelled at her. It was so much information at once and it felt pathetic that the first thing Jemma really absorbed was that Skye didn't hate her. Then the rest sunk in and in one move, Jemma sprung to her feet, closed the distance between them, and tackled Skye into another hug, fight be damned.    
  
"I'm sorry." She sobbed into Skye's shoulder. She had been wrong to go into the jungle. It was petty and she did it despite the risks because she was playing the odds and she was bored. She didn't know it would have such an adverse effect on Skye and she certainly wouldn't have done it if she did. "Please don't hide from me. I didn't know why you were avoiding me." Jemma got a fistful of Skye's shirt in the back and refused to let go.

Skye wasn't actually expecting a hug after shouting and ranting at Jemma like that. In fact if anything, she'd frozen and braced herself for being slapped and screamed at in return. So when Jemma collided with her and wrapped her up in a hug, Skye sharply exhaled the breath she'd been holding but didn't move right away, at least not until She heard Jemma's sob. Her arms wound reflexively around Jemma’s middle and held on tight, curling into the material of Jemma's shirt at her back. She closed her eyes tight and leaned the side of her head against Jemma's. She didn't speak at first, not trusting her voice not to crack.    
  
Eventually, when she thought she was steady enough, without letting go of Jemma, she cleared her throat and said. "They've looked at me differently, the rest of them. First after Mace, then Kebo, your leg...After the barbecue..." Skye shook her head awkwardly without pulling it away from leaning against Jemma's. "I didn't want them to do that to you because of me..." She frowned to herself. She left out the Fitz death glares. Fitz was Jemma's best friend. Skye wasn't trying to ruin that in any way.    
  


"I don't care about my reputation." Jemma said softly. She certainly wasn't going to let Skye avoid her for it like this was some teen drama.  
  
Skye inhaled a shaky breath. "I am well aware that you're a genius, Jem," she sniffled and went on. "You are so much more than a doctor or even a well of knowledge on...everything. I'm sorry I made you think I didn't know that. I didn't know how to fix it, after, and then I saw you with the bug and I-," Skye just shook her head awkwardly against Jemma's, unable to go on as she thought once again about Jemma's screams while fighting off the terror birds, her voice had cracked and she couldn't go on. Skye's arms wound tighter around Jemma as if just thinking about any of the terrible things that kept replaying in her mind would make them happen all over again.

Jemma returned Skye's increase in force until she knew they were holding each other so tightly they had practically assimilated into one person and she didn't ever want to let go. "I promise to do everything within my power to stay safe. Which I admit is difficult here, but I'll do it." Jemma nodded against Skye's shoulder. "But you have to promise to come to me and not shut me out."

Skye nodded, but she didn't get a chance to actually reply since there was a loud commotion coming from outside and it didn't sound at all jovial like it had when Skye had snuck away to her shelter. Before she could stop them, Skye's shudders sunk in defeat. Of course...of course they couldn't just have a moment to fully mend the fractures that had occurred between them both. They couldn't have more than fifteen-twenty minutes to breathe, ever, except for maybe that night Jemma had fallen asleep on her lap.    
  
Skye exhaled an exasperated sigh. She gave Jemma one last squeeze and reluctantly pulled back from the hug. She felt the instant pull, as soon as the connection was lost, to reach back out to Jemma immediately, but fought against the urge. Though her hunting knife was sheathed on her belt and, technically, the gun was hooked to the back of her waistband (covered by her shirts of course), Skye stepped over and grabbed the machete from the spot in the sand she had burrowed it, handle sticking upward. She slipped her hand into Jemma's,  pushed the tarp aside and stepped out of the shelter with her, looking for the argument right away.   
  
When she realized the tussle going on was happening around the water trough, Skye glanced at Jemma, dropped her hand and started running through the loose sand. Ward, Garrett, Malick, Quinn and a couple of other thugs Skye didn't know the names of were circled around the trough and the container with the full water bottles. They were outnumbered but each of them had their knives pulled. Aside from harming people with the knives, the threat of slashing the tarp that held their collected rainwater or stabbing holes in the water bottles would be particularly damning.    
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow up there, sweetheart," Garrett flashed a sadistic grin Skye's way as she ran up. "We'll just be taking what we're owed and we'll be on our way," Garrett smiled.   
  
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" She had to lean around Ward's arm to direct the question at Garrett. She glared upward at Ward. "If you wanna keep that limb, you'll let go of me immediately-,"

"I like 'em feisty." Ward laughed at Skye's threat. He knew she was prone to violence, but he also knew she was too good a person to kill him or take off a limb (which was effectively the same thing here).    
  
"Leave her alone and get out of here." Jemma spoke up. Her voice was much softer and less intimidating than those of everyone else involved in the skirmish, but she was firm. She pulled her knife, which was small and probably looked like a letter opener compared to everyone else's, but she held it tightly and facing out. She knew she had promised Skye not ten seconds ago she'd stay out of trouble, but it didn't count if Skye was already in it.    
  
"Would you look at that," Ward chuckled at Jemma and her jaw clenched. He didn't take any of them seriously. "Calm down, Killer.” He said sarcastically. “Once we get our fill of water we'll be on our way." He said it like he wasn't taking all of it. He hadn't done anything to earn even his ration, much less the whole of it.

Skye appreciated the backup, despite her need to protect Jemma. She shifted her weight and moved subtly, still, to position herself between Jemma and Ward even if it was only the right half of her body. Ward would still need to get through Skye to touch Jemma and there wasn’t a chance she'd let that happen. "You want your fill? Go follow the trail to the source and get your own - if you're not too much of a coward," she challenged.    
  
Ward shifted like he was going to go after her. "Ah, ah, ah, not yet," Garrett grinned, giddy as he watched them. Ward stilled. "Skye, darling, why don't you go ahead and put that big ol' machete down. It's too much for a pretty little thing like you to handle anyhow. We'll take that with our water and be on our way - everybody wins!" He grinned. Murmurs went up around the crowd. Those with weapons shifted uneasily on their feet. Mack, Yoyo, Hunter and Bobbi had slowly spread themselves out around Garrett and his crew. Skye didn't have to look at them to know they were watching and taking their cue from her.    
  
Skye set her jaw. She gripped the handle of the machete tight for a moment. She counted to three in her head to clear her thoughts.  _ Okay tough guys _ , she thought,  _ you wanna play rough again? Let's rumbl _ e. Forcing her muscles loose, she moved her legs as if she were taking a normal, relaxed stance and shrugged her shoulders up. "Well,  _ golly _ , I sure never thought of it that way," she held the machete out to Ward, her grip slack on the handle with the bottom of the handle facing upward. "I just want to make sure nobody gets hurt unnecessarily," she said.  Ward looked at her warily. He glanced over his shoulder at Garrett, who seemed to relax a bit.    
  
Garrett nodded. "Go on," he urged.    
  
Ward turned back to Skye. He reached with his empty left hand for the machete and as he did, Skye released it and let it fall to the sand. At the same time, as Ward lunged to grab it. Skye used both her hands and her right foot. She grabbed his right wrist with her left, squeezed it mercilessly tight and twisted as she pulled the arm toward her after the knife felt from it. Her right hand swung hard and fast to Ward's throat, which she caught and continued throwing her weight forward. As his body arched backward, she hooked her right foot behind his legs. By the time the machete landed upright on the sand, Ward was on his back in the sand, Skye stood over him, her hands holding his twisted, straightened right arm and her boot jammed firmly against his throat, pushed up under his chin so his head was tilted all the way back.    
  
It happened so quickly, outside of various gasps, the crowd on each side of the skirmish froze and stared. Garrett let out a long whistled. "Ooohweee, aren't you just full of surprises, Mighty Mouse?" He chuckled but Skye could see in his eyes that her actions rattled him, even from this distance.    
  
Ward struggled beneath her. Skye pulled his arm further and pressed her boot harder into his throat. She moved with extreme precision, allowing Ward enough air to stay conscious and decidedly not crushing his windpipe and stopping just shy of causing his arm to dislocate if only because Jemma would have to fix it.    
  
"It looks to me," Skye looked over the water trough at Garrett. "Like we're at a bit of an impasse here,  _ Darling _ ," she laced the word with venom as she glared. "If you destroy our ability to continue collecting water, we all die...and by that, I mean you and your buddies. See, me and my crew, we know where the water is. You can be sure if you destroy or take all of our collection methods, we'll move to the water source, fortify it and set round the clock watches. If you're lucky you'll find a water source before something eats all your men. If you're not..." Skye shrugged. "No skin off my back when you savages die." She said.    
  
Garrett put his hands on his waist, considering his options as he weighed her words and whether or not he thought she'd kill Ward. Eventually a smirk curved up one half of his lips. "I don't think you really have it in you, Sport-,"    
  
Skye pushed her boot harder on Ward's throat, causing him to begin coughing and sputtering for air. He couldn't wriggle out of the grasp she had him in, however. She lifted only her eyes from Ward to glare through her eyelashes across the way at Garrett. "I've had a really bad week...try me," she challenged, her body the picture of practiced ease, rigid where it had to be, at home with the fighting technique that brought them to this moment, tone sober, calm and dangerous.    
  
Something flickered across Garrett's face, recognition, perhaps? A few more sputters from Ward and he gave in. "Alright, alright, we'll make a deal, let him up-,"    
  
"No," Skye said. "I'll set the rules for this deal. You get two bottles each. In exchange, since you failed to help this camp in any way, you'll leave the knives behind-," Protests went up but Skye growled them to silence. "I'll allow you and you alone to keep your knife. When you've got only the allotted bottles, you and your buddies will walk to the water and then another fifty yards. At that point, I'll release your lap dog here so he can scurry home with you, tail between his legs."    
  
"Skyyyye," Garrett sung her name out. He held his hands out and put on a jovial front. "We're all friends here, be reasonable-,"    
  
"You've got to the count of five, after that, deal's off." Skye barked. She left the explanation at that. Coulson and May watched the exchange, moving themselves into position to back up a couple of the other weapon wielding fighters.

It took Ward grunting once more and his frantic clawing at Skye's ankle before Garret and everyone else finally complied with Skye's orders. On Garret's signal, those who had knives dropped them into the sand and followed him to get the water they'd been allowed.    
  
"Don't get worked up Princess, we're goin'." Garrett smirked and held up his water. He pat the knife sheath at his side as if warning Skye that him keeping it might have been a mistake. 

Skye knew leaving Garrett with his knife was a mistake,  but she didn't trust that he would agree to the deal if she didn't let him keep his. She considered it a win that they wouldn't take all of their water containers and that they'd disarmed the rest of the others at least. She eased up on Ward's throat to give him air while the others gathered their water and walked off. A new fear was growing in her gut,  though.  Garrett was,  perhaps, one of the rogue agents that had been chasing down her and Miles to get to Miles before she got him stateside and in secured custody.

Jemma gripped her own knife tighter while Skye lifted her foot from Ward's throat and he scrambled to his feet, coughing and sucking in air. He grabbed the generous share Skye let him take and caught up to his buddies, embarrassed he'd been overtaken so easily. 

When she'd released Ward, Skye grabbed the machete handle and pulled it up right away.  She watched him hurry away,  and exhaled a small sigh,  not quite able to relax with the eyes focused on her. "You need to set up guard shifts, make sure they don't come back when we're asleep, " she told Coulson. As soon as the immediate threat was gone,  Skye felt the unease settle on her,  the wandering curious (in some cases suspicious) gazes.  She felt anxious if the questions that would come her way any moment,  wanting to know how she had some of the particular skills she had.  Coulson and May exchanged a glance.   
  
"I think you handled that well enough." Coulson nodded. May and everyone else seemed to agree. It appeared to be a harmless comment, but after her talk with Skye, it made Jemma angry, because she realized they did the same thing to Skye that they had done for her.   
  
"Don't stand there and give her a performance review." Jemma walked up to Skye and took a very obvious stance of being at her side, metaphorically and physically. "You haven't got the right to say whether she handled that well like you would have done better. You wouldn't, because you won't. Judge her all you want, but she's the one saving your skins." Jemma marched to the water trough, filled her water bottle so she could clean Skye's wound, and firmly grabbed Skye's arm to lead her back to her shelter before anyone even spoke a word.

Skye never got a chance to make a quick exit from the performance review. She wondered how long Coulson had tried to negotiate with Garrett and crew before Skye and Jemma heard the commotion and joined the fray. Jemma was suddenly at her side defending her and before Skye could do anymore than arch her eyebrows at her, Jemma was already leading her away by the arm. Inside the shelter, Skye tossed the machete so it landed upright in the sand off to the side of the entryway. She shifted a bit nervously on her feet, unsure of herself,  a far cry from the Skye that had just dropped a man double her size into a paralyzing choke hold at the mercy of her temper. “Thank you,” she murmured without quite looking at Jemma. 

"Don't thank me yet." Jemma sighed. She didn't want to make a very big deal about it because she still wasn't sure what would or wouldn't scare Skye away. So she focused on her next task. Without really ordering Skye at all, she pushed down on her shoulder and got Skye to sit down on her own. "I know you'll forget to clean your own wounds, so you should let me do it now." Jemma's hand on Skye's shoulder squeezed gently and pinched at her overshirt to ask her to take it off again.

Skye made a face.  She had no choice but to sit down when Jemma urged her to the end cushion of the bed.  Jemma was right Skye wasn't thinking about cleaning the scrapes at all. She reached for the hem of her overshirt and peeled it a way,  back down to her tank and set the shirt aside.  Her mind was still on the very real danger of losing their water stocks. "We're going to have to dump what we have in the trough and bring the empties back to refill them." And they'd have to do it while there was still light.  Skye frowned, her brow furrowed. She hissed and flinched when Jemma started cleaning one of the scrapes that hadn't quite scabbed over fully yet. 

"Sorry!" Jemma cringed and rubbed her thumb over the skin of Skye's shoulder blade between the cuts and scrapes for some comfort and a not so painful feeling. The good news was that if it was stinging the water was getting into the wounds and flushing dirt out.    
  
"Are you going to have time? Water supplies may be low but we don't know what's out there when it's dark." Jemma fussed over Skye's injuries and her potential plans. She knew a few things that could be out there in the dark, but the impossible was no longer something Jemma let herself be fooled by. She used even less water than she'd been trying to before to clean her wounds and when Jemma thought she got all of them, she pat Skye's forearm and moved to sit in front of her instead.

Skye closed her eyes a moment just to rest them while Jemma worked,  very much aware of the extra, comforting touches.  She looked down at the watch on her left wrist, thankful that it still worked.  "The path to it is clear now,  that should drop our time a bit. If we move fast enough,  jog out there since we'll be too weighed down on the way back....we could maybe make it in three and a half hours," instead of just over four hours.  "We'd be cutting it close to sunset, " But at least then she wouldn't have to go in the morning.  She might even be able to stay and do something useful in camp instead.  Hell,  she might even get to sleep in a little longer in the morning. "Thanks, " she said in earnest again when Jemma sat in front of her.

"Any time." Jemma nodded and gave Skye's arm another squeeze. She didn't want to see Skye go back into that jungle and cut it so close to dark, but after Ward and his group taking most of what was left they would barely have enough to make it through half the day tomorrow. They had a lot of people and with the tropical heat and humidity it took a lot of water to keep them all from keeling over.   
  
"If you need to go you should probably let the others know. But if you're not back after sunset I'm sending a rescue party." Jemma frowned. Skye didn't want her in the jungle but that didn't mean the group wouldn't put together a second party if they wanted water.

Skye hesitated. She nodded. All she wanted to do was actually have a moment to catch her breath. Didn't look like she was going to get that. After the water stunt, Skye wasn't sure where Jemma would be safer; coming with her into the jungle or staying on the beach. She let out a sigh. "I won't go alone," she said, just to make sure Jemma knew she wasn't going complete hypocrite on her. Also, Skye didn't want to go anywhere in the jungle by herself. The idea of it made her stomach churn.    
  
"Here," She pulled her watch off, okay at leaving it since bringing it would only make her look at it too often and get distracted. If she needed a compass, she still had that on her paracord utility bracelet.  She handed it to Jemma. "Sunset was at 8:13 last night," she said. "If we're any later than that...light the torches and grab the pitchforks." She offered a small smile with the joke to try and reassure Jemma and then grabbed her overshirt to tug her way back into it. She pulled herself to her feet and helped Jemma up before she grabbed the handle of the machete. She also picked up her previously unopened bottle of water since it needed to be dumped into the trough. "The dragonfly ate some mosquitoes while we were filling our bottles up, I don't know if it eats anything else?" she said as she stepped out of the shelter and held the tarp for Jemma.

"They mostly eat other flying insects, at least the normal sized ones do. There's no way for me to be sure about this guy. If he's more helpful than annoying you can bring him." Jemma offered. It would help in case they got lost and he would help prevent them from being bitten by as many mosquitos.

Skye considered it for a moment as they started toward the trough, where a lot of people were still milling around, decidedly more docile than they were before the Garrett/Ward incident. She shook her head. "Not this time. We marked the trail as we were clearing, so, whoever takes a refill trip in the morning can take him." It would likely be faster racing against sunset without him. When they reached the trough, Skye drank a little over a third of the bottle she had and dumped the rest into the trough. Skye and Jemma started emptying bottles into the trough and loading the empties into the four backpacks they used earlier. There were less bottles left than Skye would have liked.    
  
Bobbi stepped over when she saw them, eyebrows arched. "What's up?" she asked, her tone casual, curious.    
  
"If we dump what we have in the trough, we've got enough time to make a second run to refill every bottle we've got," Skye told her.   
  
Bobbi considered her words a moment and then nodded. "I'll grab the crew," she said.    
  
"Thanks," Skye nodded and gave her a grateful smile before Bobbi had turned to go fill Mack and Yoyo in.    
  
The dragonfly buzzed away on his lead, hovering back and forth near Jemma and Skye, landing on Jemma's shoulder for one minute, then buzzing between them again before he settled on top of Skye's head for a moment. Skye wasn't the biggest fan of bugs, especially not super mega sized versions of them, but spending the better part of the day attached to the dragonfly made it a little more tolerable without making her skin crawl too much.    
  
"You wouldn't have to make another run into the jungle," One of the other survivors, Skye thought her name was Victoria but honestly couldn't remember at the moment, said "If you didn't give nearly half of our water away," she jerked her head to flip her hair from her face as she said it, obviously displeased with the situation despite having done nothing to gather any water in the first place. Skye bit her tongue and continued dumping out bottles and storing the empties in the backpacks.

"Just because they aren't contributing doesn't mean we let them die if we have access to the resources." Jemma stepped in between Skye and Victoria and dared her to challenge Skye any further. "We're not animals." She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for the other woman to give in and walk away.   
  
"Don't listen to them. She hasn't volunteered to go into the jungle so if she wants to make a list of who has priority to water, she's pretty far down." Jemma rolled her eyes at the woman over her shoulder.    
  
"Please don't tell me you're going." Jemma's eyes closed and she took a deep breath when she heard Fitz behind her. The longer they were on the island the more the sound of his voice annoyed her. He was just another one of those people who judged Skye when they haven't tried to lead themselves. She opened her eyes and gave Skye a look that showed her clear annoyance with him before she wiped it off and turned around.

Admittedly, Skye couldn't help but smile a little in sympathy at the look on Jemma's face when Fitz approached. She overacted miming a slow deep breath and then pretended she wasn't eavesdropping on their squabble as the others caught up and started loading backpacks. Skye slipped her messenger bag on and then pulled one of the backpacks on and urged the dragonfly off her head, sending him buzzing toward Jemma, past her and directly at Fitz.    
  
"Of course not. That was a one time operation." Jemma told him. She probably would never live down her jungle trek.   
  
"Technically it was a second time, so I wouldn't-"    
  
"I'm not going, Fitz." Jemma groaned. Maybe they had a point, but it didn't mean Jemma couldn't be annoyed about it. She chose to ignore him and spun back around to face Skye.    
  
"Make sure you come back on time. Don't think I won't come marching into the jungle to find you if you're late." Jemma said firmly.

Skye's brow furrowed. She shrugged as if the words hadn't bothered her even though they had. "Thanks, Doc," she said as she dumped the last bottle into the trough. Bobbi was on her way back up the beach with Mack and Yoyo close behind. Skye felt relieved that the three of them were so willing to keep going in with her.   
  
She smiled and nodded. "Yes, ma'am," she gave a salute as she hoisted the pack and forced herself not to flinch about the scratches. she followed the others out, machete in hand, but turned and walked backward a few paces. "If we're not off this heap in a couple days, I'll bring you to it," She said, maybe a little to piss Fitz off but also because Jemma would probably enjoy exploring it. A few days of trips would tell her if it was safe enough to chance a trek through the new trail to the watering hole. "How do you feel about waterfalls?" she offered a small smile and gave Jemma a last wave before she turned to catch up to Mack, Yoyo and Bobbi.

_______

While Jemma waited, seconds felt like minutes, minutes felt like hours, and hours felt like days. She paced, she double checked the inventory, she helped reinforce some of the shelters, and still Skye hadn't returned. She occupied herself with as many tasks as possible. She cleaned all the gunk and grime off of herself in the ocean and changed into the newer shirt Skye had given her. When she put the watch back on, it wasn't close enough to sunset for Jemma to start to worry, but she did anyway. The next thing she did was check on anyone who still had stitches. May's finally came out along with the rest of them and she had no one else to fuss over and take care of other than herself, so she figured it was about time.    
  
Their supplies were limited, so she hadn't changed the bandage on her leg since it happened. When she sat down beside Skye's shelter and peeled it off it was stuck to her wound and Jemma had to clamp her jaw shut to prevent herself from crying out. All this time she had been taking care of everyone and forgetting she had her own injuries. Her worry about Skye was actually shifted for a moment to her leg until she saw that there was no excessive swelling and somehow, miraculously, it seemed to be healing ok. Or as ok as a crudely sutured gash down half of her leg could be on a tropical island with no medication. It was healing roughly with pinched skin in some places, reattaching unevenly. It would be a very bad scar, but it was better than dying and she knew Skye did her best. It made her think about what would be a permanent reminder on her face. Her fingers touched the sore spot and felt along it from her temple to her forehead. Glancing into the nearest piece of scrap metal, Jemma saw that, although the image was stretched, the healing wound was leaving a jagged scar very visible to anyone that looked at her. She had never been a superficial person, but she was upset she would always have such a reminder on her face even if they were rescued.   
  
"You're still beautiful." Jemma shifted her eyes and saw Fitz's distorted reflection behind her just before his hand fell lightly on the back of her neck and she craned her neck to look up at him.   
  
"Thank you, Fitz." Jemma sighed, a small blush on her features. She wasn't good at taking compliments.   
  
"Let me help." Fitz sat down in front of Jemma and took the gauze and redressing from her hands.

Thankfully -  _ so very thankfully _ \- Skye and company didn’t run into any major catastrophes. They made it back with, maybe, ten or so minutes of fading light to spare. Enough fires had already popped up along the beach to see them before they were totally out of the thicket of the jungle. Skye smiled a little to herself, eager to stop by and reclaim her watch from Jemma without Jemma having to come searching for her. She broke off from Mack, Yoyo and Bobbi initially when she spotted Jemma by her shelter. She took a few steps closer and spotted Fitz with her. He was helping her redress one of her wounds while they talked. Though Jemma told Skye not to avoid her, they seemed like they were having a pretty intimate conversation. Skye didn’t want to be an intrusion on their friendship, even if Jemma was irritated with Fitz earlier. So she decided she would bring the bottles in her backpack to the trough. The group had decided that they would empty the bottle into the trough and store the empty bottles next to the trough. It would make the water harder to steal, in addition to the round the clock guard shifts they were implementing. Skye turned to head back toward Mack, Yoyo and Bobbi since they were headed for the trough as well.

___________   
  


"Fitz, what's wrong? You've been jabbering nonsense." Jemma's heartbeat was steadily increasing and she didn't know if it was because the time Skye told her she'd be back was getting closer or because of how weird Fitz was acting. He was stammering over "remember when" stories and was even starting to repeat them.    
  
"Nothing's wrong!" Fitz protested a little too strongly. He tucked in the end of the gauze tape on her wound's dressing and tugged her pants leg back down. Jemma frowned at him and grabbed his hand. He froze and looked back up at her. "It's been eight days." He said quietly. He was the first person to say it and it made Jemma's heart drop down into her stomach. "There isn't going to be a rescue. I don't want to die without telling you." His eyes were dark and it made Jemma's heart beat wildly in her throat. She might have an idea of what was happening. "You're more than my best friend." He told her.   
  
"What are you saying?" Jemma knew what he was saying. He was saying what Jemma had hoped he never said, because she could never reciprocate.    
  
"I'm saying I'm in love with you, Jemma. I always have been." Fitz's eyes were locked onto hers and Jemma couldn't do anything but stare back silently. "Say something." He pleaded. Jemma didn't want to. She was going to hurt him and the only way to avoid it would be to lie and tell him she loved him like that too. The idea of it made her feel sick inside and made her think of Skye.    
  
"Fitz, I'm not... I don't..." Jemma couldn't say it. She couldn't hurt him like that, but when she looked back up she saw that she already had. He probably knew before he even told her. Tears were welling up in his eyes and it made Jemma tear up as well, but there was nothing she could do.   
  
"We've been together since school, Jemma!" He suddenly accused. It made Jemma recoil with guilt inside because he wasn't what she wanted. Had she strung him along? Had this been her fault?   
  
"I know, and you're my best friend but-"    
  
"You're more than that, Jemma!" Fitz was getting worked up and Jemma didn't know how to calm him down. People were starting to look and Jemma went into defensive mode.   
  
"I don't owe you anything, Fitz!" She shouted back. "You're my best friend, but not more."    
  
"How can I accept that?!" He shouted right back. Clearly this was deeper in his emotions than Jemma had first thought, but she didn't know what to do. She couldn't summon feelings that weren't there.

Skye was still at the trough when Fitz’s louder and louder shrieks began to filter to the general groupings of people nearby on the beach, over the crash of the surf. Skye looked over with the others. She looked over just as Jemma was shouting out a defense. 

Skye dropped the bottle into her backpack in the sand and started in Jemma and Fitz’s direction as their shouts revealed what the fight was about. Internally, Skye felt a well of anger build in her. She knew Fitz’s glares at her were due to his possessive feelings over Jemma. She knew it was because he was attracted to her (who  _ wouldn’t _ be?). She didn’t think Jemma had feelings for him, but they were best friends and Skye kept reminding herself that it would be wrong to get between that. However, one of the things that always got to Skye was nice guy syndrome. If you befriend someone (either of the opposite sex or the same sex or whatever varying combinations of possibilities) solely because you’re attracted to them while making them think you’re befriending them  _ because you want to be their friend _ and then held it against them when you confessed your feelings and they didn’t reciprocate? Yeah, a ‘nice guy,’ wouldn’t do that to a person. A nice guy would befriend a person because they want to be their friend and no other reason. A nice guy, wouldn’t scream at someone they had strong feelings for as if that person purposefully  _ chose _ not to feel attracted to them and is somehow a bad person for it, or acts like that person owed them  _ anything _ other than the agreed upon friendship. That kind of shit really pissed Skye off. 

Skye struggled with these feelings herself. She was most definitely attracted to Jemma on many different levels. She wanted to be friends with Jemma and she wanted to be more than friends with Jemma, but she didn’t want to alienate Jemma away from friendship because of her attraction to Jemma. Skye hadn’t expressed this outloud very well, and she and Jemma had obviously had some arguments and disagreements, but they were working through them - and those had to do with the immediate issues of their hazardous situations, not revolving (totally at least) over the undefined connection between them. So it was with great care and practiced outward projection of calm that she began to approach Jemma and Fitz, hoping to make out like she was just coming to tell Jemma that she was back and, in the process, would break up the fight with just her presence. 

Before she even got close, while she was still almost fifteen yards away, Will suddenly appeared in the firelight near Fitz and Jemma. He was relaxed and calm but he positioned himself just subtly between Fitz and Jemma to act as a barrier.    
  
“Hey, guys,” Will even spoke calmly, not raising his voice like they had and holding his hands up bent at the elbows as if showing his own surrender would settle their argument. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but-,” 

"Well you are."  Fitz snapped immediately. He stood up and Jemma had to block her face from the sand Fitz slashed her way with his feet as he moved. "But it's fine, I guess I'm done talking to her anyway." Fitz looked back down at her with hurt in his eyes, but Jemma didn't feel very much sympathy anymore. She wiped off the tear tracks on her cheeks and accepted the hand Will offered to help her up.

Will kept his hands up to try and pacify Fitz a bit. “Hey, man, c’mon,” he made a face as if to silently say,  _ ‘grow up, dude.’ _ Fitz had already taken that last verbal swing at Jemma, though, so Will turned his back on him and reached out to help Jemma to her feet. “Take a walk,” Will said to Fitz, this time his tone held a bit of warning in it. He felt like he’d helped urge Fitz on to leave. “Bad timing, but...you okay?” Will asked Jemma, his tone reverting back to normal, if a little more calm than usual, hoping to sound sympathetic, or maybe just comforting after that display. 

"Since it's apparently time for honesty, not really." Jemma sighed. She didn't know why Fitz had to blow up on her like that. It wasn't her fault that she didn't love him in the same way he loved her. He became friends with her, he couldn't expect her to be something else all of a sudden when she wasn't.    
  
"And I don't know if it's End of the Word Syndrome or if he actually is in love with me." Jemma frowned. She was already convinced that it was the latter, though. Fitz's distaste for Skye (and anyone else she'd ever been interested in) was enough proof of that.   
  
It took Jemma a moment to really realize she automatically put Skye in the category of people she was interested in. It made her heart pound to admit it and she scanned the beach again, eyes widening when she realized they had quietly come out of the jungle with much less celebration this time.   
  
"I have to go. Thank you." Jemma was quick to thank Will and make her way to the trough where Skye was emptying water bottles. She wondered if she heard any of her argument with Fitz. She also wondered now if she was the friend that would be admitting other feelings. She didn't want to make Skye feel the way she did right now, but she had also flirted with her before they crashed and really became friends. Did that leave the opportunity there, or was it gone?   
  
Will watched Jemma go but didn’t stop her since he figured she had to already feel kind of trapped with the way Fitz had just treated her. After a few moments, he stepped away to return to the conversation he’d been in when the situation between Fitz and Jemma originally arose.  
  
"You're back." Jemma said it on a quiet exhale and pulled Skye into a gentle hug. She pushed her extra feelings back down her throat and focused on taking a deep breath. Back in civilization she would have thought Skye smelled, but they all did and Jemma didn't even care. It wasn't a dead smell and that was all that mattered right now.

Skye went back to dumping the water bottles when Will stepped into Jemma and Fitz’s fight, despite the strong urge to still go butt in. They didn’t need extra hands in the pot, so she had stayed by the trough, watching and waiting, just in case. She tossed the last empty bottle into her pack as Jemma approached and turned to face her. “Hey,” Skye wound her arms around Jemma’s middle to hug her back, though not as fiercely as they had earlier in the shelter. “Everything alright?” she asked quietly by Jemma’s ear so the others wouldn’t hear. She wanted to let Jemma know she saw it, sure, but she also wanted to know if Jemma was actually alright since she’d watched her wipe those tears away before. 

"I suppose," Jemma breathed. She held onto Skye a little bit longer, just to make sure she really was there, before she pulled away. She still held onto Skye's forearms though, not quite ready to break contact between them altogether. "Fitz is in love with me. I just don't feel that way about him though, no matter how much I do care for him." Jemma worried her bottom lip between her teeth just thinking about it. "He's angry and I wish I didn't have to hurt him."

Skye didn’t pull her arms away. If it helped Jemma feel better, she wasn’t going to deprive her of the comfort. Her eyebrows arched a bit, but there wasn’t too much surprise in her face. Fitz had been pretty loud and she’d heard what Jemma shouted at him. “I’m sorry you’re a position like that,” She genuinely was, even if she felt relieved that Jemma didn’t return Fitz’s feelings for her own selfish reasons, it was still a shitty position to put Jemma in, given their already crappy situation being stuck on the island. “Do you want to stay with me tonight?” She asked. Her cheeks flushed immediately and she stammered a bit to explain herself, “I mean, my uh shelter, because there’s room, we can put another bed in there...if you don’t want to go back in the plane.” She figured Jemma and Fitz probably claimed places close to each other in there to begin with. 

Jemma shifted her weight from one foot to the other and swallowed a lump in her throat when Skye offered to let her stay with her. They'd slept in the same space the second night, but not since, when things were more escalated between them. Now, they seemed to be not quite sure yet.    
  
"That would be wonderful, thank you, Skye." Jemma squeezed Skye's arms and accepted before she even thought about what it would mean. Skye's shelter was big enough for them to spread out, but it was also cold and Jemma wondered if Skye would let her get closer to conserve body heat. The blankets from first class weren't all that warm and she was sure it was colder in Skye's shelter than the fuselage.

Skye offered her a small smile and shrugged. “No problem,” She wasn’t going to let herself think about things like conserving body heat and sleeping close to Jemma after what she just went through with Fitz. Skye wasn’t trying to push anything on her, which was why she was quick to explain herself. Of course, she couldn’t ignore the fact that she wanted to be close to Jemma, trying just that had led to fighting after all. She thought she did an alright job building up her shelter outside the plane so it wasn’t just a bit of a lean-to. It had 3 walls and a roof made up of sturdy bamboo with palms and other large leafing to keep water out and keep wind to a minimum. The front had a foot or so of the walling on either side of the tarp door and so far she’d kept warm with one of the travel blankets (somewhat better than the first class blankets in Skye’s opinion) she’d found and the fires she built outside the shelter. Mack and Trip had helped her brace a large flashing of metal from the plane against one side of the small hut-like structure since the wind came from that direction most often and the plane blocked it on the other side mostly.    
  
“Want to grab some food and then we’ll set up a space for you?” Skye offered, needing at least something of a snack-like variety after all the trekking and hiking. She’d only really had dried bits of fruit from her messenger bag to munch on while moving through the jungle. 

"I could eat." Jemma nodded. When they started to walk she finally let go of Skye. They were headed for the main fire where the dried leftovers of the terror bird were still being stored. It had been enough meat to ration for a few days so they were still able to claim theirs for the night. "Oh, I got some salt. Terror bird jerky is pretty terrible on its own." Jemma joked. She had used salvaged containers to evaporate salt water for food purposes.    
  
"Have a good night you two." Trip wished them well and handed them a few strips of dried meat each along with an empty half coconut lined with salt residue they could scrape out.   
  
"Thanks, you too, Trip." Jemma smiled at him and turned to hand Skye her half of the terror bird jerky.

Skye gave Trip a grateful nod as she and Jemma stepped away. “Thanks,” she said as she took the meat Jemma handed her. They stopped to grab some more portions of various dried fruit, also stored in a halved coconut shell, made up of dried out mango, papaya, banana, guava and some fresh coconut meat. Skye was hungry enough that she was already digging into the jerky and bits of fruit as they strolled at a leisurely pace through the sand. “How’s your leg, by the way?” She asked. 

Jemma held up a hand to let Skye know to wait a moment while she chewed on the tough piece of jerky in her mouth.    
  
"It stings every time I move, but it's healing." She told her. Just thinking about it made her next step bring a little jolt of burning pain across her shin. Like before, it also reminded her of the jagged line on her face and she couldn't help but move her hair some to cover it, already self conscious. It was partly for herself, but also because she knew Skye was still very much affected by whatever had happened to her that night, so she was trying not to remind her too.

Skye tried not to frown too much. Healing was good. It sucked that it hurt considering it was a highly used muscle group for so much movement. The movement she caught out of the corner of her eye, Jemma moving her hair in a certain way drew her attention to it and Skye had to force herself not to frown. She did make note of it, though, so she could file it away to check back in and ask Jemma about it later. They’d both had enough attention to drama today. “Well, good,” She said about the healing leg. “I mean, sucks that it hurts. Did you use any of the aspirin in the kit for yourself?” Skye asked though she was willing to bet good money that Jemma hadn’t since she would want to conserve it for other people. Skye was not the only somewhat selfless person of the two of them. When they reached her shelter, Skye added. “I hope you know this means you get to be the foreman while I set up a bed for you,” with a lopsided little smirk. 

"No, but I used some of the plants for a bit of pain relief. I should wash them off in the morning." Jemma explained. They only had so many of the little pills so she wasn't going to take any if she could bear the pain. When they got to Skye's shelter she leaned against the side of the plane and chewed on some more of the tough meat. She tried not to think about how close the thing she was eating had gotten to eating her. That was the crazy world they had literally fallen into.    
  
"I have to get my stuff anyway, I don't need to be immobile." Jemma smiled at Skye's kindness, even if it wasn't completely necessary. Skye was already letting her share the shelter she had built for her own privacy, so Jemma wasn't going to intrude.

Even though she had stepped up where necessary for the good of the group of the survivors, Skye didn’t exactly feel like part of their group. It was better for her to be out here. They didn’t all trust her. She knew which ones did, she knew which ones were dangerous (Garrett and Company) and that was all she needed to know right now. She’d done what she could to slowly get to know some of the others outside of the core group of Jemma, Fitz, Trip, Mack, Yoyo, Hunter, Bobbi, May, Coulson and Will. Some of them shied away from her, others were willing to be friendly enough since she helped bring them food and now water. Skye knew her physical altercations with Ward and Garrett were enough to make people uneasy. Add to that the whole mercy killing with Mace...she understood people’s aversion to her. And then there was Jemma, who stuck up for her and trusted her and who hadn’t even questioned how or why a computer technology and securities consultant was a skilled fighter of some sort. 

“Well, we’ll finish up,” Skye said after chewing a mouthful of her food and swallowing. “And we’ll head inside to gather your things and supplies. Then I’ll grab some palms and all to lay down under them. We’ll keep you comfy and high enough off the ground to avoid being cold.” She smiled reassuringly. “It gets pretty warm with a decent fire going.” 

"Thank you, Skye." Jemma found she was saying it a lot, but she still meant it every time. There was a genuine smile on her face for the first time in a while as she watched Skye try to eat the jerky and she couldn't help but emit a small laugh.    
  
"It's no thanksgiving turkey." Jemma joked and raised the last strip of her own portion for the night. "But it's still better than those dreadful birthday cake flavored bars." She teased.

Skye made a face as her stomach burbled at the cruel mention of something like Thanksgiving. Skye had only ever had one traditional Thanksgiving as a kid. She was twelve at the time and had never seen so much food in one single place in all her life, even at the orphanage when it was packed full with kids. It was memorable enough that she was currently thinking about how great a giant bowl of stuffing covered in gravy would be. She made another face as she swallowed down a hunk of terror bird jerky, “Hey, don’t knock the protein bars,” She smirked. “Something needed to feed the muscles.” She moved her coconut shell of food to her right hand and lifted her left arm to flex her bicep muscle with a small chuckle. “They take a lot to maintain,” she grinned, lopsided. 

"Does it now?" Jemma giggled and popped one of what she was going to call mango chips into her mouth. She was grinning at Skye's joke, but also took the time to appreciate her well defined muscles when she was invited to look. "I wouldn't know." Jemma threw back, laughing and twirling her wrists in a way that motioned down at her much smaller frame. Maybe she was inviting Skye to look back a bit (while dressed), but she wouldn’t admit that.

Skye wasn’t going to very well turn down permission to freely ogle Jemma when she’d been doing it repeatedly over the last seven or eight days as discreetly as possible, even when she’d been trying to keep her distance. Her eyes lingered a bit longer than was probably necessary. With a crooked grin still on her face, she quipped, “That’s probably because of your aversion to tasty birthday cake flavored protein bars.” She stuck her tongue out at Jemma and then tossed a couple of dried banana chips into her mouth. 

"I concede." Jemma held her hands up in surrender with a grin on her face. She hadn't engaged in a good banter since she talked with Skye on the plane so she felt much more human now than any time previously after the crash.    
  
"I'll go get my things." When she finished off the rest of her dried food, Jemma pointed over her shoulder with her thumb at the giant head of the plane. "Her things" just consisted of her small satchel and a duffel bag where she stored her compy remains. The rest was medical supplies that she figured she should leave in the safety of the fuselage where more people were there to witness if anything was stolen.

Skye nodded. “I’ll get started gathering some things,” She scooped the last couple of fruit items in her coconut shell into her mouth and grabbed her messenger bag and the machete. She went first, to a section of the tree line, staying on the beach side as he gathered various oversized leaves from the trees and palm fronds, similar to the ones that covered her roof and were weaved through the walls of her shelter. They were also layered multiple times under the cushions she’d pilfered from the first class section of the plane. The first class section had seats that reclined to lay back, which meant they had an extra piece for a person’s legs to rest along. It required some work with some sturdy allen wrenches and a few other tools that Skye had for her actual computer related work to pry them free in tact, but it was definitely worth it. It wasn’t perfect, granted, but it was better than sleeping in the actual sand every night. If she got time at any point, she might spend it chopping her way through some bamboo to build a flooring frame to prop the cushions on maybe. Whatever the case, she laid out the layers on the sand in the small space next to her bed (there wasn’t  _ that _ much room but there was enough), so the beds were pretty much only inches apart. When the layers of palm and leaves were down and she’d gathered another long cushion from an unused seat in the first class cabin section, it was laid down on top. It took some doing to find a couple of first class blankets to swipe to add to the travel blanket she had. 

Once it was all done, Skye focused on building up the fire a bit so it would last with little fussing until the morning. She tied the tarp to the side of the entrance so they’d get the heat from the fire and then she finally stepped back inside the shelter, brushing sand off her hands. She put the gun inside the messenger bag, set that and the machete at the foot of the beds since it was the farthest part inside the shelter (so no one could steal it without coming into the shelter). Her hunting knife had a particular place next to the bed by the head of it that she always propped it. By the time she sat down on the end of her bed and began to pull her boots off, she looked over at Jemma. “How do you like your new accommodations?” She asked with a crooked smile. 

"I think you've got a good thing here. Looks more comfortable than cramming into a seat." Jemma grinned. She couldn't wait to stretch out on a cushion and not worry about her leg getting covered in sand. It wasn't creepy that she was looking forward to laying next to Skye and watching her breathe, was it? Her presence was calming, almost therapeutic. It made her feel safe.   
  
Jemma placed her few things on the side of the bed opposite of Skye's bed. She sat down at the end of it and could practically feel her body screaming thanks at her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, waiting for the pain in her leg to calm down after the stretching movement it took to ease herself down. She probably shouldn't be neglecting it so much and putting off touching it or looking at it.   
  
"On second thought, it would probably be best to wash away the plant paste now. I don't want anything to get stuck in it overnight." Jemma cringed at just the thought and got her water bottle out of the bag. They had more water after Skye's last minute run and she knew she needed to pay more attention to herself if she wanted to get off the island. "Could you help?" She asked.

Skye arched her eyebrows. “Yeah, sure, of course,” She nodded right away and pushed the sleeves of her overshirt up past her elbows. She moved from her spot and knelt in the sand in front of Jemma. She reached out for her leg and set Jemma’s foot on her thigh. She reached for the hem of Jemma’s pant leg and gingerly began to roll the material up, her brow creased in deep concentration at the task so she didn’t jar anything too fast so she didn’t hurt Jemma. 

"It's beginning to seal but is still pretty fresh." Jemma said. She was trying to prepare Skye for the mess she was about to see. Her wound was still red and the stitches stuck out of her skin in that unnatural way that makes squeamish people queasy. Not to mention it was just thread and not meant for sutures, so it probably looked a bit scary.

Skye arched her eyebrows slightly. She lifted her eyes up toward Jemma’s face and let out a soft chuckle. “You trying to scare me now, Doc?” She asked. She knew it wasn’t going to look great. She kind of figured that was partially her fault since she wasn’t exactly skilled at the stitches like Jemma was but, what could be done given their situation? Once the pant leg was rolled up high enough, she began to unwrap the outer winding of gauze to get to the gauze taped on below that. She didn’t peel that away just yet though. “Can you reach my bag from there?” She asked. “I think I still have some of the first aid stuff you gave me for the trek the other day.” Since they didn’t have the first aid kit in the shelter with them. 

"I got it." Jemma sucked in a breath and held it so she could keep her balance while leaning over to grab Skye's bag. Her fingers barely got close enough to wrap around the strap and she dragged it closer to dig the kit out. Once she did she handed it to Skye and proceeded to untie her shoe. It didn't cover the wound in a painful way but it would be annoying to treat with it so close.   
  
"Ok, I'm ready." Jemma nodded. It was always hard to take the gauze off of a wound after too long. It stuck, especially without antibiotic gel, and it would be worse with the plant residue that had probably dried like Elmer's glue.

“Okay,” Skye tried to prepare herself since the way Jemma said it let her know that this was going to be another one of those situations where Skye had to hurt Jemma in order to help her with a wound. She’d already guessed that was probably the case since Jemma had said before that it still hurt. “Here we go, then,” She used a small bit of the water to clean her hands off a tiny bit off to the side and then she reached for the medical tape and tried her best to peel it and the gauze away slowly to avoid harsh tugs but without going so slow that it was a different kind of overly agonizing. She murmured and grimaced quiet apologies the whole time whenever Jemma made any kind of indication that it hurt.

Jemma closed her eyes during the process and hesitantly opened one eye to peek when she didn't feel the stinging as strongly anymore. She was met with Skye's apologetic eyes and suddenly Jemma had to smile. It felt strange to be the one closing her eyes during a medical procedure, but it also felt more painful to watch. When she did look down, however, the smile dropped off of her face and was replaced by a frown. The skin around her wound was bright red in splotchy patches and Jemma's immediate concern was an infection. Her eyes widened and her mind immediately went to the worst possible scenario.

“What?” Skye asked, a bashful smile on her face as her cheeks and the tops of her ears turned a few shades of pink. Before she got an answer, Jemma’s face changed and Skye immediately shifted and leaned to look at her leg. Skye had no idea what she was looking at, but she knew Jemma’s leg shouldn’t look like that and it made her heart jump into her throat. “I-is it infected?” She asked, clearly worried about the splotches. Red lines and puss meant infection right? What did splotches mean?? 

Jemma didn't answer Skye at first. She leaned forward and tried to get as close a view as possible, but it stretched her skin and she winced. She didn't see any discharge from the actual wound itself but it didn't stop Jemma from worrying. She ran possible scenarios through her head until she finally came up with an alternative solution and wiped a bit of the plant matter off with her finger. She held it against her bottom lip and sighed in relief and annoyance at the same time when it started to tingle.   
  
"I think I'm allergic." Jemma explained to a very panicked looking Skye. She grabbed the water bottle and washed off her hands and her lip. The rest she handed to Skye since she would have a better view of Jemma's wound. "If we get it all washed up I should be alright. It's not an infection." She clarified. For a moment there Jemma had been afraid.

Skye’s eyes widened as she watched everything Jemma did. “Well don’t put it in your mouth!” She blurted, somewhat panicked by the idea that she was testing whether or not she was  _ allergic _ to something by putting it so close to her mouth. They didn’t have any of those pen things to jab into her thigh or something if her throat closed up!! By the time she said it, Jemma was already washing everything up and Skye’s eyes were still a bit wide as she looked back and forth between Jemma’s face and her leg. Jemma seemed calm now but Skye was still freaked out. She took the water bottle and shifted so she could use it to clean everything off without getting the water on herself so she wouldn’t have to change again. “Would aloe help?” She asked as she used the water and her hands to clean bit of the plant matter off of her leg and the wound while still trying to be gentle enough not to hurt her too badly. “Like, to make it go away faster?” 

"That's a good idea." Jemma confirmed. She had a strong desire to yank her leg away to stop the stinging as Skye cleaned it, but she knew it was a necessary evil and would take the burning sensation the water gave her rather than the rashes from the plants she'd tried to use for pain relief. When Skye was finished, Jemma tilted her leg to the side so she could see it herself and was satisfied by Skye's efforts. The rashes still didn't make it look like it was healing though, no matter how well Skye cleaned it.

Skye washed her hands off carefully with some of the water, making sure to get any traces of the plant paste off of them before she poked around in a pocket of her bag and came out with a couple of sections of aloe plant she'd stowed before the morning's trek. She'd been using them on some of her own cuts and bug stings. While Jemma inspected her leg, Skye pushed at the sides of one of the lengths of aloe to split a seam through it. "Good?" she asked after Jemma's inspection was complete, not wanting to do anything until she was given the go ahead.

"Yes." Jemma said. "You're very thorough." She smiled some and was glad for Skye's preparedness for any situation that came their way. She wanted to ask Skye why she had already had a flashlight, utility bracelet, and excessive medical kit with her, but it was a question for another night. They'd done enough for  now. She was apt to just enjoy Skye's gentle touch and get ready to go to sleep.

The tops of Skye's ears and cheeks turned a little more pink. Her fingers worked through the gelled middle of the aloe plant to scoop it out into her palm. She worked through both branches of it that she had and when she was done, her focus was back on Jemma's leg, paying careful attention to ensure she smoothed the gel like liquid over not just the wound but the blotchy rash spots as well. Since she wasn't cleaning the wound off this time, her touch was as gentle as she could make it while still effectively spreading the gel around to cover everything. "A little better at least?" she asked when she was done, tone hopeful that it had or would bring at least some minor relief to the discomfort in Jemma’s leg.

"I think so." Jemma wiggled her toes against Skye's leg and smiled. It wasn't burning as badly now and it seemed to already be easing the pain a bit. Even if it was a placebo, Jemma didn't care as long as it felt better.   
  
"I'm so tired, I can't imagine how you feel." Jemma gave her a sympathetic look as she folded her gauze the other way to get a new, clean surface. She tied it back on herself and rolled her pants leg down. She was ready to pass out as soon as she laid down, so she very much pitied Skye, who made not one, but two jungle runs that day. Waking up that morning felt like a week ago.

Skye couldn't help the stupid smile on her face when Jemma's toes wiggled against her leg. She repacked her bag and put it back in its spot then brushed the sand off of her pants and crawled into her bed with a small sigh. Talk about muscles screaming at her. Skye's seemed to do that so often anymore she was starting to become numb to it. "Coulson's sending Hunter in my place tomorrow for the water run," She stifled a yawn into the back of her hand and laid on her side to face Jemma. She grabbed her folded travel blanket since it was bigger and a bit thicker than the other plane ones she'd found and passed it to Jemma. "So, at least I don't have to wake up and leave at any particular time." Barring any major calamities, she might actually get to sleep in a bit.

"Just think, it will be like a vacation. We are on a tropical island." Jemma chuckled. She put her shoe back on (you never know when you'll need to get up) before she laid down. She wasn't going to take Skye's good blanket, so she laid as close to the edge of her cushion as she could. Being close to Skye, it was easy enough to drape it over the both of them. The plane blankets could go on top for extra layers.

Skye tried her absolute best not to over think about the fact that they were, essentially but for the tiny gap of space between cushions, sharing the same bed and, further, that they needed to be close together to share their blankets. She wanted to fuss and insist that Jemma could use the blanket for herself so she didn't have to share, but Skye was tired and if she were genuinely honest with herself, she wanted the comfort of knowing she wasn't alone. She made a mental promise not to take advantage of it the way she'd seen Fitz doing the last week or so, since she didn't want to do that to Jemma, but not having to be alone (even though she'd set herself away from the others in her shelter) made Skye actually relax. She was so tired and for once, relaxed and content (maybe?) enough for this particular moment that she actually nodded off halfway through murmuring a, "Night, Jem."

"Goodnight, Skye." Jemma said it quietly on an exhale and and settled down on the pillow from the seat cushion. She watched Skye's eyes fall shut and her breathing slow and become even. The only thing in her mind was how nice it would be for the both of them if she wasn't too shy to lean over, kiss her forehead, and smooth out her ruffled hair. She wasn't going to touch her when she was asleep though. She had no way to know why Skye knew the fighting skills she did, but she thought it would be best not to startle or scare her awake. It would be awful of her to take advantage of her exhaustion and kindness and be anything other than a perfect houseguest. Her confusing feelings for Skye would have to take a rest with her.  
  
_________________  
  
When Skye opened her eyes that next day, the sun had been up for awhile. It was going to be a hot day, but for the moment there was a nice, cool breeze coming off the water. The first thing she saw was Jemma's face, a handful of inches away from hers. Loose strands of hair hung over her eyes and forehead and Skye's fingers itched to tuck them behind Jemma's ear and off her face. Skye didn’t want to wake Jemma, though. In fact, Skye stayed still for a few long minutes, not wanting to move and make the smaller woman stir unnecessarily, though. Eventually, however, the need to relieve herself grew too strong. With great care, Skye carefully moved back and tucked the edges of the blankets around Jemma. She grabbed her hunting knife, slipped it into the sheath on her belt, grabbed her messenger bag and slipped out of the shelter so she could head into the treeline area for some privacy to, well, pee.    
  
After she was done, Skye took a walk to the water's edge just to stretch her legs a bit. She washed her hands off in the surf and then headed for the trough to fill a couple of spare empty bottles of water for her and Jemma. She spotted Trip nearby cooking a morning's haul over a campfire. Seeing Trip with various kinds of fish and selfish was no surprise but a handful of  critters cooking that she hadn't expected. "You caught crabs?" Skye smirked. "On a deserted island? You should see a doctor about that," she teased.    
  
Trip laughed. "I'll do that," he grinned. "Hungry?" he asked her.    
  
"Yeah, I'm gonna grab some breakfast for me and Jem, I think. She's still asleep right now." She nodded.    
  
Trip held his finger up to tell her to wait a second. He gathered a large banana leaf and folded it over a couple of times. "How's it feel to have a day off?" He asked as he held the leaf 'plate' in one hand, he used a carefully carved and shaved flat of bamboo to scoop one of the fish filets from a rock next to the fire he was using to cook them and put it onto the banana leaf.     
  
"So far, so good," Skye said with a sigh. she started to protest when Trip grabbed two of the cooked crabs by their back fins and put them on the plate before holding it out to Skye.   
  
"Don't fuss, just take it," Trip grinned. "You two deserve it," he told her. He gave his head a nod toward the direction of her shelter. "Get going before the others see me playing favorites," he joked.   
  
"Thanks, Trip," Skye smiled as she folded the leaf over itself to securely hold the food. She stopped by the other stocks of food to fill a half coconut shell each for her and for Jemma of the various dried fruits. She carried the haul back to the shelter to find Jemma had woken up. "Morning," she said as she moved to sit in the sand just off to the side of the entryway. "Hungry?" she asked as she carefully set the food down so sand wouldn't get in any of it so she could pull her messenger bag strap off. She also grabbed the hem of her overshirt and pulled that off so she was down to her tank as it was getting warmer. Her back and arms were stiff from the bruises and scrapes after the tree branch incident.

Jemma was still rubbing the dry skin in the corners of her eyes when Skye's cheerful voice and the smell of something cooked grabbed her attention. When she tried to speak a yawn took the place of her words. Next came a smile and Jemma stretched her arms above her head as she sat up, letting the blankets bunch up at her waist. The long sleeve tshirt felt like a sweater now, so like Skye, Jemma tugged it off.    
  
"Here, always." Jemma's stomach growled like it was trying to emphasize her point as she crawled out of bed and made herself stand up to stretch for a moment before sitting back down outside the shelter by the food. "How did you manage to get us these?" Jemma looked up in question, but a smile was on her face.

"Our resident fisherman is very generous despite my jokes about him catching a venereal disease on a deserted island," Skye grinned. She couldn't help but enjoy the domestic feel to the moment as Jemma got her bearings and came to join her for breakfast. It was nice not waking up alone but Skye still had to wonder in the very back of her mind how long that would actually keep up. she pushed those thoughts far away, though, in favor of just enjoying a relaxing breakfast, or brunch perhaps (she hadn't checked the time) with Jemma. "I think he and some of the others upgraded from nets to a couple of traps," she handed one of the coconut shells of fruit over and, with it, a refilled bottle of water. 

"Sleep well?" Skye asked as she pulled her hunting knife from its sheath. It was clean but she wiped it off for good measure with the bottom of her shirt and cut the filet in half to split. She fished a wedge of lime she'd grabbed from the fruit that wasn't dried and squeezed some of it over the fish before setting the rest of the wedge down on the leaf and laying her knife in a free spot. They'd probably need it for the crabs. "I hope you're not allergic to shellfish," she chuckled. That would be sad as Skye had no doubt, from experience, that crab was much tastier than terror bird and compy jerky.

"I am very glad I'm not." Jemma was beaming. Previously she would have thought it impossible to be genuinely happy eight days after a plane crash on a deserted island with no foreseeable rescue, but that was proven wrong. For a moment she could almost forget that they were stranded. She was happy and present where she was now for some odd reason, and Skye was giving her that goofy grin.    
  
Jemma copied Skye's movements with the food (she was definitely not refined in her cooking skills) and was glad she did when she took a bite. It tasted like food, real, filling food, and she made a small humming sound in appreciation. "Either this is very good or our tastes have changed." Jemma said while chewing.    

Skye snickered as she chewed a piece of the fish. She licked some extra lime juice from her thumb. “It can’t be a bit of both?” She teased in reply. She’d gladly kill a flock of terror birds in exchange for some bacon and runny fried eggs for breakfast, but this? Whether it was because of present company or the things Jemma just mentioned, this breakfast was pretty perfect, really. “What’s on the beachside agenda for today?” She asked. She spent so much time in the jungle lately, she really only usually wound up getting updates about what went on when she was back at night.

"I never know." Jemma shrugged and ate another bite of fish. "I usually go where I'm needed." She didn't know what she was going to do that day. There were probably a few people left who needed their stitches out (Skye included) but other than that she had nothing.

Skye grabbed a couple cubes of mango and tossed them into her mouth with her next piece of fish. She considered her next comment carefully before she spoke. “Besides the dragonfly,” that poor guy (or girl?) needed a name. “What else did you find, while you were in the jungle?” By herself. Skye bit her tongue on that one. Well, she tossed a piece of guava in her mouth actually so she didn’t say that part out loud. She didn’t want to pick a fight. She’d said the day before that she would take Jemma to the waterfall in a few days. She needed time to see how dangerous the back and forth trek would be now that it was a well marked and cut trail. So, she was trying not to think about the fact that Jemma was in the jungle by herself and just focus on the fact that Jemma knew more about the shit growing in there than Skye ever would outside of diagrams and descriptions Jemma gave her. 

"Plants. Lots of plants." Jemma told her. She had heard many buzzing and shuffling noises that meant there were more animals out there- either too small to bother them or herbivores with no interest in them- but she hadn't run into any. "I drew some of them. I don't have a good way to preserve them so people will have to take my word on this part." Jemma chuckled. She got up and brought the notebook back for Skye to look through it. 

Skye wiped her right hand on her pant leg before she took the book to look through the drawings. She came to the detailed drawings of the compys first before she plants. A small, crooked smile tipped up the right side of her mouth. She barely held off a chuckle as she said, “You’re a much better artist than me and my ipad stick figures and emojis,” She looked over at Jemma. Skye was much better with technology. Give her a camera and she could capture a visual...and then disassemble and reassemble the thing. Give her a pencil/pen or just a blank drawing pad on a tablet...well, that was another story. “Did you learn to draw because of science?” Her right eyebrow arched up slightly. 

"Starting in basic college biology I figured out quickly that I needed to be able to draw accurate models for notes where I could actually tell the spleen from the kidney." Jemma chuckled. "It only got worse from there." Memories of med school still made her shudder. Just thinking about the long nights with no sleep and weeks on end being frazzled with stress made her cringe, but she also missed it in a way. Everything was normal back then. Everything was normal just over a week ago when Skye drew a stick figure of her on a piece of technology on a plane. Now they were hunting for their food. She started to remember where they were and her smile slowly diminished. People had died. More people would probably die, and here she was, eating breakfast and laughing over good times.

Skye was back to looking through the photos in the book, reading through some of the descriptions scribbled around them when she realized Jemma had gone unusually quiet. She glanced over at Jemma and closed the notebook. She tried not to frown too much. She reached out and touched Jemma’s arm by the back of her elbow. “Hey,” Skye said it in a quiet tone. She watched Jemma’s face carefully for a few moments. “Still with me?” she asked. It was pretty easy to zone out and get lost in thought around here, especially when things were quiet. Skye was well aware of this. Her time spent alone over the last week left her trapped inside the prison of her own brain. She didn’t want to let that happen to Jemma, if she could help it at all.   
  
Jemma's eyes came up from her hands in her lap and she took a deep breath. Skye's comforting touch sent a shiver up her spine and simultaneously made her feel warm inside. She brought her back from the end-of-the-world dread and back to where life was simple: they were alive.   
  
"Yes, sorry." Waving her hand like it was no big deal, Jemma took up a few pieces of fruit to nibble on. She had lost her appetite for a moment, but it wouldn't do to skip any meals here. It was more of a necessity now because it might not be available later. "How is your side? It's probably about time for those stitches to come out. That would feel nice wouldn't it?" Jemma smiled. It felt forced and she didn't want it to be, but she could feel the strong vacuum in the back of her mind that wanted to suck her into darker topics.

Skye’s hand squeezed a bit around Jemma’s arm. It would feel nice for the stitches to come out of her side, definitely. But Jemma’s general mood had taken a nosedive and now she was pretending she was alright. Skye had been doing that for over a week. She knew the signs. “I see what you’re doing…” She narrowed her eyes at Jemma for show. She leaned slightly closer and dropped her voice conspiratorially. “You’re just trying to get under my shirt,” She didn’t want to force Jemma to say anything about where her brain went, and she wanted to bring a bit of levity back if she could. She figured, either way, Jemma’s reaction would tell her which direction to go through. 

Jemma couldn't stop it. Wherever she had been, she was back now and her bark of laughter was proof of it. She covered her mouth and nose when she knew she almost snorted and it made her giggle a little more. Heat burned in her cheeks as well, and she nervously tucked some of her hair behind her ear as she chuckled. Skye had this way of cheering her up and embarrassing her at the same time.    
  
"It appears flattering yourself is on the list of things you're good at." Jemma bantered back with a smile. When she finished her fish and fruit (she was saving the crab for lunch, she had no idea if they'd have a lunch), she went back inside the shelter for the sewing kit and came out with the tiny scissors. "Well, let's see if you're all talk." Jemma jokingly motioned with her hand for Skye to come back inside the shelter so she could take off her shirt. "Well come on now, this isn't a nude beach." She snickered.

A smile broke across Skye’s face when Jemma laughed so hard she almost snorted. She considered it a great personal victory that she’d caused that in spite of the situation they were in. They deserved a little bit of levity. It was necessary. If they didn’t crack and let themselves chuckle every now and then, they were definitely going to lose it. The blush in Jemma’s cheeks didn’t go unnoticed either. It was so tempting, so very tempting, the urge to lean over and kiss her. Skye held back, of course. She wasn’t about to pull a Fitz on Jemma...but the underlying urge was there pretty much any time she was with Jemma. 

Her grin twisted further on her lips and she made an exaggerated show of shrugging her shoulders up as she held her hands out. “Hey, sometimes when stranded on an island, a girl needs a pick me up compliment,” She quipped as Jemma headed into the shelter. She used the moment to scoop the last of her fish and fruit into her mouth. 

“ _ Geeeeze,  _ keep your shirt on, Doc, I’m the one who’s supposed to disrobe for medical treatment, here,” Skye snickered as she stood. She sheathed her knife and gathered the banana leaf with the crabs in it and brought them and her messenger bag inside. She set them down out of the way and pulled the string holding the tarp. The tops of her ears were red but her cheeks were just a light shade of pink that could have easily been caused by the heat. She crossed her arms and grabbed the bottom hem of her tank on either side and pulled it up and over her head, which left her only in her sports bra. It was no different than wearing part of a two piece, but without a Ward intrusion this go round, Skye was acutely aware of the scars on her back - which at the moment were accented by scratches and bruises from the tree branch incident. Even so. She sat by Jemma and lifted her right hand to tuck into her hair to keep it out of the way of the area where the stitches were. 

"It looks much better." Jemma pursed her lips and nodded in approval. She was hyper focused on Skye's wound to avoid her eyes from going elsewhere and wandering to things she wasn't supposed to be seeing. Had she been given permission she would love nothing more than marvel at the whole of Skye's upper body, both muscles and scars. She wanted to reach out and touch them, gently run her fingers over them and know why they were there. But there was still a personal barrier between them that Jemma didn't know if she was allowed to cross, so she continued her work and pretending she hadn't seen them at all. "All done. You're in the clear." Jemma pulled away once the stitches were out.

Skye was not ticklish. Skye was  _ not _ ticklish. Skye was 100% entirely not ticklish. When jemma had checked on the stitches over the last week, she hadn’t felt ticklish at all. Perhaps there had been too much on her mind. While Jemma worked on removing the stitches, though, Skye’s muscles twitched and she had to bite the inside of her bottom lip to keep from expelling a snicker or two. She cleared her throat carefully and brought her arm down. “Thanks, Jem,” She grabbed her tank and pulled her arms through it and just as she was lifting the collar hole to her head, the tarp at the entrance of the shelter was whipped aside and Fitz’s head appeared inside. Skye jumped to her feet to turned her back away from the entrance and hurriedly yanked her tank over her head and yanked the material down quickly. The tops of her ears were flaming red and her cheeks were a deep pink color. She shifted a bit further away from the entryway as Fitz started repeating whatever he cut off saying when he’d first entered. Skye struggled to pay attention. 

"Fitz!" Jemma snapped at him. She was already annoyed with him but when he just popped in without making himself known and scared Skye so much she was angry. Skye clearly didn't like anyone seeing her scars and Fitz of all people shouldn't get to.    
  
"A woman- Hand- she needs stitches." Fitz looked out of breath and Jemma rolled her eyes. He was such a panicky person that he had to sprint over and barge in on them to let her know. If it was something worse she would have heard more of a commotion outside.   
  
"What happened?" Exasperated, Jemma got up off the cushion and ran her fingers back through her hair to keep it out of her face. It wasn't working and Jemma very much wanted a hairbrush and a straightener.    
  
"She cut her hand-" Fitz just now seemed to see the irony in this as he paused and frowned before continuing. "-cutting fruit." He finally finished.    
  
Jemma sighed and gave Skye's arm a squeeze before she took a step in his direction. "Go tell her I'm grabbing the medical kit, I'll be there in a minute."

Ah, yes, medical things. It was a medical thing. Skye took a few slow breaths to chill the hell out and try to make the heat in her face drain out a bit. She crouched to her bag and dug around until she pulled one of her elastic hair ties out to pull her hair up off of her neck now that she was sweating a bit. She spotted Jemma fussing with her hair and dug around a few more pockets of her bag. 

When she stood back up, she glanced at the entryway as Fitz finally ducked back out and the tarp fell back into place. Skye nodded and held out the elastic band to Jemma. She wanted to tell Jemma to make it extra painful after what the woman said to her the night before but Skye managed to keep the thought in her head. “Do your thing, Doc,” She offered Jemma a small smile. 

Jemma accepted the hair tie and with practiced ease, she pulled her wild hair into a tight, high ponytail. She hated to leave Skye after an interrupted intimate moment like the one they'd been having. Unfortunately, she couldn't very well leave the woman bleeding no matter how annoying and rude she had been before.   
  
"I'll catch up with you later. Don't do anything too crazy." Jemma winked and smiled. The medical kit in the fuselage was her next target and then she'd be on her way to start patching up Hand and taking out the sutures she'd previously put in. Although busy, it was much more enjoyable than the chaos on the first night.

______________  
  
Will climbed up into the fuselage looking for Jemma around lunch time. He was glad to see that there weren’t many people lingering inside the plane during the day other than people who were napping from having guard duty at the water trough in the night. So he came up the aisle slowly, smiling when he spotted Jemma very dutifully taking inventory of various medical supplies. He had a couple of crazy looking flowers in his hand. He thought they were bird of paradise but, honestly he wasn’t sure, not completely up on his flower species names. They were shades of orange, blue and pink, and the petals stuck out and up at different pointed angles. They were tropical. They were pretty flowers. They were a decent ice breaker.  

  
Will cleared his throat slightly as he came closer.  “Pretty flowers for a pretty lady?” He flashed a bright smile and held them out when he was closer. “Sorry, the florist was all out of roses. And vases. Bright side: no thorns.” He said. Will liked Jemma. She was smart. She was funny. She was also a great deal kinder than a lot of the people on this island. She even patched up the people who probably didn’t deserve her help. She didn’t deserve what her best friend did to her either, that was a pretty shitty move. 

Jemma smiled when he held the flowers in her direction. They were beautiful compared to the dark and dirty plane, and she blushed at his compliment. "This is very sweet, Will, thank you." Jemma gingerly took the flowers from him and ran her fingertips over the pointed ends and brightly colored petals. It was a nice gesture and she didn't know why he was doing it, but it seemed friendly enough and she didn't dislike his presence. "Birds of paradise. I feel like it's a bit ironic because we have terror birds, and it's definitely not paradise." Jemma giggled and pat the isle seat of the row she was in to gesture for him to join her.

Will beamed a smile at her and moved to sit in the seat she gestured to.  “I dunno,” He shrugged. “It’s not ideal, but...it could,” Will paused and then shook his head. “You know what, I’m not gonna say it. It’s not ideal,” He conceded. “But at least these won’t attack you,” He nodded to the flowers and smiled at her again. “How were your rounds? Are the patients behaving?” He asked her. 

"For the most part." Jemma shrugged with a small smile. Hand had been snippy with her but everyone else who was ready had been more than happy to have the stitches come out. Jemma tucked the stems of the flowers into the seat back pocket in front of her. She didn't exactly have a vase and water was too valuable to use on flowers, but it was a nice view for now and more about the gesture. Will was kind and she was thankful for it. 

Will nodded. He sat quietly with her for a few moments. It wasn’t really an awkward silence, more comfortable. He thought so anyway. He could have been wrong. There was really only one way to find out though. “I have a confession to make,” He leaned his elbow on the armrest between them so he could lean closer and lower her voice slightly as he said it. There was still an easy smile on his face, to let her know it wasn’t necessarily something bad he wanted to tell her. 

"Oh, really?" Jemma could tell it was a little game and was apt to play along. She leaned in as well, ready to hear a secret. Her brow was quirked and her eyes were bright. "Anything but murder." Jemma joked.

Will chuckled. He shook his head. “No, no murder,” he assured. He made a show of glancing around the plane and then turned back to Jemma. “I’d like to involve you in an experiment. As a scientist, I trust you understand that means informed consent is required in order for you to properly participate.” 

"An experiment. Sounds interesting." Jemma hummed a short approval and was starting to wonder what exactly Will was going on about. She was sure she'd find out soon enough. "I will do my best to participate." She smiled. "So what is it?"

Will had two options at this point. He could just go for it and kiss Jemma and see what happened. Alternatively, he could tell her that he wanted to kiss her and see what happened. He was a pretty straightforward guy. He didn’t have a problem saying it out loud. If she was into it, cool. If not, he could back off. He thought the latter was the better option in light of the incident with Fitz and Jemma last night. “I would really like to kiss you,” he came right out with it. “Provided, of course,” He added, “that you would still like to consent to participate in this strictly scientific experiment now that you’ve been properly informed.” They were situated pretty close together due to the close quarters of the plane. He couldn’t help the way his eyes strayed to her lips for a moment before they wandered back to her eyes to gage her reaction.

At first, Jemma wasn't sure how to react. Her eyes flickered across his face for a moment, just thinking. Will was an attractive man, that Jemma couldn't deny. He'd never done anything annoying or stupid like Fitz did, and there was the added benefit of Will not being her best friend. He was more of a dashing stranger she'd met. After a moment she realized she really was overthinking it. It was an experiment, to see what happened. There was no harm in it.   
  
"You have my fully informed consent." Jemma bit the inside of her cheek and looked him over for a reaction.

Will decided not to chance second guessing her decision. “Thank you for your selfless participation, Doctor Simmons,” He flashed her a warm, genuine smile and closed the gap between them. With a tilt of his head, he captured her lips with his own and reached up to rest his hand along her cheek and jaw. 

It was nice. Being kissed gave Jemma a warm, comforting feeling because it was normal. Despite his prickly, unshaven jaw, the kiss was soft and Jemma leaned into it. She couldn't deny that she was enjoying it, but something was off. It was when an image of Skye flashed through her head and guilt overwhelmed her that she finally pulled away. Will looked hopeful and Jemma knew she was going to have to disappoint another person, but she felt much worse about Will. She couldn't go on kissing him when she was thinking about Skye, though. There was a reason Jemma had been flirting with her in the airport and sticking to her side on the island, and it hadn't changed because of the crash. It had just gone down on her priority list, but now, as she remembered it, it suddenly shot up to near the top. It was Skye she wanted to be with like this.    
  
"I'm sorry, I don't think you'll like the results." Jemma sighed. "It was a good kiss, but there's someone else." She explained. Her cheeks were flushed just thinking about Skye when she wasn't even around. Jemma knew now.

_________________   
  
  
While Jemma had been working on patients,  making her rounds, Skye started her day with going back to thank Trip and asking him to let her know if there was anything that he needed that would help him worth fishing or just creature comfort in return. She wasn't sure if Jemma would be back for lunch, but she gathered more fruit for them,  this time from the stocks of fruit that weren't dried. She had a couple of oranges, a couple of papayas and a couple of mangos to go along with the crabs they were saving.    
  
Somewhat reluctantly, Skye dug into her lunch when Jemma didn't return.  She ate hers outside her shelter and was careful to dispose of her discards and shells. She covered Jemma's lunch and kept it in a cool, shaded corner of the shelter out of the sand with a note that said, "Jemma's lunch! Hands off!" with a very crudely drawn T-rex chasing stick figures away.    
  
Skye gathered some items from her hidden suitcase then; her tablet, laptop, one of the two cell phones she had (it was her non personal phone of course), her computer toolkit and some scraps from the plane, metal pieces, wiring, etc. She sat inside her shelter with her entryway tarp drawn. back and tied up so the breeze would come through. She worked on top of another tarp, so she both wouldn't lose any pieces and to prevent sand from getting inside the equipment.    
  
Her hope, as she worked, was that she could use parts from the laptop and tablet to rig the phone to work with a strong global signal. It might let them attempt to reach out to ships in the area, which seemed likely the only way they were going to get of this place,  as no search and rescue planes had flown over them or nearby at any point.  She hummed a song stuck in her head as she worked, so caught up in concentration that she didn't notice anyone approaching until they spoke.

"What've you got there?" It was Fitz, and he was staring quizzically at Skye. His eyes scanned across the technology and he seemed to realize what she was doing. "Are you trying to create a signal?" He asked.

Skye’s humming stopped as she glanced up at the intrusion. She was about to answer when Fitz guessed. “Yes. Well, sort of,” Skye nodded. “I’m pretty sure that can be rigged up easily enough. With some extra work, we might be able to hijack a sat line and make a call for help instead of just turning ourselves into a beacon.” She said. “Rig it up, make the signal - if I had a few more solar chargers we’d be able to make it last longer. Maybe there are more in the other luggage bags we’ve pulled out of the water.” Skye rambled to herself as she looked back down and got back to work. 

"Will you have enough battery power for that?" Fitz questioned. He came closer without realizing because of the prospect of a possible attempt to contact anyone outside their little hell. He was usually given small tasks to complete and the thought that maybe he could help with something important excited him, even if it was Skye's idea.   
  
"Do you mind if I help? I couldn't stay in the fuselage with Jemma and Will doing their thing." Fitz made a clearly displeased face when he remembered why he fled the plane.

Skye didn’t look up. “Depends on what kind of chargers I find to work with in other luggage,” Skye answered. She had her own solar charging pad to work with but there was a good portion of it damaged from the water and she hadn’t managed to fix it to full capacity. It was all dependent on a lot of factors. Today had been the first day she’d really been able to work on it since almost every other day had left her dog tired and mushy brained. Now it seemed that Fitz wanted to hurt her brain. 

“Yeah, why not?” The fact remained that Fitz was supposed to be a tech wunderkind though (with a simian obsession). Skye’s head turned up at that last sentence. She forced herself not to have the immediate reaction her brain had internally:  _ Jemma and Will doing their thing??  _ **_What_ ** _ thing?! _ Her brow furrowed as she moved a bit to let Fitz have room to get in. “What thing?” She asked it as nonchalantly as possible. She knew why Fitz was pissed with Jemma but that was no reason to go starting some kind of jealous rumor or something. She found it amusing that he would come to wander near her space since she was sure he knew Jemma stayed in her shelter last night and the beds were squished together behind where she was working to boot. Will and Jemma weren’t a thing, though. They hardly knew each other. Will had stayed behind on the beach each day after the compy attack, though. Skye was trying really hard to keep from over thinking this with only minor success. 

Fitz did notice the beds, but he wasn't as annoyed with Skye as he had been. Clearly she wasn't competition if Jemma was into Will. Skye was just her friend and the petty part of Fitz wanted to say  _ if I can't have her you can't either. _ But he refrained. He figured it would be enough to make Skye suffer with him.    
  
"He's been chatting her up for days." He scowled. He sat down next to her and started looking over the screen as he continued. "He just brought her birds of paradise and they were joking about it and being all buddy-buddy." Fitz rolled his eyes. It was the next part that made his insides burn with jealousy. The only plus was getting to see Skye's reaction when she found out Jemma didn't like her like that either. "I left when they started kissing."

Skye had started to go back to what she was doing, carefully taking apart the her tablet, while Fitz talked so she had something to do with her hands. Part of her knew that Fitz was sharing this information just to upset her. Fitz already knew from the flirting they’d done before (and off and on since?) the crash, that Skye was into Jemma on some level. He also knew Jemma wasn’t into him at all. Her hands paused when Fitz mentioned the kissing and she stayed completely still for a long moment. 

“Well,” She said, trying to think of something to say in response that wasn’t reactionary. “I hope that means you won’t continue to treat her like shit,” She murmured. “Considering you’re supposed to be her best friend,” Skye could make passive aggressive digs at Fitz too, right? After their talks yesterday, and everything last night and over breakfast between them, Skye was trying to reconcile why Jemma would flirt with her the way she had and then kiss Will. She could see a few reasons why, she supposed. Skye put her small screwdriver down and sat back a moment. She closed her eyes and took a breath and tried to regain her bearings. She was not going to freak out about this. Nope. Not outwardly at least. 

Skye didn’t have any intention of fighting with Fitz. He came to make the information known. Now he was here messing with the electronics. He wanted her to commiserate with him and Skye wanted to sort out her thoughts. She wasn’t going to be able to do that with Fitz around and venting his frustrations, so before he even started to reply, Skye climbed to her feet. She grabbed her messenger bag and the machete and stepped out of the shelter, trusting Fitz would stay and mess around with the electronics in her absence.

"Oh! Hello, Skye." Jemma had a smile on her face when she was pleasantly surprised by Skye coming out of her shelter just as Jemma was about to enter to check in with her and get her lunch. She'd wanted to talk to her, and if the feeling was right, maybe see where their relationship (either friendship or something else) stood. She realized in an instant that Skye was upset, though. “What are you up to?” She tried to remain calm and see if Skye would tell her on her own.

Skye started just a bit as they nearly bumped into each other. She turned her eyes down from the big smile on Jemma’s face and felt her stomach flop about a bit. “Uh, hey...Jem,” She cleared her throat a bit. She rubbed at the back of her neck. “I want to talk with Coulson about an idea I had,” She said. “Fitz is...gonna hang out and finish tinkering with some of this junk, but...I left your lunch in the corner,” She pointed. She hazarded another glance at Jemma and forced a small smile that didn’t reach anywhere near her eyes. “So, I’ll...see ya later?” She squeezed past Jemma and started to head down the beach.

"What?" Skye was gone before Jemma even realized she was leaving. She was very obviously upset and falling back into her habit of isolation. She glanced back into the shelter and saw Fitz playing around with a laptop and some other technology. Suspicions immediately rose and Jemma marched inside, not letting the cute little note she saw on her lunch break her and make her smile.   
  
"What did you do to Skye?" She demanded. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her foot was digging into the sand. Fitz looked up with a very obvious  _ who, me? _ look on his face. He was a terrible liar. "I know you did something, so what was it? You've been out to get her since the airport." Jemma huffed.   
  
"I didn't do anything." Fitz shrugged and feigned innocence. He still wasn’t over the sting of rejection. "I was just having a conversation with her and it happened to lead to you and Will." Fitz's self righteous voice made Jemma want to grab onto his collar and shake him until he had some sense. He had probably seen Will and Jemma, and being the petty person he was, ran to go tell Skye what he had seen. But Skye being upset meant something, didn't it? If they were just best friends she wouldn't react so strongly. Jemma's guilt for kissing Will and hope that Skye felt something more for her elevated together and Jemma turned tail to leave the shelter without saying another word to Fitz.    
  
She searched for Skye, but she wasn't able to find her anywhere. Eventually she caught Trip, who told her she went into the jungle with Bobbi and May, and Jemma's worry spiked. Last time Skye had gone in upset she'd come out beaten up. Knowing Skye would like Jemma coming to get her even less than the conversation with Fitz, she conceded for now. Fitz had fled by the time Jemma got back to the shelter. All the computer parts were packed away and turned off and Jemma ate her lunch in silence, not sure what to do or what to think.    
  
Eventually, before it was even very dark, Skye hadn't come back to the shelter to see her and Jemma was exhausted from worrying. She assumed Skye would come back eventually, since it was her shelter, so she burrowed under the blankets on her cushion. She didn't mean to fall asleep, but it happened anyway.

______________  
  
When Skye left the shelter, she made a quick path to Coulson, who was working with May on food inventory, and talked to him about an idea she’d had while tinkering with her gadgets earlier. She wanted to swim out to the tail wreckage. There had to be more water bottles in there and other containers that could be useful not to mention other luggage and tools they could gather. The three of them decided on a plan and soon Skye, May and Bobbi, who had also swapped out from the water run that day for a break, were headed into the jungle. Their trek didn’t take them very far in since the bamboo they needed to cut down was...well everywhere. They spent a number of hours cutting down and hauling bamboo back to the far end of the beach near where Skye and Bobbi would eventually float the raft out so they could swim directly to the tail and salvage whatever they could. 

The rest of the late afternoon and evening were spent weaving rope with Trip, Mike and Ace’s help. They would need the rope to bind the bamboo together for the raft and also to secure anything they loaded onto the raft to tow it back into the shore. It was a long day and even though the work was distracting, Skye hadn’t sorted any of her thoughts about the Jemma and Will situation out. She was exhausted from being in the heat and sun all day by the time she made it back to her shelter. She was surprised to see Jemma in there. Part of her had expected Jemma to be back in the plane with Will instead of here. She frowned and built a fire for them before she finally headed inside and climbed into her bed. She used one of the first class blankets rather than chance waking Jemma by sharing with her (and because she wasn’t sure where they stood friendship wise at the moment so she didn’t want to assume). 

It didn’t take long to fall asleep. This time, however, come morning, Skye was up almost as soon as the sun was up. She grabbed her bag and machete after making sure the gun was tucked into her bag and was going to just slip out without saying anything, but thought better of it. She’d hurt Jemma with her avoidance tactics before and even though she wasn’t quite ready to try and talk this out with Jemma (because her own thoughts were rather muddled), she didn’t want Jemma to think she was going to act like Fitz. So Skye took a minute to write Jemma another, longer than the lunch one. 

_ Jem - sorry I didn’t get back before you were asleep. We were gathering bamboo and making rope for a raft. I had to go before you were up today too. Bobbi and I are swimming out to the tail to see what we can salvage once we get the raft together. If they current’s not too bad, hopefully we’ll be back in the later afternoon. I’ll see you before either of us fall asleep tonight, hopefully?  
  
_ __ \- S _ _

Skye made another crude drawing, this one of the tail end of the plane sticking up out of wavy lines of water on the right hand side of the piece of paper and a small square raft with two stick figures sweating and paddling the water on the left hand side. She left the note weighted down with an upturned half coconut shell and then left the shelter and headed down the beach to meet up with Bobbi and May.   
  
_________  


A quick scan of the surroundings for any sign of Skye was Jemma's first action when she woke up not too long after sunrise. The blankets were slightly off, letting Jemma know Skye had come back to sleep. She was annoyed with herself for missing it and her heart sped up when she saw the note. She lifted the coconut shell and scanned it quickly, relieved nothing seemed wrong between them.    
  
She didn't like the idea of Skye going back into the tail though. She could almost feel her lungs start to close up just thinking about it and folded the note in two so she didn't have to look at the drawing. It was silly, but she was scared. They already almost died down there- Jemma had- so she couldn't say she was a big fan of Skye going back under. But it would provide lots of new supplies and Jemma couldn't really argue it. It was another one of those necessary things.    
  
Jemma wasn't entirely sure what she was going to do that day. She wanted to spend time with Skye but it would take a small fortune to get her to go back into that water after what she'd been through. She supposed she could sleep a little longer before she would get up and help with whatever jobs needed helping with. She'd see Skye later that night.  
  
______________

  
It took a couple of hours with May, Bobbi, Coulson and Mike (and Ace!) working together to make a multi-layered raft with one long eight foot by five foot rectangle of bamboo. With some stretches of bamboo tied vertically across, they then tied a smaller top raft row about six foot by four foot in length on top with an extra rail of bamboo surrounding it. It would ensure that the items they dragged back floated above the water with the weight being put on it. With a handful of tools secure to the boat in a backpack and Skye’s waterproof messenger bag, Bobbi and Skye stripped their way down to their underthings and some sneakers that were pilfered from the extra clothes but would be light enough to swim in. They brought the raft out into the water and once they made it over the breakers, they turned the raft and pulled themselves halfway up onto it leaving just their legs in the water to kick their way out through the water. 

Skye tried to pay attention to what she could see in the water on their way out. For a long time it was possible to see to the bottom in the tropical water. There were schools of fish and various critters. Thankfully there were no ominous fins on the horizon. Eventually they passed over a reef, which Skye made note of. The closer they came to the plane, however, the more distracted Skye’s thoughts became as they kept wandering back to the crash and waking up to find Jemma unconscious with a face full of blood...to Jemma drowning and towing her to the shore. All in all, it took them almost an hour to swim the raft out to the tail. Skye stayed with the raft, kicking her legs to keep it next to the tail while Bobbi climbed up onto the back and tied one of the tow ropes onto the plane to secure the raft there.    
  
“Do you want to wait with the raft and I’ll swim inside?” Skye called up to Bobbi once the raft was securely tied to the plane to ensure it wouldn’t float off on its own. Skye was already tugging her bag across her shoulders from her spot sitting on the end of the raft after pulling herself all the way up onto it. 

"I don't think going alone unsupervised is a good idea." Bobbi shook her head. It was dangerous to dive alone under normal circumstances, but going back into the treacherous plane with no gear was worse. "I have an idea." Bobbi held up a finger to signal Skye to wait and spun around on the raft, careful not to knock it over. She came back to the edge with the leftover makeshift twine they had made to tie the raft together.   
  
"Take the end down with you. Tug it once to let me know you're coming back up and twice if you need help." Bobbi said it slowly to make sure Skye got it. Not that she was unintelligent, but they needed to get their signals correct.

Skye took the end of the twine Bobbi handed her. She listened to the plan and gave a nod. “Alright,” She tried, while she took a few long, slow breaths to prepare to dive in, to remember how long it took her to swim  _ out _ of the tail with Jemma the last time she was near the tail of the plane. She tied a slip knot in the end of the twine and looped it around her wrist so she’d be able to swim properly. She tightened her messenger bag’s straps so it would be as tight around her middle as possible. “See you in a few,” She gave Bobbi a small joking salute, sucked in the biggest double lungful of air that she could and then dove in and under the water. 

It was a bright day so she could see pretty far once she opened her eyes underwater. She kicked and pulled with her arms, followed the metal of the plane down until she reached the jagged end of it. She was careful not to get caught, or let the twine get caught, on the rough twisted metal of the plane so it wouldn’t break and she wouldn’t hurt herself - Jemma would be pissed if she came back again with an injury. She used the seats to pull herself up through the aisle, looking at what was left in the plane as she went. Her lungs were sore but not ready to burst yet. She purposefully tried not to look in the direction where Miles’ seat had been, not wanting to see what was left of him. She made it through to Jemma’s seat. Her eyes hit the remnants of the sawed strap of the seat belt buckle and suddenly felt like she needed to go back - she needed to go back and get air immediately. She was about to turn around and race back out of the plane when light caught her eye. Light reflecting off of a top layer of water. She moved toward it. 

She broke the surface in the plane a row or so behind where Jemma’s seat had been. Not only was there an air pocket inside the plane, but there was a hole big enough to fit two humans through in the roof of the plane, just above the aisle outside the lavatories. Skye gulped a few breaths down and then loudly called out. “HEY, BOBBI?!” As loud as her voice would carry, cupping her hand around her mouth to project it louder. “CAN YOU HEAR ME??” This could work well for them. They wouldn’t have to chance losing air to lug supplies out, maybe. Thinking about the logistics of this whole situation was a decent momentary distraction as she waited for a reply from Bobbi while treading water and looking around at what was visible above water. 

Bobbi heard a call much louder than she expected without a tug on the twine. "I can hear you!" She called back out to the echoey, metallic voice. She paddled in the right direction and soon came upon what Skye had discovered. There was a hole on top the part of the plane that was above the water. There was a good foot and a half or so between the hole and the ocean level, leaving a space in the airplane. It was perfect and they could use it as a sort of manhole.   
  
"Good find, Skye!" Bobbi grinned. "Pass me the twine so I can pull it through and we can start from here." Once the raft was properly secured by the hole, Bobbi reached down into the plane with an open hand.

Skye laughed. “My lungs thought so too!” She tried not to think about the implications of that joke. Instead she pulled the twine from her wrist and when Bobbi’s hand suddenly appeared through the hole, Skye climbed up and propped her feet onto the back of a seat and the wall and pushed until she could reach up and hand the twine over to her. “Our day just became a tiny bit easier, yeah?” She grinned. They might actually get back in the afternoon. They’d be able to sort through whatever they found, dry it out and divvy it up. She might even have stuff to bring to Jem to add to her med kit. 

"So... how is it down there?" Bobbi didn't want to ask if there were any bodies, so she left the question open to whatever answer Skye thought was sharing information. Bobbi was curious but sure as hell not as brave as Skye. She was happier sitting on the raft pulling the twine through the plane to restart Skye's line from their new hole.

Skye pulled the twine from inside to help move it along faster. “It’s not roses and sunshine, but...we’re here for a reason, right?” Skye called back, deciding to leave it vague. She was aware of at least one body she would be running into while in here. She wasn’t looking forward to it, she wasn’t looking forward to seeing anything like that. The pros to this little adventure were bound to far outweigh the cons, though, right? She turned to look over her shoulder and grinned to see the back galley seemed intact and closed. “Hang tight for a second, alright?” She called out and then dropped herself back into the water. After a few minutes of splashing around, Skye moved back to the hole. “Give me your hand a sec!” She called out when she got back, propping herself up again. She waited for Bobbi to reach through and slapped a sealed bag of roasted peanuts into her hand. 

"Jackpot!" Bobbi exclaimed. The idea of processed food, as bad as it was for them, was like eating at a five star restaurant compared to their food now. "Go see if you can get the rest of the packaged food up here. If there's an orange soda I call it." Bobbi joked.    
  
They ended up with a large haul from the refreshment and snack carts in the back alone. Everything was packaged in sealed plastic or metal so they recovered what probably wouldn't fit in one suitcase of sodas (plenty of orange along with all the other varieties), peanuts, pretzels, chips, and even little bags of chips ahoy cookies. It was a lot of preserved food and Bobbi knew everyone would want to dig into it, but they needed to save it for if their food stores ever fell dangerously low and they needed a backup. She supposed they could spread out just the cookies and let everyone have a piece each to celebrate being alive, but they needed to save the rest.    
  
They could fit about ten suitcases on the raft at a time and Bobbi knew they'd have to make more runs. Skye told her there were still many closed compartments full of bags before she went down for once more before they could take a quick break and unload on shore before coming back out.

Skye did what she could to grab what she hoped were the most useful items. She even busted open the storage supply cabinet in the lavatory to take the bag refills of soap to stuff into one of the pockets of one of the suitcases she sent up to Bobbi. Before they went to shore for an offload, though, Skye wanted to make sure there was a particular bag on their raft.    
  
She moved to the compartment right behind the row Jemma had been in, which was mostly above the water. She stood on the armrests of the aisle seats and checked the tag of the bag on the far right, which was fully out of the water and found it was indeed Jemma's bag. She opened some of the smaller pouches, feeling bad about rummaging (through Jemma did have an adorable pair of periodic table pajama pants in there that almost made Skye giggle), but then she found what she was looking for; a worn paperback version of The Odyssey. Skye felt her eyes well a bit as she looked at the title on the book. If Jemma hadn't gone back to the compartment to get this book, she would have been in the seat next to Skye and wouldn't have been stuck in her seat.    
  
Carefully, Skye brought her messenger bag up and pulled out a stored banana leaf. She wrapped the book in it then stowed it in a plastic grocery bag she had that was inside the dry interior of her bag. She tied it tight and moved it to the compartment to her right, which was fully out of the water. She zipped up all the pockets of Jemma's suitcase and pulled it free. Keeping it over her head so it would remain dry. She sent the suitcase up first, then she grabbed the carefully wrapped book and passed that up to Bobbi, asked her to make sure it didn't get wet.    
  
Skye would climb up through the hole next with some help. "That's about it for this round, huh?" She asked. There was still more. The biggest thing would be hiding the food so no one raided or stole it unnecessarily.

"Looks like it." Bobbi confirmed, looking behind her. The raft was starting to be weighed down and the water was close to going over the top of the raft with all the bags on it. There would barely be enough room for the two of them to sit on the edge and paddle back. "You can come on up." Bobbi stuck her arm into the hole to help Skye up once she detached the twine from her wrist and Bobbi had it in a pile on one of the bags.

Skye used Bobbi’s help to climb up and out of the plane, glad to be out of the place. Working steadily, at least, had kept Skye’s mind busy. She’d had a few moments where she’d had to stop and reset to get herself back on track. “Have the book?” She asked once she wiped the water off the outside of her messenger bag. She wanted to stow it in her messenger bag for the trip back so no water got into it. She checked the raft out and wondered how much they were going to keep dry once they got to the breaking waves. Some of it might make it, the rest might have to be set to dry out. 

"Not a drop on it." Bobbi grabbed the book from the top of the roller board next to her and carefully passed it to Skye, making sure not to drop it. "Looking for some entertainment are you? Why go through so much work for-" Bobbi peaked inside before handing it over, "The Odyssey?" She gave Skye a smirk. She didn't seem like the type to read ancient greek epics.

Skye’s cheeks flushed a bit. She opened up her messenger bag and stowed the book in the deepest inner pocket. She zipped that shut then zipped the main compartment shut, pulled the flap down and hooked the clasps to make sure that everything was in place and sealed. She hesitated a moment and shook her head. “It’s not for me,” She confessed. “It’s Jemma’s book…” She moved her bag onto the top of the pile of the raft and used the extra twine to tie it firmly up there. “She, uh...she was going to get it for me because she was trying to distract me from my flying nerves, then the plane…” She tied off the twine tightly and moved to sit on the raft for a moment. “She never got to grab it.” she corrected.

"I see," Bobbi had a knowing smile on her face as she untied the raft from the plane and they pushed off with their feet. "So were you two dating before the crash?" Bobbi wasn't above a little prying. She could feel emotional tension in every corner of the camp, but Skye and Jemma seemed to be consistently linked like a single entity when they were together.

Skye felt the heat in the stops of her ears as she slipped into the water from the waist down and leaned on the raft with her top half so they could kick their way back into the shore. It took just about an hour to get out to the plane but she thought it would be quicker going back into shore since the current would pull them into the shore. She looked decidedly ahead at the shore as they swam to aim for the part of the shore that they’d left from originally. “No, we’re not, um, we’re not dating.” She answered. “We didn’t know each other, before the airport terminal, I mean.” 

"You two aren't a thing?" Bobbi was startled. "I'm never wrong when I read people." She explained. She thought it over a bit and couldn't really come up with any reason she might have been reading them wrong. Which meant she was right, and she had a small smirk on her face like a fourth grader who knew who her best friend liked. "But you do want to be a thing." Bobbi didn't even ask. It was more of a statement and she watched Skye's face for a reaction.

The tops of Skye’s ears were red and her cheeks were a pretty deep pink. Alright, so, Bobbi had her there. She didn’t bother trying to deny it. She hadn’t thought she’d been so overly obvious about it, but she also hadn’t been consciously trying to act any one way. Things came at them and Syke reacted and did what she could. That was all. “I don’t think it really matters if I do,” She shrugged. 

"Well of course it matters!" Bobbi exclaimed. She knew right then that she was going to achieve her goal of getting the two women together. So maybe she needed a little social fun, and it wasn't like the two didn't already have the chemistry. They just needed a good push. “We all need a little  _ human affection _ , here more than ever.” Bobbi joked with a chuckle, knowing it would make Skye blush.

"Have you told her yet?" She asked. If she hadn't, it would be easy to nudge them together. They just needed to cut the awkward boundary between them. 

Skye definitely blushed at Bobbi's comment. At home, her usual 'human connection,' consisted of short relationships, a few weeks, a couple of months, occasionally just a hookup or two. There was only so much of her life she could share, and there weren't many people she felt comfortable talking about her past with either. She couldn't very well create a life with someone when she wasn't able to really tell them about what she really did for a living. Could she subject Jemma to that, if Will wasn't around?    
  
"No," she shook her head. "No, I haven't. I'm not gonna. Fitz caused that scene and it looks like she's into Will anyway, so," Skye shrugged as nonchalantly as possible as if it didn't bother her at all, which was total bullshit. "I don't wanna get in the way, or intrude or whatever," maybe if she said it enough, she'd convince herself too. Skye shrugged again.

"Well Fitz acts more like a child than Ace." Bobbi scoffed. Everybody knew about Fitz's tantrum. It had been loud and the gossip spread fast in a small group craving a normal society.    
  
"And Jemma and Will? I don't think that's anything that'll last." Bobbi shook her head, but Skye didn't look convinced. She looked a bit off in her own world as they kicked the water behind them. "Fight for your girl! At least let her know. If she's not interested she'll tell you, and you won't be Fitz." Bobbi urged. "You'll never know that she doesn't actually like you if you let Will fill the relationship she's looking for. She's still staying with you." She pointed out.

Skye smirked at Bobbi's description of Fitz. "That's accurate, " she conceded. She'd made what she thought was an appropriate comment to Fitz on this topic already. "I left him tinkering with some of my tech to see what could be rewired and maybe set up to send out a signal or message." She hoped to derail Bobbi's attempts at matchmaking though she knew it probably wouldn't deter her.    
  
"I don't want her to think I'm trying to stake out my territory," Skye said. "That's what it feels like Fitz and Will are doing. And she's already feeling like a piece of property from when we wouldn't let her go in the jungle," she tried to reason it out since she was feeling a bit insecure about the situation, not that she'd admit it. "It's complicated. The last thing we need in this place is some kind of...love triangle drama," she said. "We've got enough to deal with drama wise, no extra llamas necessary." Yeah, that was it. 

Bobbi was right, though, Jemma did stay in her shelter. "I think it was just easier than relocating again," this was what Skye told herself, at least. Skye wasn't really sure why Jemma stayed. "I kinda left before she woke up..." she admitted.  
  
"Skyeee," Bobbi drew out her name in an exasperated sigh. "You're going to make her think you  _ don't _ like her." She told Skye. It was Skye's avoidance of the drama that made the situation even more dramatic for her. It was bound to boil over at some point whether she liked it or not.   
  
"Maybe you should talk to her. Nothing huge or romantic, just talk. Jemma seems like a calm, rational person. Most of the time." Bobbi gave Skye a small smile.

Skye's face and ears flushed again. She hunched her shoulders in innocence. "I left her a note! We were shooting for an early start..." She said. She was sure Bobbi would ask her about it until she did but she still gave a noncommittal shrug. "Maybe," she said. "Nothing to be done right now but get this stuff into shore and see how many hauls we can get before Ward, Garrett and Co come sniffing around again." Skye had been thinking about them a lot too. They were just going to have to leave it to Coulson, Trip, Lincoln, May and the others to fend them off if they came sniffing around.

"For now." Bobbi pursed her lips and was already trying to think up ways she could convince Skye to profess her feelings. She thought Skye and Jemma were bound to end up together one way or another. Even on an undiscovered island, struggling to survive, they were being socially awkward and unable to communicate.    
  
Bobbi left Skye alone about the topic while they hauled the load back to shore, set up shifts between Coulson, May, and Hunter to sort and monitor the new supplies until they could be put into the fuselage, which was always guarded to make sure Ward and his buddies didn't take more than their rations. She did bring it up one last time as it was getting dark though.   
  
"You give her that book and tell her how you feel!" Bobbi called after her as they parted ways, each with a bag of cookies as a reward for their efforts to dig it all out of the plane. There were still more bags, but they could be fetched another day. They had plenty and they weren't going to risk swimming in what they knew were shark infested waters at night.

Skye’s ears went hot and she sighed and shook her head. “Yeah, yeah,” She called back. “ _ Maybe _ !” She smirked just to be a turd about it since Bobbi was so intent on talking Skye into it. She appreciated the extra push. It was sweet. Bobbi was nice, she cared. All the same, Skye still felt a bit unsure of herself. When she made it back to the shelter, it was empty. Skye wasn’t too worried about it as Coulson had mentioned Jemma helping a couple of the others in the plane with some stomach issues through the day. Jemma’s stuff was still in the shelter with the two beds, so she hadn’t gone anywhere. 

Skye set up a fire outside the shelter. She had Jemma’s carryon bag from the compartment. May had dried out the few items that got a little wet in transfer while Skye and Bobbi were on their other runs to and from the tail section. Fitz’s bag was still drying out since it was partially submerged so Skye was okay with letting Coulson give it to him the next day. The tech he tinkered with were wrapped up securely in the tarp they’d been with on top of in the corner, but Skye didn’t feel up to checking on it at the moment. She wanted a moment to breathe but felt too confined inside the shelter. She laid Jemma’s carry on next to the side of her bed and left Jemma another note. 

_ Hey Jem,  _

_ Came back and you were gone (hope everyone’s feeling better after you’ve checked on ‘em!). Found this in an air pocket - nice PJ’s btw, maybe I’ll memorize the periodic table finally. ;) I’m not trying to avoid anything, I promise, but I’m feeling kinda claustrophobic at the moment and wanted some air, so I’ll be down the beach when you get back. If not, I’ll wake you if you’re asleep when I get back.  
  
_ __ \- S _ _

Skye drew a stick figure Jemma on this one, with her wild unkempt hair (which she figured might be a little more tame soon if there was a brush in Jemma’s bag) and wearing the periodic table pajama pants, though most of the little squares had scribbles on them with a random element or two that Skye remembered here or there. When she was done, she weighed the note down with one of the coconut shells. She put on a pair of plaid pajama pants from her own bag and a long sleeved baseball tee, black with red sleeves, since it was chillier tonight it seemed. She grabbed her messenger bag and took the machete with her just as a precaution. She also grabbed the travel blanket. Heading down the beach a bit, Skye stuck far enough back to be out of danger of getting hit by any waves when the tide came in. She strayed a bit farther down the beach from any of the lit fires to stay out of the light of them. 

When she found a spot she liked, Skye put her bag and machete down next to her, wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and sat down in the sand. She bent her legs at the knees and loosely wrapped her arms around the outsides of them. She looked up at the night sky, really, truly looking at it for the first time since they’d been on the island. It was a brilliant mess of stars. Skye had never seen anything like it. She’d grown up in the city, and even when she traveled, it was for work. She felt disappointed in the fact that she’d never thought to stop and look at the night sky for everything it had to offer. On an uncharted island, full of prehistoric creatures, where they never knew what might happened to revoke their food/water sources and they had no idea if they would ever find a way home...it was actually rather serene and beautiful, relaxing, even, despite the fact that she didn’t know any of the constellations she was staring at. 


	6. Thighdrogen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warnings: Trigger warning for discussion of child abuse.**
> 
> As always, thank you reading! Thanks for the comments, kudos and love!   
> We always see your comments and send them back and forth to each other, we love you guys! You're awesome! We'll be replying to comments from last chapter in just a bit! <3 <3 
> 
> This chapter is shorter than some of the last ones, but I hope you enjoy it all the same!   
> Enjoy!  
> <3   
> :)
> 
> _________________

Jemma stopped and waited before she pulled the tarp aside and looked into Skye's shelter. She was excited to see her again after the day apart and assumed she was inside because of the fire. She just needed to contain her facial expressions because Skye seemed to be finicky that day.    
  
She was surprised, however, to not see Skye inside. Her eyes landed on the next biggest thing and widened. Her suitcase was sitting right there on the sand and not underwater in a wrecked plane. She hadn't even thought about the possibility that her bag might be salvaged even though she knew Skye was going wreckage diving. It was a pleasant surprise and once she was satisfied by the note and knowing Skye's location, she unzipped her bag. The first thing she saw were the periodic table pajamas (she had blushed at Skye's comment about them). Had it been suggestive? Jemma had no idea, but she was fine wearing them either way. The soft fleece felt heavenly against her skin and she traded in Skye's shirt, which she put back with her things on the other side of the shelter, for a windbreaker of her own. It had the CDC logo and she felt proud to be wearing it around again. It also made her feel like she hadn't lost the pre-crash version of herself. The one that flirted with Skye wasn't gone.   
  
Jemma's next move was to seek Skye out, so once she had her windbreaker buttoned up, she left the shelter and started wandering down the coast. She came across Skye pretty quickly, but she almost missed her at first. She could have been a stray suitcase or even junk, she just saw a lump in the dark and didn't realize it was a person under a blanket until she got closer. Skye's head was tilted back, staring up at the infinite expanse of space above them. The moonlight bounced off of her features in a way that made them more pronounced and Jemma had to swallow a lump in her throat before she approached.    
  
"The light you see is given off by stars as they burn hydrogen into helium at their centers." Jemma said softly. "Hydrogen is right here." She smiled and poked herself in the thigh over the correct square before she sat herself down on the ground next to Skye.   
  
Skye had been waiting (hoping?) for Jemma to eventually join her, so she wasn’t startled by her approach when it came. She felt a bit of warmth spread through her chest even just knowing Jemma had actually come to find her. Skye tried not to overthink anything. She turned to look at Jemma, her eyes drawn momentarily to the spot on her thigh she pointed to. Skye’s lips twisted into a crooked grin. “Lesson one...Thighdrogen,” She said with a firm nod. “Memorized.” Her eyes moved to Jemma’s face and thought about informing Jemma that between the night sky and Jemma’s face, Jemma’s face was the more beautiful of the two. Instead she gripped the edge of the blanket and stretched out her left arm to invite Jemma to join her in the sand. “You look comfy,” She smiled. “Wanna join me?” 

"I'd love to." Jemma was still grinning at Skye's pun as she scooted over into the sand. She felt like a little animal fitting snugly under a bird's wing. She slid an arm comfortably around Skye's waist and relished in the little surge of happiness she felt when Skye's arm fell across her shoulders and the blanket rested over her as well.    
  
Jemma looked back up at the night sky and took a deep breath. She'd been to third world countries and seen the galaxy at night, but somehow it was more beautiful here. She could really look at it while snuggled into Skye's side and when they truly had no idea where they were, she could almost relate to the stars, as odd as that seemed.    
  
"Do you think we'll ever get off this island?" Jemma asked. Her eyes were welling up and she wondered if this was all life was going to hold for them; if dinosaurs and jungle survival would be the rest of their lives. She'd seen reports on the news of rescuers searching for lost planes for months, but once it got past a few days, they never found them. Jemma wondered if their flight was world news and if her parents knew. Surely they would.

Skye considered her question for a few moments as she curled her arm and the blanket around Jemma's shoulders and looked back up at the stars. "I'm not sure," She answered. "We found some extra items that might help connect a phone to one of the satellite receivers. If we can do that, we can access GPS and maybe even get a message of our location out." She reasoned. She wanted to remain hopeful about this and if Jemma needed that at the moment, she was willing to maybe talk up the idea even if she thought it was a remote possibility at best.    
  
"Do you know any of the constellations?" Skye asked, hoping to maybe also provide a little bit of distraction if she could. Her hand very gently cradled around Jemma's arm just below her shoulder to offer what little comfort she could. Skye didn't think anyone was still looking for her at this point. They would have marked her as a total loss. But Jemma and the others had families who were likely devastated by their loss. Skye was conscious of that, even if it didn't matter to anyone back home if she made it back or not.

"Unfortunately, no." Jemma replied, her eyes still searching the stars as if she could somehow learn them just by looking. She was tempted to continue stargazing, but there was a more important Skye she'd rather look at. She turned her head and carefully watched Skye's face. She looked content and sad at the same time and Jemma wanted to know what was going on in her head. She had a habit of deflecting and taking any conversation that got too emotional or scary and bringing it back to Jemma.    
  
"What are you thinking up there?" Jemma smiled softly and the hand on her waist came up and she tucked a strand of Skye's hair behind her ear and stroked the pink mark that was left of her wound with her thumb. "Have you been avoiding me for a reason?" She didn't ask it accusingly, she just genuinely wanted to know why Skye had seemed so upset when she'd found her and even though she'd been leaving notes, it felt like until now she'd been doing her best to not run into her.

Skye closed her eyes momentarily as Jemma touched her face. Her body instinctively leaned a bit more against Jemma's side without consciously thinking about it. "I grew up in the city. Even when I started traveling for work, I never thought to give it a good look, because I figured it was the same everywhere else," She shrugged. She hesitated about answering the other question. It probably wasn't a secret by this point that she wasn't so great about things revolving around her own feelings and intimacy.    
  
"I haven't been avoiding you," Skye said. "This time. I just..." She paused a moment and considered how she wanted to phrase her thoughts outloud. "It seems like everyone's trying to stake their claim over you, whether it's because of your medical skills, or because they want to mark you as their own." She looked away from the sky and over at Jemma. "I don't want to just be another person doing that to you. So...I wasn't avoiding you, I just...wanted to give you space so I didn't intrude, I guess." She turned her eyes back up to the sky so she could avoid having to see Jemma's reaction to that since she still felt unsure of herself.

Jemma's face softened at Skye's explanation. She could see how she would be feeling that way after her fight with Fitz and the argument they had over her going into the jungle. It was a logical emotional response and Jemma just felt bad she made Skye feel like she had to step away in the first place.   
  
"Of all the people in this camp you're the one I am least likely to ask to back off." Jemma tried to make a small joke about it, but she could see how nervous and uncertain Skye was so she opted for a different route. "I don't want you to feel weird about wanting to spend time with me. I want you to spend time with me." Her arm was around Skye's waist again and gave her a gentle squeeze (avoiding her ribs of course), like an awkward hug.

If there was one thing Skye wanted on this island, it was to spend time with Jemma. Her eyes drifted down to the sand and surf in front of them. "Is Will gonna have a problem with that, though?" She realized how the question sounded and looked over at Jemma, her brow furrowed as she quickly cut in before Jemma could reply to add, "I just mean, cause...I'm not, I can back off if it interferes, I'm not trying to..." she cleared her throat and felt her ears heating up a bit as she stammered her way through trying to explain herself, knowing the whole time that she was doing an awful job of it. She was trying really hard just to bottle her feelings for Jemma up to keep them internal. It was extremely difficult when Jemma was sitting so close and holding onto her like that, though. Skye's stomach flipped and flopped about for numerous reasons as she tried to sort, organize and file away the inappropriate ones into the depths. "I don't want to get in the way of...anything, is all I mean. Obviously, you're free to kiss whoever you want to-,"

That was all Jemma needed to hear. The very fact that Skye was so upset over hearing about her kissing Will, however she had heard about it, and the fact that she even thought she was some kind of competition Will wouldn't like... well, it told Jemma all she needed to know. Then Skye told her she could kiss whoever she wanted to kiss and Jemma saw that as an invitation. She surged forward, probably a little too eagerly, and cut off Skye's awkward rant by firmly pressing her lips against Skye's, smothering her mumbled words. Jemma's heart practically stopped beating as she waited for a reaction, but she knew already this was what she had been searching for.

For a moment, Skye's brain was completely blank. She hadn't anticipated at all that Jemma might kiss her. The only times their mouths had ever touched were when Skye was passing air to her underwater in the plane, and then on the beach when She'd been doing CPR on Jemma. So for a moment, a very short moment that simultaneously felt like it stretched across forever, Skye was completely still. As soon as her brain caught up, Skye’s lips moved, eagerly pulling at Jemma's as her free hand rose to rest along her cheek, fingers traced against the back curve of her jaw. Her eyes fluttered closed as she threw herself into that kiss, like it was the very last one she'd ever receive. If this was a test of some kind of the difference between Skye and Will, Skye was damn sure going to make it a memorable one. Skye had no idea how much time passed but she ignored the burn in her lungs demanding air in favor of letting their mouths meld into a synchronized dance together.

"Skye-" Jemma mumbled. It was quiet and barely heard over the waves crashing into the shore. She was happy, so happy, and she would have gone on kissing her all night long. Her and Skye's mouths seemed to fit together perfectly and moved in sync, and she hadn't felt so overwhelmed by a kiss in a long while, but she needed to know they were doing it right. She didn't want Skye to think she was going around trying people out. "Skye-" she mumbled again, this time a little more firmly. She allowed herself one more solid kiss before she broke for air and kept her free hand on Skye's shoulder to hold her still.   
  
"It's been you the whole time." She didn't let her eyes leave Skye's and her breathing was quick. She needed her to know. "I wasn't flirting with you in the terminal for no reason, and I didn't kiss Will because I like him like that." Jemma hated to bring Will back into this after they finally managed to connect like this, but she had to. She wanted Skye to know exactly how she felt. "I let Will kiss me because I was looking for something, but it was you. It's been you the whole time." Jemma breathed. This time, she waited for Skye. It had to go both ways.

Skye's brain went a thousand different directions when Jemma broke them apart. She did panic momentarily when it happened and probably would have backed off if Jemma hadn't anchored her in place by her shoulder. Her breath came in rapid bursts.  Her heart was an erratically racing mess.  There were electric tingles...everywhere.  It took a moment again to re-calibrate, for her brain to re-center itself. Then, it hit her all at once,  what Jemma was telling her.  Her eyes didn't stray from Jemma's this time. Skye stroked her thumb against the edge of Jemma's cheekbone.    
  
"I have no idea what this is between us," she said,  still quite a bit breathless.  "But I know it's more than just some...end of the world hormone thing.  There's a connection here and...I'm pretty damn certain it's not something I've ever felt before...It's kind of terrifying...and awesome, simultaneously." Skye exhaled a shaky breath. "I've wanted to kiss you since we were in the terminal..." she breathed out the confession.

On an exhale, all of Jemma's muscles seemed to relax at once. Her shoulder blades had been tense since the moment they hit that first quick descent in the plane and they hadn't relaxed completely even once until then. Skye was telling her that she felt what Jemma felt and just her saying that this wasn't because they had crashed- that this wasn't just a physical desire for comfort- it reassured her. They had a distinct pull between them before their lives got twisted and dumped into hell.    
  
"You're also free to kiss whoever you want." Jemma said slyly. She turned so she and Skye weren't side-to-side and leaned in, teasing. Skye's breath was hot on her cheeks as she lightly bumped their noses together. It sent a shiver up her spine and she moved forward, barely grazing Skye's lips with her own. Skye would have to come out of her shell and kiss her if she wanted to be kissed.

Honestly, Skye didn't need much prompting other than that. If it hadn't been for her worry about making Jemma think that Skye felt she had some territorial claim over her, she would have kissed Jemma long before today. Now there was time to make up for. Skye surged forward against the barest gap between them and let her mouth reclaim Jemma's. Just as before, she was content to stay latched to Jemma at the mouth well past when her lungs started to burn angrily at her with their demand for air as their reserves were deleted. A small part of her brain was convinced this  was just a dream. Any moment, Skye was going to wake up on her back in the sand having dreamed this because of her deeply seeded desire to resolve it.    
  
For now, Skye's arm slipped from Jemma's shoulders and curled around her back and middle. Her fingers moved from Jemma's cheek into her hair along the back of her neck. She almost couldn't get close enough despite the fact that their mouths were melded perfectly together. Skye tried to memorize the scent, sound and the sweet taste of everything happening in that moment. She let it wash over and envelope her until the absolute last moment before her lungs would have burst in protest.    
  
Reluctantly, she broke the kiss but didn't let go. She leaned her forehead against Jemma's as she attempted to catch her breath. Her eyes were open and Jemma was still there, so, it wasn't a dream. "I have something for you," she blurted breathlessly.

"What?" Jemma asked. She hadn't really been paying attention, so intoxicated by the smell and taste of Skye that she was almost dizzy for the moments after she pulled away. It didn't register at first, but when it did, she was still confused. She didn't know what one could have in the way of surprises on this island.

Skye grinned a bit, exhaled a chuckle. She nodded without pulling her forehead away from Jemma's.  The idea of pulling away from her now that they were tucked so closely together was a loathsome one. She stole a few more quick kisses, ending with a light one to the end of Jemma's nose.  Leaving one arm still wrapped around Jemma, she leaned away and pulled the book from her bag.  She had taken it out of the plastic bag but left it wrapped up in the banana leaf, though now it also had a tiny bow tied around it from extra twine she'd swiped from the raft. Turning back, she held it out to Jemma. She waited until Jemma unwrapped it to say, "I would have left it in your bag, but I didn't want it to get wet."

"You saved it?!" The near squeal that Jemma expelled was much louder and higher than she meant for it to be. She knew what it was before she took it out of the "wrapping paper". The cover was ever so slightly smudged, but Jemma didn't care at all. She opened the cover and ran her hand over the hand written  _ This Book Belongs to Jemma Simmons _ . The pages were worn, but in good condition, and somehow Skye had managed to salvage it from underneath the surface of the ocean.    
  
"Skye, I- Thank you." Jemma tucked the book between her legs so she could place both hands on the sides of Skye's face. She tilted her head and her lips met Skye's in a passionate show of gratitude.

In any other situation, Skye would have been inclined to believe that a book was just a book. When she'd found the air pocket and then found Jemma's bag, she knew it was important.  It wasn't part of Jemma's science world. It was decently worn and Jemma brought it halfway around the world with her. She knew it had to hold not only nostalgic ties but enough of an importance that it was worth saving to be able to bring Jemma some small piece of normalcy (more than just her own clothes) in their anything but normal circumstances.     
  
Skye couldn't help the bright smile that lit up her own face when Jemma squealed about the book.  She was more than happy to return that kiss with equal fervor.  It was difficult to keep from smiling against the kiss. She couldn't actually remember the last time she felt so relaxed and comfortable rather than anxious, tense and exhausted.  "I wanted to make sure it came back to you, " she murmured before she stole another kiss. Could she really be blamed for that,  though?  They had some time to make up for, didn't they? 

"I thought it would be destroyed." Jemma held the book tightly and didn't look apt to put it down any time soon. She hadn't had time to really think about the material possessions she'd lost during the crash, but now the idea of getting it back a sopping mess made her want to cry. One hand was at the nape of Skye's neck and she kissed softly at the corner of her mouth.    
  
"My father gave it to me when he was deployed to serve in the British Army. This was his way of promising me he'd come home." Jemma smiled. It was the irony of Odysseus and his island hopping that made Jemma laugh. It was a sick joke, that she was now the one stuck on an island, wanting to get home, just like the character in her favorite book. She hoped Skye knew the plot at least and could appreciate the irony too.

Skye stroked her hand in random patterns along Jemma's back.  She still couldn't help but smile,  just glad that Jemma had the kind of memories she described about the book. It gave her even more information about Jemma's past too, which was something Skye had been steadily trying to learn since they'd met,  really. She was sad thinking about the fact that Jemma's parents were somewhere thinking they were never see their daughter again.  She wanted to promise that she would get Jemma home to them some day,  but she wasn't sure how she could accomplish that with their current circumstances. The irony of the book's tale wasn't completely lost on Skye,  though she only knew the basics of it. "It was in a small air pocket," She said.    
  
"Some of your stuff got wet when we floated it back on the raft,  but for the most part,  it was all dry.  Sorry I rummaged, but when I saw your bag in there dry, I had to see if I could find the book..." Skye dropped her eyes and was quiet for a moment.  She shrugged her shoulders slightly. "It was the absolute least I could do. If you hadn't gone to grab it because of my stupid anxiety..." Skye shook her head and looked back up at Jemma. "Imagine the epic tale you'll get to tell your dad about when we finally get home, though,  yeah?" She gave a small smile.

Jemma's eyes darkened some when she saw the guilt in Skye's even despite her joke. "You know it's not your fault." Jemma squeezed Skye's waist and scooted closer again so their sides melded together and she rested her head on Skye's shoulder. After all Skye had done for her she hated to think Skye still felt guilty. 

"Yeah," Skye murmured, not quite there yet as far as the guilt went. She leaned against Jemma's side and pulled the blanket back around them properly. She leaned her cheek down against Jemma's head on her shoulder, turned her eyes back up to the stars.    
  
"Who do you have waiting for you once we get back?" Jemma asked. It was easier to distract her and pretend it was certain that they would be returning to Los Angeles somehow. It was too painful to acknowledge their situation, so for now Jemma was happy to find out more about Skye. She had told Skye a lot about herself but didn't know all that much about her. She planned on rectifying that now that they seemed to have all the time in the world.   
  
Even though she'd been steadily preparing herself for answering any potential questions Jemma had about her, Skye still tensed, just a tiny bit, at this particular question. There were very few people who had ever known her entire history and most of them had been given the information under strict doctor/patient confidentiality scenarios (though not of Skye's own free will so much as due to requirement). Skye was quiet for a few long moments, not because she didn't want to answer, she did. She didn't actually want to hide things from Jemma, though she knew there were still things she couldn't tell her, like the truth about her job and that kind of stuff. She wasn't used to actually talking to someone about such things when it wasn't a clinical setting.    
  
"Just a cactus named Spike," Skye said when she finally answered. She tried her best to sound as nonchalant about it as possible.

"No family?" Jemma was shocked. She would have been positive someone like Skye would have a boatload of people who loved her, how could she not? She was amazing. "Friends?" Jemma's voice was hopeful, because she hated to hear that Skye had been all alone. Clearly she didn't know all that much about Skye's past, but she wanted to. She wanted to know where she came from and who she used to be, but she also didn't want to lose sight of who she is now.    
  
"You're not alone here. You never will be." Jemma promised. She kept her right arm around Skye's waist and the left gave her thigh a firm, reassuring squeeze. If Skye wanted to talk about it she would listen, but she wasn't going to force anything. They were having too beautiful a connection at the moment to ruin it.

Skye leaned a little further into Jemma’s embrace. She wanted to thank Jemma for just that simple promise. She tightened her arm around Jemma and considered how to respond. “I don’t know that I have any friends that would be expecting me to return alive at this point,” She said. It was true. They likely would have considered her dead with the rest of the plane’s occupants, like probably much of the world outside of passengers’ families still hoping to recover their bodies. She took another slow breath and eventually, more quietly, said, “I don’t know my parents.” She let that hang between them for a moment or so. “I was left on the doorstep of an orphanage when I was a baby.” Skye tried to recall if she’d ever voluntarily told anyone this information before. She wasn’t sure she had. 

"Oh." Jemma said quietly. It was starting to make much more sense now. Skye had been a foster child, probably one with no permanent family, since she didn't have anyone now. It meant she had been alone her whole childhood and it made Jemma squeeze her tighter. She wasn't ever going to let it be like that again, even if they did get off the damned island.    
  
"I'm so sorry." Jemma knew she must have sounded like every person who had ever found out about Skye's past, but it felt wrong not to tell her how sorry she felt, because she did. She wished it had all been better for her.

Skye shook her head slightly.  "It's not..." She struggled for a beat or two, trying to figure out how to talk about something she never generally talked about. There was no reason to talk about it before.  It struck her for a moment, that Jemma had lofty paleontology goals as a kid but Skye, she never really had the chance to think about what she wanted to be when she grew up while she was a kid. She'd spent most of her life just trying to survive. She cleared her throat. "I don't know why they did it. I don't even know if I care why, anymore. Knowing wouldn't change that it happened, I guess. I don't know if they were married or not. I don't know if either of them ever went on and had more kids that they kept or wherever...I can tell you how old I am, but I can't tell you what my birthday is," She stopped when she realized she'd been kind of rambling a good deal and sounded a bit more agitated than she'd intended.    
  
"I almost had an actual family once," Skye's tone came out quiet again when she said it. "They surprised me with a birthday cake on the one year anniversary of the day I was placed with them." Her gaze had dropped from the stars down to the dark churn of the surf in front of them, brow creased, eyes a bit glassy, mouth drawn down. 

Jemma had watery eyes just looking at Skye's face without even getting the whole story, much less experiencing it.  She couldn't imagine what kinds of things Skye had gone through, but Skye was sharing them with her. It showed Jemma the extreme amount of trust Skye was putting in her and she didn't want her to stop. She wanted Skye to be able to tell her anything, so she gently encouraged her to go on.    
  
"What happened?" She asked. She tried to hold herself together, since this was Skye's story, but she couldn't help the bout of sadness woven into her voice.

Skye couldn't answer right away. She didn't trust her voice to remain steady. "They were foster home number six." She said. "I didn't actually speak for the first time until two weeks after I got there. They...they just waited for me. They didn't...tell me how I should be, or make me talk at all before I was ready. They were never angry with me, even...when I snapped the meanest shit at them because I was reactive, or scared." Skye shook her head slightly and leaned her head back so she could roll her eyes up to keep the tears held back. She stopped every so often to steady her voice.  "They never threatened to send me away. They didn't even get mad at me when my hidden stash of 'just in case' food caused a terrible ant infestation," she let out a startled short chuckle at the memory.    
  
"I told them I loved them, that night, before bed, after the cake. They wanted to adopt me. Officially." She hesitated a moment, shifting from time to time as she spoke, mostly avoiding looking at Jemma. "I was twelve then. I know it sounds stupid, but," she looked over at Jemma briefly, "I never, um..." her voice wavered a time or two. "I never knew anyone could actually love me, like...really actually love me...until them." She looked away again, down at her lap. "A few weeks after, uh, a-after that, we were in an accident, on the freeway." She said. "I don't, um, I don't remember a lot of it. I woke up in the hospital. They didn't..." Skye couldn't even say it so she just shook her head.  

"I'm here, it's ok." Jemma saw the beginning signs that Skye was about to cry, so she shifted and moved in front of her and gently pulled Skye into a hug. She cradled the back of her head and had an arm around her waist and made sure Skye knew she was safe at the moment and she could cry if she needed to. "I'm so sorry this happened to you..." she whispered and kissed the top of Skye's head.

Skye didn't resist the hug at all. She leaned into it and wasn't shy about pressing her face into Jemma's shoulder and the crook of her neck or about the way she wrapped her arms around Jemma and held on to stay grounded somehow. The only thing she resisted was the crying. She couldn't stop some of the tears from escaping and she sniffled here and there, but she resisted the urge to make a bawling spectacle of herself. She was an adult. These were things that happened to her. She couldn't change them, but she survived them.    
  
Eventually, she moved her chin to Jemma's shoulder and murmured a quiet, "Sorry," before she sniffled quickly. "I'm not used to...I don't usually, um...talk about...it's never really been, ah, relevant I guess." She felt embarrassed by her failure to hold it together even if Jemma was (Skye assumed very patiently) trying to show her it was okay. She did not, however, let go of Jemma just yet. She trusted Jemma, genuinely. Skye would have never volunteered the information she'd given over so far if she didn't. She knew Jemma wasn't going to go telling anyone about the stuff Skye was telling her. There were just some habits that were difficult to break and one of Skye's biggest, since she'd been past all the traumas of her childhood, was her ability to hold it the hell together. She lost her temper from time to time, sure, but that wasn't the kind of holding it together that this was. It was hard to keep from feeling like the show of emotion was a personal weakness, like it meant her past still had complete control over her.

"Hey, of course it's relevant." Jemma pulled away and put two fingers under Skye's chin to keep her head up so they could make eye contact. “If it happened to you, it’s relevant.” She smiled softly, not a happy smile, but a comforting one. She wanted Skye to trust and confide in her and this felt like how she was doing it. Jemma wanted to know. She embraced Skye again and rubbed circles into her back. Underneath the blanket and through Skye's thinner sleep clothes, her fingers ran over upraised lines. Jemma remembered seeing the scars on several occasions, but she had yet to ask about them.    
  
"Who did this to you?" Jemma asked. She couldn't help the slight twinge of anger at the unknown figure. These scars weren't the kind that could come from an accident.

The Brody family, the one that wanted to adopt her, they were hard to talk about because of the way they'd been ripped away from her right when she was finally beginning to believe that maybe she was allowed to be loved and cared for and genuinely happy. The scars on her back...those were a whole different kind of difficult. Skye usually hated talking about these things because she hated watching people pity her. Jemma wasn't looking at her that way, though. Jemma was sad for her, that she'd had this particular childhood. And angry. Jemma was angry on her behalf, or on younger Skye's behalf, that anyone had laid a hand on her to harm her. Skye could recognize the obvious differences between someone looking on her with pity and the way Jemma kept looking at her. She wasn't used to someone being that steadfastly on her side even without knowing everything yet.    
  
It took some time again before Skye could answer this question, but she answered it because Jemma was the one asking. "Foster home number five," she said. "The Wheelers." She gave it a moment, sorting through her memories, trying to figure out both where to start and how to share it. "Their house was...chaos. They had two kids of their own, one adopted kid and three more of us, fosters," she began. "The husband, Carl, he had four dogs, a couple huge rottweilers and the other two were mixed breeds. I was seven when they placed me with them. The dogs were huge. They were bigger than me. They only obeyed Carl." She took a slow breath to calm herself down.    
  
"He was...a sick sadistic fuck," Skye frowned. "If he thought you were misbehaving - whether you actually were or not - he would use the dogs to corner you. He liked to throw us over the arm of the couch and beat on us til we bled. He, um," she cleared her throat. "He liked using leather belts. Since you couldn't see him behind you, he'd bend them in half and snap them as loud as he could, y'know, leaving you crying and sweating in fear of the anticipation." Skye paused again. This one felt a lot harder to tell "He used to file down the metal buckles until they had sharp, jagged spikes on them. The only thing you could hope for was that you'd pass out quick so you didn't have to feel it until you woke up again." It was sick and thinking about it made Skye's stomach churn. She didn't notice it, but it also made her tremble as she told the story.

"Skye..." Jemma didn't know what to say. The more Skye talked the sicker Jemma felt and the more she wanted Skye to stop talking; not because she didn't want Skye to share, but because she wanted it to be over. She didn't want there to be anything else. But Skye kept talking and Jemma held her tightly. She wished there was some way she could go back and erase everything, but she knew there wasn't. All she could do now was never let Skye lose her and do her best to be there for her.   
  
"The world has been unfair to you, of that I'm certain." Jemma pulled away so she could look into Skye's eyes again. "And it's terrible that you ended up stuck here after all of that, but selfishly, I'm glad you were on that flight." Jemma closed the space between them and very gently pressed their mouths together, just slightly off so their lips overlapped. "I promise I'm not going anywhere." Jemma thought that was enough for now. Skye could share more another day, but she saw the effect it was having and she just wanted her to be happy, so she kissed her again and rubbed her thumb across Skye's cheekbone to catch an escaped tear.

It was a lot. Skye knew it was a lot. She hadn't meant to go this far into it. She honestly hadn't. Most of it had just come out of her. Skye wasn't all that sure if that was necessarily a good thing or not. She wasn't all that surprised that her luck had led her to that particular plane and this situation. It was par for the course, really. It was the kind of situation Skye was used to being thrown into; the kind where all you could do was hold onto anything solid for as long as possible and hope for the best. If Jemma was her solid grounding to hang onto, Skye sure as hell wasn't going to let go so long as she was still breathing.    
  
Skye was eager to lean into each and every one of Jemma's touches, to return the gentle kisses. Her grip tightened on Jemma in reflex to her promise. She was content to steal a few more kisses, more than willing to take comfort in the connection between them. Eventually, when their kiss broke, she pressed her forehead to Jemma's and hazarded opening her eyes to look into Jemma's. "I think I'm exactly where I was meant to be," she whispered. Skye couldn't go back and change what happened, no one could. If everything that happened to her, happened in order to lead her here, to that spot in the terminal, that seat on the flight, this island and particular moment in time, even if for nothing more than to save Jemma from that airplane seat, to be right here, right now, Skye was satisfied that this was where she was supposed to be.

Jemma smiled, a happy one this time, and nudged Skye's nose with her own. She stole one more quick kiss before she slipped out of Skye's grasp and got up onto her feet, book tucked under her arm. "Right now I think bed is where we're meant to be." Jemma joked lightly and held out a hand to help Skye get up. She only realized how suggestive her words may have been after she said them, and her eyes widened. "Sleeping!" She elaborated with a nervous chuckle.

Skye forced herself not to frown at the immediate loss of intimate touch when Jemma stood. she arched her eyebrows and the corners of her lips tugged upward as she let Jemma help her up. Before she could even attempt to make a comment about Jemma's suggestion, Jemma corrected her suggestive little comment and Skye's lips finally twisted into one of those crooked little smiles. "'Sleeping,'" She jokingly air quoted before she shouldered her bag and grabbed the machete and the blanket. "Uh huh," she teased, more than okay with shifting gears away from the serious stuff for the moment. "I see what you're doing..." she said, just as she had the other day when Jemma wanted to take out her stitches. She hung the blanket over her right shoulder with the bag and held the machete in her right hand. Her left slipped down Jemma's arm to her free hand and entwined their fingers. She lowered her voice to a mock whisper and said, "You're just trying to get under my shirt," before she smiled, like she had the other day.

"Oh, stop." Jemma giggled and bumped sides with Skye on the way back to her shelter. She was glad they were outside of the fuselage so they could continue talking without waking anyone up. When they did make it back, Jemma carefully put the miracle book back into her bag, careful to avoid getting sand everywhere. She was thinking about changing out of the dirty tank top she was wearing and into a jumper to sleep, and it gave her an idea. Skye had just shared so much personal information, Jemma would have felt odd not offering anything up about herself in return. Nothing she could say could compare, but Jemma hoped it would make them more comfortable with each other. So Jemma unzipped her CDC windbreaker and stashed it back into her suitcase.    
  
"Skye, I wanted to tell you..." Jemma pulled the jumper out of her bag and craned her neck over her shoulder to look at Skye. "You don't need to feel embarrassed about scars with me. I understand that part." Jemma didn't fully explain and she was sure Skye thought she meant because she was a doctor, at least until Jemma stood up and pulled her tank top over her head. From between the tops of her shoulder blades to near her waist ran a long, straight scar directly down her spinal cord. It barely would have been visible when she wore the tank top after the crash, but now Skye would be able to see her whole back and the very visible scar across the length of it. Jemma still felt a little anxious as she waited for Skye's reaction to the imperfection, so she knew how Skye felt about her own.

Skye sat down on her bed, initially, after pushing it flush up against Jemma's to make sure there were no gaps between them. She took her boots off, deciding that she wanted just one night of relaxing without sleeping with them on. Her eyebrows inched upward slightly, not sure what Jemma was getting at, other than maybe the fact that Jemma was a doctor and wasn't staring at Skye's scars in anything more than a clinical way. "Oh, yeah?-," The words cut short and died on Skye's tongue. She wasn't at all prepared for Jemma to pull her shirt off. Her first gut reaction was that she should tell Jemma she was kidding about the shirt thing, and they could just climb into bed and sleep.    
  
Then Skye saw it. The scar along the middle of Jemma's back. She hadn’t noticed it at all before. It took up her whole spine. Skye frowned. She reached out, the pads of her fingers tracing the bottom six or so inches of the scar with such a gentle touch, as if it might hurt Jemma otherwise, it was barely there, ghost light as she traced the line. "Why...how did it happen?" she asked quietly. The fact that it was more or less a perfectly straight, clean line spoke to the fact that there must have been some kind of surgery involved, but for what purpose? Skye's mind quickly ran away with possibilities, a handful of which scared her.

"Scoliosis." Jemma replied curtly. She shivered at Skye's touch and once it seemed she was finished, Jemma pulled the jumper over her head and tugged it down to her waist. She realized soon after that her answer was cheating. Skye had given her a lot and one word wasn't enough for Jemma to feel like she'd shared anything.   
  
"I had severe back pain growing up. Mum thought it was just growing pains until the screening at school showed I had scoliosis. Surgery was the only viable option for me." Jemma knew her story wasn't much to compare to Skye's but it was the story she had to share. "I was still growing so I had to have a surgery every few years to keep my spine straight. I spent weeks immobilized in hospitals." Jemma sat next to Skye and gingerly picked up her hand, intertwining their fingers. "My dad liked to wheel my bed outside despite the nurses' protests so we could look at the stars, but it was never as bright as it is here." Jemma explained.

Skye's eyes followed Jemma as she moved. She listened attentively to the story and Squeezed Jemma's hand once their fingers were entwined again. She smiled at the idea of Jemma's dad breaking the rules in order to make things better for his daughter. She tried not to frown as she imagined Jemma having to go through surgery multiple times as a kid. "That sounds terrifying to go through as a kid, multiple times," she said. "Not the rule breaking and star gazing. The multiple surgeries." She clarified. She'd had her appendix out as a kid and that was definitely terrifying. Then again, the thing almost burst and killed her because the family she lived with at the time didn't believe in modern medicine. Skye didn't think Jemma needed another sad story from her though. "Nothing happens with it now?" she asked. "Since you stopped growing?" She'd heard the term 'scoliosis' before, but Skye didn't know the intimate details of what it entailed, outside of subjecting little Jemma to more than one surgery. She picked up their joined hands and kissed the backs of Jemma's knuckles lightly. It made her happy that Jemma's parents, at least, seemed like they were lovely and that they gave Jemma a nice childhood. 

"I'm perfectly fine now." Jemma shook her head to let Skye know there was nothing they needed to be worrying about. It was a past condition and Jemma hadn't felt it since she was a young teenager. She remembered being terrified before her first surgery, but she thought Skye might appreciate a piece of the story.    
  
"My first surgery was when I was eight. I was so afraid that I ate a whole box of chocolates the night before so they had to delay it another twelve hours." Jemma chuckled. Her mother had been furious, but her father had eventually calmed her down enough to have a talk with Jemma about how much it would hurt to not have the surgery. She gave in for the next appointment. 

Skye relaxed a bit more when Jemma explained that it wasn’t an ongoing problem currently. It was a small relief in the grander scheme of all the possible things that could injure or kill them on this island so far. She wasn’t prepared for the story about the chocolates and it was so deviously genius that she huffed out a laugh against the back of Jemma’s hand, which she’d just pressed a kiss to.    
  
"There were three in total, but the only remains of scoliosis I have now is the scar and a few rods and pins in my spine." Jemma assured her. The physical taxations the island took from her wouldn't cause her scoliosis to recur. "Though I can tell you it isn't fun to go through airport security with that." Jemma made a joke to lighten mood, but it was also a bit serious too. She had had to have a thorough screening before she could be allowed to reenter the US.

“So you’re not only a super genius, you’re also bionic and have a devious chocolate streak?” Skye asked with a soft chuckle as she rested their hands down against her chest and smiled a bit at Jemma. She reached out with her free hand to tuck some of Jemma’s hair behind her ear. She leaned over and kissed Jemma’s temple. “Thank you,” she said. “For sharing your battle scar stories with me.” She said in earnest with a small, genuine, smile. 

“I’ve had surgery exactly once in my life,” Skye confessed. “I didn’t really have time to be scared of it, though. I complained I didn’t feel good for a couple of days, then passed out during dodgeball at school. When I woke up, my appendix was gone,” And so was the super religious foster family she was living with, who didn’t believe in doctors, hospitals, surgery and modern medicine. “I was six. Sadly, I didn’t get the chance to score a whole box of chocolates for my troubles.” She lamented. 

"Well when we get back to the regular world you'll get one, my treat." Jemma smiled and moved her finger over her heart in an 'X' motion. She liked pretending that one day someone would show up and they would all be rescued. Fantasizing that all of this would come to an end could help keep them going, and Jemma knew for certain that it would help keep them both sane.

Skye let out a low whistle. “Generous, bionic, Jurassic genius...you are so far out of my league, Doc,” She chuckled. That much was true. Skye doubted Jemma would have been able to see past that if they’d landed safely in Los Angeles and went on a date or few from there. Not because Jemma wasn’t a genuinely decent person, she was completely...amazing, to put it bluntly. But she was a super genius that spent her time trying to save the world, basically. Skye was a high school dropout that opted into being recruited to a government agency initially for her hacking skills in order to avoid jail time. Jemma was so far out of her league, so very, very far. She thought again about promising Jemma that she would find a way to get her off of this island and home to her family, but hesitated. She didn’t have and plans for that yet. She couldn’t make the promise.    
  
"But for now, I think we should settle for some sleep. You never know when you'll need to be awake later." Jemma reasoned. She was glad Skye had already moved her bed, because it was too late to get up with how tired she was and she wasn't going to let go of Skye's hand easily. She reached for some of the blankets and pulled them up over the both of them as she laid down, squeezing Skye's hand to ask her to join her.

Skye wasn’t going to argue. She wanted to lay down and she knew this time that she didn’t have to stop herself from reaching out to touch Jemma or keep a personal space boundary between them. “Don’t jinx us, shhhh,” She laid back and turned onto her side to face Jemma. Skye squeezed Jemma’s hand back, but let it go a moment later, only so she could move her arm below the covers and wrap it around her middle. Reflexively, without giving it thought, she ran her hand in random patterns along Jemma’s back as she moved to both pull Jemma closer to her and to scoot closer as well, until their legs twisted together. She leaned to close the gap between them and kissed Jemma, nothing terribly intense at the moment, just a sweet, slow kiss. She pressed a few light kisses around Jemma’s face afterward, her cheek, her forehead, the end of her nose. Her fingers game up to gingerly touch Jemma’s cheek. “I’m sorry I didn’t just tell you how I felt,” She said. It could’ve saved them a decent amount of stress, so she felt pretty guilty about it even though things were settled now. 

"You know not everything in the world is your fault." Jemma giggled and quickly kissed Skye's nose. "I too had multiple opportunities to speak up." Jemma's cheeks went red remembering her klutzy fall that left her half naked on top of Skye. There were many times she could have just realized what she wanted and gone for it, but she too had been afraid. At least this was one thing that had gone right.   
  
"Try to get some sleep." Jemma whispered. They were beginning to calm down and Jemma's eyes were drooping. All of their days here felt long and Jemma was content to just nuzzle into Skye and sleep for as long as the island would allow. She scooted as close as she could get and held the material of the front of Skye's shirt in her fists. She inhaled deeply and exhaled against Skye's collarbones. "Goodnight, Skye."

Skye shifted and wrapped her arms around Jemma as she started to curl up against her. With the cool night temperatures on the island, even with the fire to help heat them, it was nice curling up around Jemma. She turned her head down and kissed the top of Jemma’s as her muscles finally unwound fully. “Sweet dreams, Jem,” She kissed the top of her head once more and then rested her chin against the spot. She waited until Jemma was breathing evenly before she let her own eyes finish closing all the way to nod off. 


	7. Only One Jemma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warnings:** Angst and some violence/fighting 
> 
> Thank you thank you thank you as always for reading, for comments, kudos and love!   
> I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to get to the replies from the last two chapters! (work has been rough for me for the last couple weeks of tax season here! If we don't get back to you tonight, we'll do so tomorrow!!) <3 But know we see you and we love you and we're glad you're enjoying this story as much as we are!! 
> 
> Hang onto your butts and enjoy the ride!   
> <3  
> :)
> 
> _________________________

Unlike the past few days, neither of the girls woke on their own time. Jemma jolted awake, probably accidentally pushing against Skye's chest too hard too quickly, and bolted upright in their makeshift bed. People were yelling outside and Jemma's first thought was an animal attack of some kind, but she heard angry shouting.   
  
"Skye, wake up!" Jemma was sure Skye was awake (because how could she not be) but she still shouted anyway and scrambled out from underneath the blankets. Too quickly to even be embarrassed, Jemma was out of her pajama pants and jumper and pulling on jeans, a thick strapped tank, and her converse sneakers. She grabbed her knife and didn't have time to wait for Skye, she needed to know what was happening. When she slashed the tarp away with her arm she scanned the beach for prehistoric carnivores, but what she saw may have been worse. Multiple fights had broken out across the beach and some people had knives to their throats, caught in the crossfire as hostages. 

It had been so long since Skye'd had any actual restful sleep rather than merely physical exhaustion sleep, that the initial noise hadn't been what had woken her up. The sudden jerky movement of Jemma launching away from her, complete with the shove at her chest, was the thing that did it. Before she was even consciously awake she was out of the bed, swapping her pajama pants for her jeans and jamming her feet into her boots. "Jemma, wait!" Jemma was out of the shelter before Skye could stop her. Skye grabbed the gun from her bag and jammed it into her back waistband and tugged her shirt down over it. Her hunting knife was sheathed at her hip and she grabbed the machete as she pushed through the tarp.   
  
A clear second group was breaking away. Their fragile civilization had finally broken, probably because Ward, Garrett, and those who hung around them, which made up hardly less than a third of the entire group, had realized there would be no rescue coming and no rules enforced. There was no government and they appeared to be claiming the power for themselves. The biggest groups of people were near the meeting fire where their food was cooked and stored, along with the entrance to the fuselage less than a hundred meters from the shelter. Ward immediately caught her eye, him and a younger guy, a teenager named Donnie, and a few others had a suitcase each and Jemma recognized them as the ones they kept group supplies in. She watched as Bobbi, who had one of the bigger hunting knives, shouted at them and got closer, as if to take some of their things back, but Ward seemed to pull a much smaller body out of nowhere. It was Ace, and about five others from the crowd of witnesses began shouting in protest. Mike made a move like he was going to reach for his son, but Ward held the knife against his throat and everyone froze, including Jemma. She stopped her approach a few meters away, considering the possibility that the situation may be too dangerous to just charge into, but Ward had already spotted her.   
  
"Look who decided to join the party! Come on over, Sweetheart!" Ward called out to her. Jemma took a step back, but immediately bumped into someone she hadn't even seen sneak up behind her. It definitely wasn't Skye. "Bring her on over, Creel!" Before Jemma had really processed what was going on, Creel wrenched her knife out of her hand and dipped down to stow it in his boot. His hands shoved at her shoulders and Jemma stumbled through the gap in the crowd that seemed to open up when the huge man came near.   
  
Creel gave Jemma another good shove in the back and she was forced to step forward. Ward passed off Ace to Donnie and roughly grabbed Jemma by the upper arm. She leaned away from him but he held her tightly and close. "We've got the complete medical kit now!" He barked a laugh and the cronies he had with him joined in. Jemma turned and figured out what he meant when she saw one of them with the blue first aid kit. They were stealing everything important and considered her a part of that list of objects. 

Skye was only seconds behind Jemma in leaving the shelter but by then, it was too late for her to do anything by racing into the fray. Against every urge in her body to run headlong into the mess the moment they cornered Ace and Jemma, Skye forced herself not to. The other group hadn't spotted her yet, so Skye slipped around the front edge of the plane wing. She grabbed a couple of rocks from the sand before she climbed up into the plane from one of the emergency exit doors. Trip, who was standing by the trough, watching and waiting for a moment to attack, spotted her. He kept subtle watch of her movements, waiting to see what her plan might be. Yoyo looked over at Mack and as she did, Skye managed to catch her eye through one of the small plane windows. Yoyo gave only a very slight tip of her head. Mack caught it and realized she was looking past his shoulder. He turned his eyes back toward Ward, Creel and Donnie, ready to jump into action whenever it happened.    
  
Skye caught Trip's attention. She motioned for him to cut the lead on the dragonfly's leash. The dragonfly was already straining against the rope since it wanted to get to Jemma. Skye and Jemma had been taking time to bring the giant bug around with them so he wasn't stuck just at the trough all the time. They also made sure to feed him or send him with the water crew to hunt mosquitos at the waterfall. So whenever he spotted the two of them, he tried to get to them. Skye was hoping today would be no different and he would buzz his way around Jemma and freak the fuck out of Ward enough to get Jemma away from him. She had no doubt it would freak Donnie out as she'd witnessed him avoid the trough whenever the dragonfly was there   
  
"Let go of me." Jemma grunted. She jerked her arm away, but Ward went as far as to hook a finger under her waistband and pull her back so he could grab onto her arm again. Jemma snarled at him and it made him laugh harder.    
  
"Hey now, don't make this hard on yourself." He chuckled like it was all a game to him. If he hadn't somehow managed to get his knife back she would punch him in the throat.

Trip waited until Skye moved further toward the back opening of the fuselage and subtly shifted closer to the trough. He moved his hand quickly and in a quick tug with his knife the taut rope snapped. The dragonfly was off in a shot, immediately over the heads of everyone else, too high to grab the bug itself and too fast for anyone to snatch the rope. It slipped past Ward and Jemma and buzzed Donnie's head as it circled back toward Jemma and Ward. Donnie screamed and wildly swung his knife when it passed. He missed the dragonfly and a second later he was on his back in the sand, bleeding from the temple after Skye hurled one of the large rocks at his head.   
  
Ace landed in the sand next to him and immediately sprang up and raced for his dad. Mike caught Ace and immediately turned his back to prevent anyone from getting to him. Mack, Yoyo and Bobbi all pushed in front of Mike and Ace as Creel, Quinn and Garrett moved into the now chaotic fray. Skye jumped from the fuselage and rushed for Ward and Jemma, who was fighting to break free with the help of the dragonfly's distraction. Elsewhere on the beach, May, Coulson, Trip and Will all rushed to try and stop the others from looting.    
  
Before she could reach Ward, Creel changed course and tackled Skye into the sand. She lost the machete for the moment and the wind was knocked out of her. She coughed and sputtered and had just enough time to dodge to the side as Creel swung. The large man's fist sent up a spray of sand as Skye rolled back, swinging her elbow up as hard as she could, she clocked him high on the cheekbone near the corner of his eye. Creel let out a curse and as Skye landed down on her back once more, she swung a left hook to follow through and double up on the pain. She ignored the pain that shot through her knuckles and swung again, trying to land as many quick, hard punches as possible since Creel was over twice her size. This one landed solidly against his Adam's apple and Creel fell to the side. As soon as his weight was off of her, Skye grabbed the machete, sprang up from the sand and turned, looking for Jemma and Ward.

Jemma had been watching as the whole plan was formed and carried out. As soon as the scene broke into chaos, Jemma took the opportunity as Ward was startled to jerk so hard she thought her arm might just come out of her socket, but Ward's grip soon left her and Jemma pushed against the sand as hard as she could manage to get a running start out of the middle of the fight. She wasn't the best runner, however, and her desperate attempt to flee was cut short when an arm wrapped around her waist and Ward's entire body slammed into her back, sending them sprawling into the sand. Jemma wheezed and coughed, trying to recover, but Ward was already dragging her to her feet by her hair and Jemma froze when a cool pressure was applied to her throat.   
  
" **HEY** !" Ward shouted with deafening volume. Silence fell over the beach like a heavy blanket and all eyes turned to him. "You can have the good doctor back with all her blood inside her body if you let us go nicely with our weapons and half of the food and water." He proposed. Jemma could tell he was angry he hadn't gotten everything he wanted, her included, but it seemed he was settling. She didn't know why he wanted ownership of the supplies, but she was sure they were about to find out.    
  
"We'll be on our way once it's done. We're tired of this beach crap, we're going to relocate closer to the resources and not hide here and put our survival in the hands of the few." Ward said it in a way that made the society on the beach seem like a dictatorship, which was quite ironic. "Just make the trade and we'll be out of your hair." Ward jerked at Jemma for emphasis and she grumbled, feeling the sting of it in her scalp, but shut her mouth when the blade pressed tighter against her throat.

The only thing that kept Skye in place when she saw Ward grab Jemma up by her hair was Mack's hand as it clamped down hard on her still scratched up shoulder. Teeth ground together, heart hammering in her throat, her eyes met Jemma's and her hand itched toward the back of her waistband. A bullet versus a blade at this distance was a clear advantage. She felt the panic creeping in and very much clouding her thoughts as she watched Ward manhandle Jemma. She barely heard all of his demands and digs at their group set up over the loud pounding of her pulse in her ears.    
  
May had secured the first aid kit. Ace was safe with Mike. Jemma was the clear priority. Skye's face was a mask of red fury. If steam could have protruded from her ears, it would have. She didn't give a flying fuck about his petty insults about their survival. They hadn't done anything to earn their survival other than attack women and children.    
  
"Take it and go," Skye growled before even Coulson could speak up. "Spill one single drop of her blood, the deal's off and I promise you, by the time I'm through with you, every last one of you will wish you'd died in that crash." They could gather more water, catch more fish and pick more fruit. There was only one Jemma and there were only so many times a person could come back from the dead. Skye’s mind was in a very dark place. With the knife at Jemma's throat, all she could see in her mind's eye was the blood draining out of her artery like it had from Mace's.    


Ward watched Skye's face carefully and Jemma noticed the slight loosening of the blade at Skye's threat. He held strong however and nodded once to let Skye know it was a deal. Without a word, his friends started filling backpacks with food and bottles of water. Jemma knew they could gather more, but it was the loss of the actual water bottles Jemma knew would be the worst. They wouldn't be able to bring back as much water and people would need to start sharing.    
  
Jemma's anger didn't die down the whole time they took what wasn't theirs. Even when they were done and gathered in a group near the tree line, her rage had not subsided. Ward, Garrett, Donnie, Malick, Raina, Creel, Quinn, Hall, and Bakshi- all were betraying them and selfishly taking off with supplies they hadn't earned to begin with. Ward glanced back and forth between his group and Skye, judging the safety of his next move. He knew he needed Skye to be distracted, so almost at the same time he removed the knife from Jemma's throat, he stepped back and pushed her, but not with his hands. It was a half push, half kick to her lower back and Jemma yelped and fell so quickly she didn't have time to react and got a face full of sand, shoulder buried into it as Ward turned tail and jogged off with his group.   
  
"We'll be back for the rest of what's ours!" He called back at them, not directly stating if that meant more supplies, or Jemma herself.

Skye was instantly in motion the moment the blade was gone from Jemma's throat. She was an excellent runner. When half of your life was spent running for your life, you learned how to be fast or you got caught. Her mind reeled with fury at Ward and panic about Jemma. She didn't know what kind of force those pins and metal bits in Jemma's spine could hold up under. A direct kick to her spine could do anything to them. "Jem!" She reached for Jemma to pull her out of the sand. "Are you-,"    
  
Skye looked to Ward's retreating form, her face darkening at the threat. she grabbed at the rock in her pocket and was up on her feet in the next moment, launching the rock with all her might. It hit Ward in the back of the head right where his skull met his neck. She would have sprinted after him, too, if it wasn't for the hand that wrapped around her wrist.

"Just let him leave." Jemma clutched at Skye's wrist and got up onto her knees, wiping sand out of the corners of her eyes. They were stinging and she definitely hadn't expected to go face first into it.    
  
"I'm fine, promise." Jemma rubbed at her sore back. She saw the terrified look in Skye's eye and sought to remedy it. "My back is just as strong as anyone else's now, it's okay." She assured her. She was agitated they had gotten away with taking half of their food, but she also knew it was her own fault for running into the fray. “Are you alright?” She wasn’t going to make the mistake of not checking up on Skye again. 

Skye was still wound up tight in anger (at Ward) and fear (over Jemma), but the gears shifted quickly and she moved to help Jemma up, eyes moving all over her to look for any other injuries she might have incurred during the fight as she moved to use a clean portion of her sleeve to help Jemma wipe off her face. She breathed only a little bit easier when Jemma gave her the reassurance that her back was alright. She knelt in front of Jemma and pushed her hair out of her face and touched her cheek. " _ Me _ ? I'm alright, are you sure you're alright?" she asked. The dragonfly buzzed back around their heads, returning now that the scuffle had died down. Skye had a split knuckle but other than that she would just have some bruising around her ribs and her jaw from the fight.    
  
"Well it's just  _ wonderful _ that you're both alright," Victoria spoke up from nearby the trough. "Now that you've doomed us to dehydration and starvation!"    
  
"We're not going to starve. We have plenty of food and water," Coulson replied.    
  
"Until they come back for the rest of it!" Robbie pointed out.    
  
"They're not coming back for food and water," Mack said, casting a grave glance toward Jemma.    
  
"That's what he said!" Victoria snapped, waving a hand toward the jungle.    
  
"No," Trip shook his head and crossed his arms. "He meant Jemma," He nodded toward the doctor. Murmurs erupted throughout the rest of the camp. Skye frowned as she looked away from the others and over to Jemma. She moved to stand and held her hands out for Jemma to help her up.    
  
"We need to focus on rebuilding the damaged second trough and storing what's left of our food in a secure place," Will spoke up, wanting to shift the topic away from the attempted abduction of one of their own. "Trip, do you have any fish or crab traps set out?" he asked. Trip nodded. "Good, check them and see what else you can catch to replenish our stock?"    
  
Trip nodded and glanced at Jemma and Skye before he headed down the beach toward the area he'd set his traps in the water. Alisha and Joey went with him. Coulson turned to Mack and Yoyo. "Find every possible container with a seal that you can, we're going to need them for the next water run."  Coulson continued to delegate tasks from there.    
  
Skye stuck by Jemma to help with patching up some of the others from the fight. Ace came bounding their way with Mike in tow. Skye's face relaxed almost reflexively when the little boy approached "Are you hurt?" she asked, trying to mask her worry. Ace shook head and Skye exhaled a sigh of relief. Ace took two steps and launched himself at Skye, throwing his arms around her shoulders. Skye froze, startled by the gesture for a moment before Ace thanked her for saving him. Skye wrapped her arms around his middle and hugged him back, glancing over his shoulder and up at Mike, who thanked her as well. Skye could only nod in return.    
  
Jemma gave Skye and Ace a minute to hug it out before Ace finally let go and Mike guided his son away to start helping with whatever they could.    
  
"We should get that hand cleaned up." Jemma gingerly slid her fingers under Skye's hand, which was already swollen, red, and bleeding some at the knuckles. She got a good taste of how Skye felt as guilt rushed through her veins. She looked down, focused on her hand, so she didn't have to make eye contact with her. "I'm sorry I'm so reckless, I keep getting us both in the middle of these situations." She sighed.

Skye tried her best not to flinch while Jemma cleaned up her knuckles. She leaned across the small gap between them and kissed Jemma's forehead. "It's not your fault they attacked us," she said once she leaned back and managed to catch Jemma's eye. "You were just trying to protect everyone. There was no way you could have known it was them," she pointed out as she brought her freehand up to touch Jemma's cheek again. Her heart was still racing at the very palpable fear of nearly losing Jemma  _ again _ .

Despite everything that had happened, Skye's soothing words and gentle touch could make her smile. Her cheeks flushed pink and she wished so badly that they could just go on a normal date. She had to push those feelings aside though. There were so many more important things that needed to be worried about in order for them to stay together and in one piece.   
  
"Do you think they're right? About me being what Ward wants?" Jemma asked. It made sense. If they wanted to survive on their own in the jungle, of course they would want to take the doctor, but Jemma was afraid because of the threat. We'll be back for the rest of what's ours, that was what he had said. Jemma didn't think she belonged to anyone, but she knew being the only doctor had its disadvantages.

Skye frowned. She shifted and moved until she was next to Jemma and pulled her over against her side. "I don't know," that wasn't completely true. Still. She leaned over and kissed the side of Jemma's head. "It's possible," she conceded. She let it sit between them for a moment and then took a long breath and began to speak. "I know everyone's been treating you like a commodity because of what you can do," she said. "But you're not an object. You don't owe any of us anything. You're a human being. No one on this island owns you," She shifted to make sure she could look directly into Jemma’s eyes. "I promise, Jem, whatever he meant by the threat, I won't let them take you anywhere you don't want to go. Whatever you decide at any point, wherever you choose to go, or choose to stay, I'm going with you."

"Well good, because I'd hate to sleep alone." Jemma breathed. She closed her eyes and let the comfort from Skye's kiss radiate through her body before she did anything else. "Your shelter is home now, whether we like it or not." Jemma sported a small grin and twisted some, leaning her head so she could kiss Skye properly.    
  
"Let's go lovebirds, there are things to do!" Will clapped his hands together several times as he passed by with a laugh. Somehow he managed to stay optimistic through the whole thing and didn't take the rejection like Fitz did, which Jemma was grateful for.

Skye was okay with considering the shelter as home. She’d had worse homes. She’d had no home. Having a rickety shack designated as ‘home,’ didn’t really sound all that bad with Jemma involved. She allowed herself to get a little caught up in that kiss and so when Will came by and poked fun at them, her ears turned a bright shade of red as their kiss broke. “Yeah, yeah,” She waved him off but smiled still. She moved (reluctantly) to stand up and held her hands out to Jemma to help her up. “Y’know, I’ve had worse homes than a shared beachfront property with a beautiful woman on a tropical island…” She teased with a somewhat dopey little smile. 

A bark of a laugh that came from Jemma's chest floated across the air at the way Skye put it. She was flattered and giddy because of the compliment but she couldn't ignore the hilarity of Skye's joke.   
  
"You make it sound like a vacation!" She laughed loudly as Skye helped pull her to her feet. She brushed sand from her clothes and gave Skye an ear to ear grin. She had been held captive with her life threatened less than ten minutes ago, but here she was, back to normal and unaffected, all because of Skye. She made the whole traumatic experience bearable in a daily life kind of way and Jemma had absolutely no idea how she did it. "All we need now is a terror bird for dinner and the place will get five stars." Jemma had her own sense of humor and bumped at Skye's side.

Skye felt relief when Jemma laughed and smiled at her like that. Jemma was safe and Skye meant to keep it that way. Part of that meant keeping both their heads in healthy mindsets, right? They had to be as optimistic as possible. Skye knew that was important, especially after the day’s setback. She shrugged innocently. “I’m just saying it’s more than a little bearable with you,” She grinned. Ward, his goons and the threat were all still on her mind, but she could compartmentalize it to focus. She tipped her head back and laughed at Jemma’s joke. She caught her around the waist and leaned over to kiss the top of her shoulder. “Stay out of trouble and maybe we’ll get rewarded with a terror bird barbecue,” She smirked and slipped her hand into Jemma’s. She pulled Jemma’s hand up and kissed the back of it. “Let’s help clean up and see if there’s still time after to run for water and gather extra fruit,” They started walking and soon the dragonfly was buzzing about their shoulders again. Sky hadn’t expected him to stay around once he realized he was free. She really wished she had a nest or something of mosquitoes to feed him since he’d helped save Ace and Jemma and still came back. “He needs a name,” She said. 

"Buzz seems fitting." Jemma giggled as the massive bug landed on her head, wings still fluttering. The oversized insect rubbed its head with its front legs and lifted off again, flying so close to Jemma's ear she had to tilt her head to avoid being tickled by the vibrations alone.    
  
It was strange, but Jemma felt almost normal with Skye complimenting her and kissing her around every corner, even with the giant bug. Her smile didn't fade and she didn't even mind the strange looks they were getting from people around them. Maybe it was the dragonfly though, as it was now on Skye's shoulder.  
  
"Well if he hasn't gone anywhere yet, I don't know why exactly, but he might have created some kind of bond with us." The whole thing was puzzling to Jemma. She didn't think dragonflies could have such an advanced thought process to make a connection like this. It was a prehistoric, massive dragonfly though, and Jemma couldn't exactly proclaim expertise. She gingerly removed the string around Buzz's body without damaging his fragile wings. Once it was off he shot into the air, did a few circles, and came back down near the water trough.    
  
Jemma spotted Bobbi coming from near the fuselage and blushed all the way to her ears at the devious smile the taller woman was giving them. She winked at Skye and Jemma raised a brow, wondering just what exactly Skye had shared with her.    
  
"As much as I hate to split up the power couple, Skye, we need to make a run." Bobbi gestured to the trough and its very low water level. Jemma tensed just thinking about Skye going back into the jungle now with Ward out there as well, and she opened her mouth to volunteer to help, but Bobbi cut her off. "Nope. Definitely not." Bobbi crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. "The further away from Ward you are, the better." Bobbi said. She looked to Skye for agreement and knew she wouldn't have to convince her.

Skye felt panicked when Buzz shot up into the air immediately, but then he returned and she felt relieved since she’d gotten used to the big bug since Jemma initially caught him (when she’d been freaked out by the fact that she was tethered to a gigantic bug). The tops of Skye’s ears were a deeper shade of red than her normal blushing. She wasn’t at all surprised by that devious grin on Bobbi’s face. She looked over at Jemma after Bobbi shot her down before she could even ask. “The boss has spoken,” She pointed with her free hand toward Bobbi. Buzz fluttered his wings from the trough and Skye added, “Even Buzz agrees, see,” She teased, giving Jemma’s hand a quick squeeze. “Do you think he’d be able to find us a different water source than the waterfall?” She asked. It was a possibility. It wasn’t one they could explore today. Today they would have to try to fill up perhaps at the creek instead of going all the way to the waterfall, to avoid running into Ward and Co. Skye wasn’t going to be able to control herself if she ran into them today after this morning. 

Jemma let out a small huff on an exhale, but she knew they were both right and she needed to stay here. She had promised Skye she would be finished with her jungle exploration alone and now was not the time to start. Maybe she would remind Skye of her offer to visit the waterfall once things calmed down again.   
  
"He might keep trying to lead you to the waterfall, since that's what he's been positively reinforced to do. I suppose he is capable of finding water elsewhere though." Jemma was hardly an expert on animal behavior, but they were looking to her for advice on anything related to the plants and animals of the area and Jemma had to give her best guess at a lot of them.

Skye actually did want to bring Jemma to the waterfall, but given the day’s events, she wasn’t going to chance it right now, not after Ward’s threat. It would be like serving Jemma up on a silver platter for the buzzards to pick at. She nodded and looked between Bobbi and Jemma. “We should consider that going forward after today,” She said. “They’re going to be lurking around the waterfall, they’ve already got the path. We’re going to need to find somewhere else,” She sighed and pulled her hair tie from her back pocket to tug her hair up out of her fair and off her neck. She looked over at Bobbi. “The creek’s deep enough to fill the bottles and containers we’ve got left. We can make a run there in a third of the time, hopefully avoid Ward and his crew and then we might have enough time to stock up on food before it gets too late?” It wasn’t a perfectly safe plan, nothing was, but hopefully it was the safest out of their possible plans. 

"I think a better use of our time would be to make two water runs to the creek." Bobbi suggested. "We don't have as many containers to collect the water now. We can go a day with less food, we even have the stores from the tail of the plane if we need it, but we can't go without water." Bobbi reasoned. Jemma agreed that it was a valid point. The group could complain all they wanted about stomach grumbles, but water was more important. "We also can't forget about the compys. They seem to have a lot of tracks there so we'll need to keep our eyes open." Bobbi added.   
  
Skye considered it all a moment. Having potential compy attacks hanging over their heads while also worrying about other, terrible, humans all while they were trying to replenish their water stocks...it was just a shitty situation. Not, of course, that being stuck on an island in the middle of nowhere after a plane crash wasn’t a shitty situation, but that was besides the point. “Alright. Mack and Yoyo coming with us?” She asked. When Bobbi confirmed it, Skye nodded. “Wanna grab them and I’ll go grab my bag and meet you back here?” she asked. A few minutes while she gathered things to talk to Jemma would be reasonable before running off into the jungle, right? It’d had been a harrowing morning. 

"See you in five." Bobbi used two fingers to do a little salute with a smile and gave Skye a wink before she spun on her heel to go grab her things and pick up the others.    
  
"Hey," Jemma snagged Skye by the waist with both of her hands. "I don't care if the jungle is unpredictable, promise me you'll come back." Jemma was firm and demanding. She supposed she was much more concerned about it now than before with the added human threat. Their nerves were being tested and Jemma was trying to hold onto her sanity- to Skye.

“Hm?” Skye’s mind was already running its way through all the possible things that could happen on their water runs when Jemma reached for her waist. Her focus snapped back to the present as she watched Jemma’s face while she made her demand. All jokes were put aside for the moment. Her hands came up to frame Jemma’s face. “I promise, no matter what, I’m coming back,” She said before she pulled her in for a kiss. 

Jemma let herself melt into that kiss. It had been less than a day since they were officially together, as much like a couple as they could be here, but Jemma kissed her like they were much more than even that. They had been through more together in less than twenty days than most couples in their entire lifetimes, so it was safe to say their bond was stronger than a one day romantic relationship made it seem. So Jemma leaned into Skye, both hands on her waist, fingers ever so slightly digging into her. Her mouth moved against Skye's with ease and she went as far as to nibble at Skye's bottom lip before they were interrupted.   
  
"Come on, Skye! Your lady lover will still be here when you get back!" Jemma pulled away and knew her cheeks were flushed. Bobbi, Hunter, Mack, and Yoyo were all laughing at Bobbi's joke. "I thought I'd bring a few more people to see if we could get away with one run."

Skye's ears were red when they broke apart but she grinned after quickly liking her lips. It was cruel that she had to go run through the jungle instead of just be in allowed to stay here on the beach with Jemma today. "Yeah, she better be," she said. She grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulders and pulled up the machete by the handle. "Try to stay out of trouble, hm?" she teased and stole one last, no, two, three, okay it was four quick kisses before she jogged toward the others. 

"I will if you will." Jemma grinned, still riding the happiness high she got just from kissing Skye and being near her. Jemma waved her off as Skye joined the pack of hikers, all of which were snickering at them, some more outwardly than others.

"Yeah, good call," Skye said with a nod, trying to prepare herself for the teasing she was no doubt about to be subjected to on this water run. She cast one last glance over her shoulder and gave Jemma a small wave before she shifted her focus to the jungle and keeping alert.

"Which one? Bringing more people or telling you to woman up and kiss the doctor?" Bobbi poked fun at her.

"I didn't kiss her," Skye smirked a Bobbi. She didn't really care all that much that her ears and parts of her cheeks were red and pink at the teasing. "She kissed me," a flimsy technicality, but it gave her something to say in response to the teasing at least. She knew this was a serious trek into the jungle and they needed to pay attention to their surroundings even more than usual because of the danger of running into the other group, but Skye couldn't seem to wipe the dopey little smile off her face right that second.

"I told you she has the hots for you!" This statement got Hunter to crack up as Bobbi continued the relentless teasing. They weren't quite finished with their fun and planned on going on with it until they were deep enough into the jungle to require their full attention.

"Hey, I didn't want to treat her like a piece of meat!" Skye defended herself with a sheepish shrug. "These are very delicate matters..." She insisted. "Sometimes they can't be rushed." Or, you know sometimes a girl was insecure enough to be a chicken while the woman she liked was kissing other people.    
  
"At least we know you've got the bickering down pat," Yoyo quipped with a smirk of her own.

"Alright, alright, that's enough fun and games." Bobbi said, even though the biggest culprit was herself. "Keep your eyes and ears open." Bobbi pointed at their feet, where multiple layers of compy tracks headed in different directions. It was a bit concerning that they came across them without being too deep in the jungle. It would take an hour or so to get to the creek, so they needed to watch their step.

The group fell more serious instantly as they all looked down at the tracks. Skye tried to look for any signs of droppings to see if she could figure out whether or not they were fresh the way Jemma had pointed them out the time they'd fought when she'd ventured in and caught Buzz. They moved at a decent pace and kept as quiet as possible as they made their way to the creek. They caught up to human tracks smashed through the compy tracks but they didn't hear Ward and his crew so they figure they'd continued on to  the waterfall. Skye and the others stopped at the creek, not willing to chance going further and running into the others. A second confrontation in a single day wouldn't be good for anyone. They worked quickly to fill all the containers they had,being sure to securely seal all the lids before repacking them. On the way back they detoured for the closest of the fruit paths on the walkway between the beach and the waterfall, which was a small grove of fig trees. They stuffed as many as they could into the extra pockets of their bags and then went back to the path and continued on to the beach to refill the trough so they could see if a second run was necessary.

"Go check in with Jemma, I can handle your pack." Bobbi offered when they got back to the beach. She saw Skye scanning the area for her and knew she'd want to spend some time with her before they needed to make another run, if that was necessary. "Go on, I got it. If we need to go on another run I'll find you." Bobbi promised, hand held out for the strap of her messenger bag.

“Thanks,” Skye handed her bag to Bobbi, but loaded some of the figs from the bag into the front of her shirt, folding up the hem to make a pouch to hold them. She scanned the beach again as she she turned and started for their shelter first. If Jemma wasn’t there, she’d find her in the plane. When she made it to the shelter, she pushed the tarp aside with the hand holding the machete and stepped inside. She stopped there, glad when she saw Jemma, but frowned slightly when she saw her messing with the stitches on her leg. “Hey,” She said. “How’s your leg?” She let the tarp go and stepped further inside. She set the machete down so it was standing up in the sand and moved so she could sit next to Jemma, leaning to look at her leg to see if the splotches from the allergic reaction the other day were gone or not. 

Jemma looked up and smiled, pausing her work to take a breather when Skye entered. She leaned back onto the heels of her palms so she didn't have to look at the mess that was her leg while they talked.    
  
"Decent, considering." Jemma's shoulders shifted in an awkward shrug. The splotches from her previous allergic reaction were just slightly red areas instead of painful sores like they had been before. Her stitches were another story; many of them had been stuck and they took a good tug to get them out. Little dots of blood kept leaking out of her skin and Jemma had to dab it away with a clean cloth, but most of it was sealed and starting to turn into an indented scar.    
  
"Any trouble on the trip?" Jemma's eyes scanned over Skye's body once to check for blood or any sign of injury, but she found none and relief flooded through her chest.

“Quit ogling me, ya flirt,” Skye used her elbow to nudge Jemma’s arm while she was still looking at Jemma’s leg. She tried not to frown at the state of it, even though it looked a bit better than the other day. “There were fresh compy tracks on the way but we didn’t run into any. Made it to and from the creek without incident. Bobbi’s supposed to come find me if we need to make a second run.” She picked one of the figs up at out of the makeshift pouch she’d made of the bottom front of her shirt and held it out for Jemma. “We detoured for some extras,” She smiled and then nodded to Jemma’s leg. “Want me to pull the rest of those?” 

Jemma stuck her tongue out at Skye's teasing accusation, but her face brightened when she saw the gift fruit. She refused to take more than one, since food stores weren't at their highest, but she was still grateful.   
  
"Would you?" Jemma was also grateful for Skye's offer to help her with the stitches even though they weren't her favorite. Jemma didn't much like to take them out of herself, especially when they needed a good tug. It was difficult for her to just suck it up and pull them out, but foreign hands would be less afraid. "They're stuck in there a bit because it's been so long and I've been active." Jemma sighed. It wouldn't be an enjoyable job for either of them. "The only thing to do is pull them out, I've done about half but it's difficult." Jemma's face scrunched up just thinking about it.

Skye moved to set the rest of the figs she’d grabbed (about six in total besides the one she gave Jemma) down on top of a small makeshift wooden table in the corner. She took a small one and tossed it into her mouth before she moved to kneel in the sand in front of Jemma. She tried not to frown at Jemma’s explanation. She hadn’t thought to ask Jemma yesterday about her leg. Maybe they wouldn’t have been stuck if she had. She wiped her hands off on her shirt and then gingerly reached out to pull Jemma’s foot into her lap. She held her hand out for the scissors and such so she could get to work. “I promise,” She said after she swallowed her food. “I will do my absolute best to distract you from the discomfort once we’re done,” She looked up the length of Jemma’s leg to her face and smiled. She got to work, as always trying her best to make sure she caused the least amount of pain as possible. “Have I asked you yet what your favorite color is?” She asked as she worked, her favorite kind of distraction. 

Jemma laughed at the ridiculously simple question. It was silly and she appreciated the distraction Skye tried to give her. She finished chewing the piece of fig she'd bitten off before she answered. It was better than thinking about the sting when Skye tugged on her skin a bit to get the thread out.    
  
"Blue. Light blue. Probably cerulean." Jemma answered after thinking for a moment. "It reminds me of a lab." She smiled, knowing full well Skye could tease her about her nerdiness. It was better than saying she liked to wear blue. "What's yours?"

Skye grinned as she worked. She liked the specific progression of that color pick. Jemma had been wearing blue the day they met in the terminal. “Dynamic Magenta,” She answered without looking up from her task. Her smiled faded, partly genuine smile at the memory that hit her, partly sad from it. “The Brodys wanted my room to be mine. So they let me pick what color we painted it.” She pulled the last of the stitches and pressed the clean cloth to it to stop the last beads of blood that appeared before she looked up at Jemma. “I picked Dynamic Magenta.” 

"I imagine it looks lovely." Jemma commented. There were so many shades of color Skye could possibly be imagining and Jemma only wished she could see it too. "When we get out of this hellhole it will be the first thing I google." Jemma's lips turned up on one side into a bit of a small smirk.    


“Dynamic,” Skye teased. “It looks dynamic,” She smiled, if maybe a little sadly still. She chuckled when Jemma said it’d be the first thing she googled. It was a bittersweet memory really. She was glad she had some of the nice ones, but she was never really going to heal from the way they’d been ripped away from her.   
  
Jemma could see that sad look in her eye again, and she wanted to fix it. She wanted her to be happy, or as happy as one could be stranded on an island. So she popped the other half of her fig into her mouth, chewed it as she quickly taped a piece of gauze over her leg to prevent infection, just in case, and then she shifted and got onto her knees.   
  
"What was that bit about distracting me from the discomfort?" A different grin was on Jemma's face, but Skye wouldn't see it for long before Jemma was on all fours, leaning forward with her lips pressed against Skye's. She picked up where she left off before, nibbling at her bottom lip with a teasing smirk.

Skye put the tools and clothe off to the side in the mini kit they’d come from. She turned just in time to spot that devious little grin before Jemma’s lips were on hers well before she even had the chance to think of replying. Her muscles relaxed and she exhaled a soft hum of approval as her fingers slipped along Jemma’s jaw and curved around the back and side of her neck. Their lips fit together in a perfect mold and pulled together in time. Skye was just reaching for her waist and moving to pull Jemma into her lap when someone pushed the tarp to the shelter aside and stuck their head inside the shelter. Skye sighed out a disgruntled groan as she reluctantly pulled back from the kiss just as Fitz was stammering his way through his untimely intrusion on them. 

"Ok, that's not what I wanted to see." Fitz had initially covered his face with his hand when he realized what was going on, but he peeked through his fingers and finally moved it when he saw they were both fully clothed. "I would knock if I could, I- ok yes, I should have announced myself." Fitz rubbed at the back of his neck and tried to avoid eye contact with both Jemma and Skye.   
  
"What is it, Fitz?" Jemma's sigh was more exasperated than frustrated. She knew he didn't mean anything by his intrusion. Like her, he wasn't always as aware of social norms. It was even more difficult where most others had been thrown to the wind.   
  
"I just wanted to apologize for being a-"

“Temporarily out of his right mind jerk who didn’t really mean to hold it against his very best friend in the world that she didn’t have the kind of romantic feelings for him that he had for her?” Skye arched her eyebrows as she looked over at Fitz without having actually let go of Jemma. 

Jemma raised a brow too, but at Skye. She hadn't realized she had paid so much attention to it. Clearly she had to have thought about it before to have that preplanned response all fired up and ready to go.   
  
"Yeah. That." Fitz forced a laugh, but it died immediately when he got no reaction from either of them. "I was an arse, I don't know what got into me." He sighed. Nothing seemed to be getting through to Jemma, who just kept staring at him quizzically. "You don't owe me anything, so I'm not demanding forgiveness." Fitz raised his hands in surrender and turned to walk out, but it was that that finally convinced Jemma he was being sincere.   
  
"No more rudeness to Skye or anyone else because of jealousy." Jemma laid out her terms and Fitz turned back around hopefully. Jemma couldn't ask him not to be jealous, because asking him not to have feelings for her was just as impossible as him asking for her to have them. She could expect him to control himself though.   
"Deal. You also deserve an apology. I'm sorry." Fitz looked to Skye, hoping the both of them would forgive him.

Skye was maybe still a bit salty about the way Fitz had intruded on her tech tinkering just to throw it in her face that Jemma had kissed Will. He’d been possessive of Jemma before that too, trying to kick her out of his and Jemma’s shelter that second night after the crash when Jemma was sleeping on her lap, all the times shooting glares at her, all those accusatory comments he threw at her whenever Jemma wound up injured as if it was Skye’s fault. Skye already had the incredible ability to blame herself for a vast number of things with her guilt issues. She glanced from Fitz to Jemma and back. Skye hadn’t exactly been nice to Fitz. She’d tried a couple of times to be as nice as she could since he was Jemma’s best friend, but he hadn’t made it easy at all. She’d stopped trying mostly after his outburst on Jemma, other than that conversation they’d had while working on the electronics. It was nice that he was apologizing to Jemma, though.  She hadn’t expected him to actually apologize to her too. 

She gave Fitz a small nod. “Thanks,” She said. “Sorry for the times I’ve been short with you too,” She added. It was only fair since he was being sincere and all, right? They all had to survive together on this hell hole of an island. It would be better to keep things as civil as possible, especially with at least one group of (assholes) people splitting off from the main group. 

"I can hardly blame you." Fitz added. He had had a few days to analyze what he had done during the time he and Jemma had been separated, and he hadn't liked it. He deserved every bit of Skye's bitterness, Jemma as well. "I hope things can be better between us. I'll leave you to yourselves, I told Trip I'd help him fish." Fitz pointed over his shoulder with his thumb and backed out of the tarp.   
  
"Thank you, Fitz." Jemma called after him. She really was glad he'd come to his senses. It was hard to imagine him not being her friend, and here, she could use every last one. Every day they spent fighting was another day things could end on bad terms. It was a dark thought, but it was realistic. She would, however, much rather be focussing on other, happier things.   
  
"Now that all is well in the Fitz department, where were we?" Jemma slyly scooted closer and put her hands on Skye's shoulders. She was just beginning to lean in when the tarp flew back to the side once again. "Fitz-"   
  
"Nope, it's Bobbi, here to interrupt you two before you start something you can't finish." Bobbi winked and Jemma blushed profusely as she broke contact between them. Jemma knew the feelings were there, but it was embarrassing when someone outside of themselves could see it so obviously as well.

Skye hung her head back and sighed when the second intrusion came. She frowned when Jemma pulled away from her. Damnit, their inability to keep from being interrupted was entirely cruel. She wasn’t embarrassed about the fact that the others could see whatever between them. It wasn’t like they were hiding, exactly. She was frustrated at the interruptions though. “That sounds like a challenge,” Skye looked at Bobbi and then lifted her head to look at Jemma and smirked, unable to help the joke as she went on, “That was definitely a challenge. Start the clock, Bobbi I’ll meet you guys at the path in five-,” 

"Skye!" Jemma's voice was shrill, but it came with a laugh as she slapped her shoulder playfully. A day was too soon for this, wasn't it? Or were they just some kind of miraculously fast couples. Maybe time was warped on the island. Whatever the cause, to Jemma it felt like they had been together forever. The pull in her abdomen was recognizable, but she chalked it up to needing something very human when they were starting to act like animals (at least some of them anyway).   
  
"Go on," Jemma gave Skye a light shove and tried not to remember too vividly the feeling she got when she had accidentally fallen on Skye and somehow ended up being groped. "I can busy myself until you get back."

Skye was grinning a bit stupidly at Jemma’s reaction. She’d laughed at least and that was the point since it was a joke. It was mostly a joke. Damnit, Skye just wanted some uninterrupted private time with Jemma when they both weren’t completely exhausted and worn out and ready to collapse into sleep. She’d spent all those wasted days trying to distance herself because of a number of reasons that seemed so absolutely stupid now, she just wanted to make up for lost time. And she maybe wanted to stop having to venture into dangerous jungles that had dinosaurs and prehistoric deadly gigantic turkeys and who knew what else that hadn’t found them yet. In comparison, staying in the shelter with Jemma seemed much more agreeable. 

“Mhm,” Skye hummed. She leaned closer to Jemma and stole a couple of quick kisses. “Try not to busy yourself too much without me,” She gave Jemma a wink as she stood and grabbed the machete. She made her way out of the shelter to meet up with Bobbi, who handed over her messenger bag before they  headed back into the jungle again, once again picking on Skye for the first bit of the trek. 

_________________   
  


"Skye?" Jemma whispered, "are you awake?" She brushed her thumb back and forth slightly over Skye's stomach and shifted her head on her shoulder. They had been laying there, eyes closed, for quite a while, but Jemma didn't think either of them were asleep. She knew Skye had just been joking earlier that day when Bobbi interrupted them, but maybe there was a ring of truth and want in it. Jemma just wanted to talk before things got back to how they had been before, when they ignored anything and everything complicated.

Skye was awake. She was exhausted from both runs plus the physical and emotional overload of the morning and she wanted to be asleep because she was entirely relaxed and comfortable curled up with Jemma, but for whatever reason she just couldn't fall asleep properly. "Yeah," Skye replied to Jemma's question, her voice a bit thick, matching her general exhaustion. "You alright?" she asked, unsure why Jemma was still awake herself.

"It's only been a day." Jemma said, not realizing how vague and out of context it seemed until it was already out of her mouth, though she was sure Skye could make the connection that it had been a day since Jemma kissed her on the beach. "It feels like it's been a lot longer than a day. We act like we've been together for years and it's strange." Jemma sighed and slid her hand across Skye's stomach to her waist so she could hug her a little more tightly.

It took a few moments for it to click in Skye's mind, as her brow furrowed, what Jemma was talking about. She waited, though, for her to elaborate. Her stomach muscles reflexively tightened and relaxed at the light grazing touch and Skye had to fight to ignore the warm pull below her belly that it caused. "Good strange or bad strange...?" she asked. It was strange, Skye would definitely grant that. Even the few relationships she'd had that had lasted past the first few weeks hadn't been anywhere near as intense as she thought her feelings were for Jemma. It was illogical, sure, and perhaps amplified by their situation. Did that mean it was necessarily a bad thing, though? Skye preferred to think no, but Jemma was the one bringing it up, so she must have some reservations about it, right? Skye tried not to let her mind get too ahead of her without hearing whatever else Jemma thought about the topic. It wasn't as if Jemma was pulling away from her. She was holding on tighter in fact. The hand Skye had lazily resting along the small of Jemma's back moved in light strokes and patterns against her back.

"Good strange." Jemma answered. That wasn't something she had to think about. She knew she was happy with their situation and didn't want to lose Skye for anything. "I'm afraid. I'm afraid because you're meaning so much to me so quickly." Jemma took a deep breath and tried not to let her eyes water. Nothing had even happened yet. "Either of us could be gone at any moment." She said quietly. She was scared she was falling for Skye so quickly because she was scared it would end just as fast, but somehow these words wouldn't come out of her mouth.

These were thoughts that had already crossed Skye’s mind a handful of times in the days before their kiss on the beach. She did her best to choose not to focus on them but sometimes it was unavoidable. She brought a hand up to rest along the edge of Jemma’s jaw and the side of her neck and leaned back just enough to be able to look at Jemma. Her thumb swiped a ghost light graze along her cheek. “Jem, we can’t play that game,” She kissed the end of Jemma’s nose and leaned her forehead to hers. “Even if we’d made it back to LA and got together, either of us could be gone at any moment for any reason there too,” She went on. “I’m not saying I’m not scared of those things too, but we can’t focus on the what-ifs. All we can do is take everything as it comes at us and survive.” Skye was much more adapted to that kind of living, she supposed, than Jemma would have been. “I’ve never felt so intensely...connected to another person so quickly in my life as I feel about you,” She confessed. “I don’t intend to let anyone or anything take that away from us.” 

Jemma's eyes were watering now and she couldn't stop it. Skye was verbalizing what Jemma knew within herself and she felt a huge amount of relief as she was told that Skye felt the same intense pull she did. It wasn't like any other relationship Jemma had ever had, and not just because their plane had crashed. It was something special, Jemma was sure of it.    
  
"You're so strong." Jemma sniffled. The hand on Skye's waist planted itself on the cushion by Skye's side, arm still across her body, and she sat up some and leaned over. Her lips grazed against Skye's once and she gave her a lingering watery kiss. Her tears fell from her cheekbones to Skye's face and Jemma kissed her with even more vigor.

Skye wanted to protest that she wasn't strong, but Jemma kissed her before she had the chance. Skye's lips responded in kind with equal fervor. Her hands framed Jemma's face, thumbs gently swiped across Jemma's cheeks to try and wipe the rest of her tears away. As much as Skye wanted nothing more than to get completely lost in the contact, to let her hands wander, to kiss Jemma until both their brains stopped working entirely,  the tears and Jemma's comments worried her.  She struggled between the want to keep kissing Jemma and the urge to pull back and double check in with Jemma. The former won out at first. Her hand traced down along Jemma's side,  fingers pressing into her skin along Jemma's hip, just under the hems of her shirt and pants,  pulling her hips closer. "Jem,  wait-," she broke the kiss just barely enough to get the breathless words out. Her brain was just muddled enough that she didn't have an immediate follow up to that.

Jemma heard Skye, she just didn't actually listen. She silenced her with her own mouth, crushing them together carelessly and bumping noses with her. She pulled at Skye's bottom lip with her teeth and soothed it over with the tip of her tongue. She could tell something was holding Skye back though, so she separated them, but only an allotted inch to breathe and speak.    
  
"We don't know if there's enough time to wait." Jemma was getting worked up and upset and she wanted something physical. 

Skye's brain went sufficiently blank initially. A strangled sound caught in her throat and her hand slipped around the back of Jemma's hip and pulled her closer. It would have been so easy to ignore the nagging voice in the back of her mind and just let this happen. Skye wanted it to happen, she really,  really did.  But she didn't want it to be a lust crutch, initiated because of pent up fear and anxiety.  She knew she had to stop it,  at least for now, when Jemma spoke again.  Her hand left Jemma's hip and moved back to her neck and the edge of her jaw. She pulled back when Jemma leaned in and took a steadying breath, closing her eyes for just a second.     
  
"You have no idea how much I want to give into this..." she said on slow exhale as she opened her eyes. "I've spent most of my life fearing my feelings,  being afraid of....everything, Jem," It was no easy struggle, stopping herself from surging forward to go right back to kissing Jemma. Every thought,  every feeling,  every nerve and neuron in her body screamed to be allowed to go back to the feverish intimacy. The tight coil below her belly pulled angrily at the heat between her hips,  outraged that the moment was brought to a stand still. Skye licked her lips and avoided looking at Jemma's lips. She locked their eyes instead. "Whatever this is between us, it's  more than...situational fear and lust..." she swiped at one of Jemma's stray tears. "I want it to be more than that, Jem,  because it is." She thought Jemma felt that way too, despite her current actions.  She didn't think she'd have the willpower to stop a third attempt.  "I'm not going anywhere,  and I'm not going to let anything happen to you," she swore. 

Jemma let out a big sigh and her taut muscles slowly loosened. Skye broke through her haze and made her calm down enough to stop. She knew Skye was right, but she still felt the urge within her to give in to her instincts.   
  
"I think we're going to die here." A small choke of a sob came out of Jemma and her body jumped ever so slightly. She knew Skye had promised to keep her safe, but could anyone do that now? She dipped her face into the hollow between Skye's neck and shoulder and cried. She hadn't cried, not really, since the very first night. She was terrified they would be eaten by a prehistoric beast or die slowly of starvation or dehydration. There wasn't a rescue. Jemma didn't know how they didn't find the island on the flight path with satellites, but they hadn't.    
  
"We're going to die and I wish I could have had longer to know you." Jemma was sobbing now. The floodgates had opened and there was no stopping it. Nobody had even had time to stop and acknowledge the fact that they had fallen out of the sky onto an island full of dinosaurs and nobody was coming for them.

When it happened,  Skye almost didn't know what to do right away.  The gears had shifted so suddenly and Jemma was now in the middle of a very real breakdown.  The arm that was under and around Jemma bent and came up, her hand cradled the back of Jemma's head.  Her other arm wrapped around Jemma's middle and stroked along her back. She felt multiple painful tugs in her chest as she let Jemma cry,  unsure how to comfort her.  It was very real,  palpable even, the fear that they were on borrowed time and that any moment the sand would run out of the hourglass. One of them needed to believe for the both of them.  Right now,  that would be Skye.   
  
"Hey," her lips were against Jemma's ear as she murmured it. "Don't write us off so soon," she turned her head slightly and kissed the back of Jemma's jaw just behind her earlobe. She paused a few moments,  rocking slightly as she held onto Jemma. "Look at what we've already survived, Jems. We didn't come this far just to die here," she said with conviction.  "We've got time, " she insisted. "I don't know how,  or when,  but we're gonna find a way to get off this island and get back home.  Until then,  you should know that I miss pizza with pineapple and anchovies, I'm nowhere near as smart as you, in fact,  I never actually finished high school, I live alone with Spike the cactus and I cannot stand peas." It was her best attempt at trying to soothe Jemma's fears. Well, except the promise. That was sincere. She didn't know how,  yet, she would accomplish it, but Skye didn't break her promises,  ever. It was a promise made, so it was a promise she would keep. She kissed the spot on Jemma's jaw behind her ear again. "We're here now, Jem...I never knew I would find someone like you to begin with...I intend to make the most of every second I have with you until we return stateside and you tire of me hanging about, " She kissed the back of Jemma's jaw,  her neck, her shoulder and rubbed her back gently. 

Jemma's laugh sounded like a half sob (it probably was) and it made her body jump again. She had her arms wound around Skye, holding on for dear life. It was the random, amusing facts about Skye that got her to stop crying. They were little, unimportant details in the span of things, but they were preferences Jemma otherwise never would have gotten to know about Skye living in this place. She continued sniffling for a few minutes, just clutching Skye and trying to breathe, making sure to enjoy every light kiss Skye gave her like it was the last one.    
  
"I failed my first driver's test." Jemma mumbled into Skye's skin. It was a little known fact about her and at the time it had felt like the end of the world. "I have a weakness for pretzels and I can't stand fuzzy socks." Jemma giggled as she said it. She rolled a bit so she was laying at Skye's side instead of crushing her. She left her arms where they were though, and she wasn't letting go anytime soon.

Skye rolled to the side with her. She let go of Jemma only to properly pull the blanket back around them and then wrapped her arms back around her too. She smiled at the mental image of a teenage genius Jemma failing her driver's test. "Is that the only thing you ever failed?" She asked, picking that as her talk point, though she filed the tidbit about pretzels and fuzzy socks away for future reference. She tried to think of something car related to share. "I lived in a van," she said. "Before I actually had a license. Until after I was almost twenty." If it would calm Jemma down, soothe her fears for the time being and somehow make her less upset, Skye would lay here all night and think of random things to tell Jemma about herself until the sun came up.

"A van does actually sound very comfortable right now." Jemma snickered. She would definitely take four solid, sturdy walls and a roof to keep out whatever was in the jungle. The tiniest of smiles graced her features as she looked into Skye's eyes. It was incredibly dark, but the dim, orange light from the fire outside cast shadows across her face and Jemma couldn't think about anything other than how beautiful she thought Skye was.    
  
"You're gorgeous, you know that?" Jemma said suddenly. She just wanted Skye to know that. She hadn't spent much time before to just stop and give her a compliment, and Jemma wanted to do more of it.

Skye was glad for the relative darkness because she knew right away that her cheeks and the tops of her ears lit up in shades of pink that would hopefully be indistinguishable in the orange glow of the fire. She let out a bashful little huff of air and ducked her eyes. It wasn't the kind of compliment she received often. Not, of course, that she didn't know she did well in the looks department. It was just the sincerity of the complement. It wasn't a cat call on the street, or dished out after a few drinks at a club. "I think you've got it backwards, Doc," she brought her eyes back to Jemma's and smiled. "That's you," she said as she brought her fingers up to trace the curve of Jemma's face and her her eyes followed the lightly drawn invisible lines drawn in their wake. Her fingers traced across the freckles dotting Jemma's forehead, careful not to disturb the healing wound there. "By the time we get home," she said. "I'm going to have mapped a star chart of the constellations of your freckles," she grinned and traced a few by her temple as if she were drawing a picture out of connecting them like a set of stars.

Jemma grinned and closed her eyes as Skye's fingers traced across her face. It was one of the better moments on the island and Jemma was content to just enjoy it. All her troubling thoughts were forcefully shoved from her mind.   
  
"I'm glad you like them; I'm sure I'll only get more under this sun." Jemma added. She scooted close enough to press their foreheads together and took a deep breath.

When their faces were pressed that close, it was entirely impossible to resist the urge to kiss the end of Jemma's nose. She also saw no reason to hold back. She dotted a few more random ones too, the little corner crook of her nose, the tip of her cheekbone, her chin and lastly, the corner of her mouth as she combed her fingers through Jemma's hair. "I like much more than just your freckles, you know," she smiled as her eyes shifted around Jemma's face, memorizing every little spot, every curve, every contour, following the small muscle movements here and there as she made them.If there was one imagine she wanted seared into her mind, it was definitely Jemma.

Jemma's smile didn't fade as Skye kissed her face. It tickled in some spots and her nose crinkled up. The comfort of it all was starting to finally make her sleepy. She had been tired, but hadn't reached a spot where her mind was relaxed enough to sleep until now. She closed her eyes, just for a second. She didn't want the moment to be over yet.   
  
"You're just saying that to try to get under my shirt." Jemma joked. Her voice was slightly slurred from tiredness but she still smiled. If she could keep her eyes open she would have loved to see Skye's face.

Skye breed out a laugh a bit louder than she meant to when Jemma threw that line back at her. If it wasn't for the fact that Jemma seemed ready to fall asleep, She might have jokingly pointed out that she'd been one the one to stall her own chances at that just a few minutes ago. She wanted the calm closeness that settled over them to remain, though, so she lifted her head and kissed Jemma's forehead before pulling her in closer and urging Jemma to settle her head against her shoulder and collar with the hand combing through strands of Jemma's hair. "Tell ya what," she murmured, pausing only to stifle a small yawn. "I'll give you a full list in the morning to prove it," She hoped this subtly underlined the fact that they would both still be right here in the morning. 

"Mhm." Jemma hadn't really heard. She was so close to falling asleep and the combination Skye holding her so firmly and her hand combing through her hair was enough to put her to sleep.


	8. Up You Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **WARNINGS:** Graphic violence, gore and death. Squeamish beware (Panyan, we're sorry!!) 
> 
> As always, thank you thank you thank you for reading, loving, for the kudos, comments and love and thank you for continue to come back every week for more!! 
> 
> I'm a wee bit under the weather, gonna try and get back to your comments from last chapter tonight, if not will get them tomorrow (and will also hopefully be able to breathe through my nose again by then, oof!) 
> 
> Thank you again, you guys are awesome! <3 <3  
> :D
> 
> _________________________

Skye was in the jungle again. This wouldn't have been too unusual but they were in part of the jungle that they had yet to explore. With enough water from the creek stocked in the troughs, they needed to replenish their food stocks. Unfortunately, their usual fruit run haunts were picked clean, so Skye, Bobbi, Mack, Yoyo,  Joey and Alisha were picking their way through a different section of jungle further down the beach than their normal haunts. They'd found some more figs, some oranges, and some more of the plants Jemma had been using most for things like settling stomachs or digestive upsets. Skye stocked up on aloe plants whenever she saw them as well. Admittedly, she would have preferred leaving Mack and Yoyo behind at camp, to have extra muscle around to keep an eye on Jemma, just in case Ward and his crew tried to come back for her. But she trusted Bobbi, Mack and Yoyo with her life in the jungle. Joey and Alisha were proving themselves useful enough, but they were an extra pair of people to look after.    
  
Suffice it to say, the mood was tense. Even as they found various other food to collect (Noni, guava, mango, etc), there was no major cause for celebration. There were new tracks to watch for, things other than compys or terror birds. Eyes were open, ears were peeled. Everyone was tense. They stopped whenever they heard something unusual. They made an agonizingly slow path through the uncut section of jungle. Just as Skye was leading the way climbing over a particularly large tree root, she put her booted foot down on unsteady ground and the next thing she knew, she was on the ground and it was moving under her. Eye wide, a shouted expletive rolled off her tongue when she realized she was scuttling on the ground with some kind of bug-like creature that was larger than her. Just as she landed in the dirt on her back from scrambling away, another one of them scuttled from the brush and raced over her. She almost screamed, but bit her tongue so hard part of it bled and clenched her eyes, hoping that it would be over soon and all her limbs would be intact despite the fact that her skin was absolutely crawling at what was happening right then. Her brain screamed,  _ what the fuck what the fuck what the fuccccckk _ , over and over and over again.

"What the hell was that?!" Bobbi screeched once the creature was gone. It had been at least seven or eight feet long, flat, and had probably a hundred legs.    
  
"It looked like a giant centipede." Yoyo spoke up. Her voice was dull and unsurprised and Bobbi stared at her in confusion. Yoyo just raised her brows and shrugged and Mack looked between them awkwardly.   
  
"I know what it looks like, but- forget it, why  _ wouldn't _ there be giant centipedes here." Bobbi groaned and continued walking. At least they were peaceful. Joey offered Skye a hand to get up as Bobbi took the lead on the trail, knife out of its sheath, just in case. She thought she was walking on solid ground until she heard a scuttling noise and her leg was yanked out from underneath her just like Skye. She cursed under her breath and managed to recover before falling with a little side hop.   
  
"The fuckers are everywhere." Bobbi held an arm out to stop them and started pointing to areas on the ground ahead of them. They blended in with the area perfectly and the only way they could distinguish bug from ground were the lines on their exoskeletons where plates of their shells overlapped. "Jemma would lose her mind if she saw this." Bobbi cracked a joke to Skye to ease the look of complete disgust and terror.

A hundred legs that had just scuttled all across Skye. she would have been ashamed of the horrified expression on her face compared with Yoyo's extremely calm blasé attitude towards it if she wasn't too busy slightly shaking as Joey helped her up and randomly scratching at her arms, neck, shoulders and sides since every part of her felt itchy. She didn't make any noise when Bobbi hit another, but she was quick to shuffle back to get away from it as it ran by.    
  
Skye huffed out a nervous laugh. "She's gonna be mad she missed it," She agreed, still coming out of her 'please don't eat me while you crawl across me what the fuck are you giant bugthing,' headspace.    
  
"Anyone got a light?" Alisha appeared next to her after grabbing down a dead branch and wrapping it in dried palm. Skye jumped slightly, startled. Balancing her machete tucked carefully under her arm, Skye pulled apart her paracord bracelet to grab the flint strike out. Because of her jitters, it took five or six tries before she could spark the torch to light. she reassembled her bracelet and clasped it together on her wrist again. Alisha nodded her thanks and, carefully, crossed to stand next to Bobbi. She swung the torch down and began to sweep it back and forth as she inched forward. Soon enough, nearly the entire jungle floor was writhing with the giant bugs. Skye felt her spine shudder as she watched it. Bobbi was right, Jemma would be losing her shit with glee if she were here right now. Skye tried not to frown. She did feel genuinely bad for her aversion to letting Jemma come into the jungle with them since she was sure some of the exploration would make her happy, discovering all the over sized...Skye shuddered again. 

"Good thinking, Alisha." Bobbi nodded. They followed close behind her through the masses of bugs that kept skittering out of their way when Alisha swung the flame near them. It went on like this for another hundred yards or so until the bugs finally cleared up. It was darker in this part of the jungle. The canopy was so dense that hardly any light got through, causing less plants to grow on the jungle floor. That didn't mean it was flat though, the surface was still riddled with massive roots. They continued for another half an hour before Mack spoke up.    
  
"Do you hear that?" He stopped, and so did the whole group. They all strained their ears for a moment, but nobody could figure out what he was talking about.   
  
"I don't hear anything." Yoyo said. She was slightly alarmed, however, when Mack seemed to be getting tenser by the moment.   
  
"Exactly. No bugs, no birds, no nothing." Mack said. He was whispering. Now that they all thought about it the jungle had been a very loud, buzzing place the entire time they were there, but in this part of the jungle it was silent.

Skye felt a knot of tension in her gut as they moved. She froze when Mack pulled to a stop and spoke. She was about to say that she didn’t hear anything when it hit her; the jungle was silent. She didn’t hear the buzz of insects or the random bird tweets, the skitter of gigantor centipedes. Just silence. That was not a good sign. Skye lifted her head and then froze at what she saw above them in the canopy. “Oh, no,” She practically groaned. Webs. There were webs, spanning across the tops of trees. Webs so big they would span entire bay windows of houses, or the entire front of a house when held up next to it. They had long, thick strands, some had giant bugs hanging in them. She clenched her eyes shut for a second. “No, no, no, no, no,” She muttered, too scared to move even though she immediately thought,  _ we need to get out of here right now _ !

"What?" Mack questioned. He followed Skye's line of sight with guidance from Yoyo pointing up. The hairs on the back of all of their necks rose and none of them dared to move. "Let's not act carelessly now. A sudden movement could draw them in. Let's think this through." Mack tried to steady them. Skye looked like she was about to take off running and that was not the best way to go about this.   
  
In the circle they were in, Alisha was facing the right direction to see what everyone else would feel. The ground vibrated slightly beneath them after a  _ whoosh _ as something dropped from the trees. A giant spider, roughly as tall as Yoyo and with twice the length, stared them down with its many eyes as if determining whether or not they were food.   
  
"Fuck it, just RUN!" Bobbi shouted. The spider lunged at them, pinchers grabbing and Mack jumped out of the way just in time. Its legs started moving just as quickly though and they all knew this one would be hard to outrun.

Skye wanted to bolt. She wanted to bolt so bad she was practically already in motion even though she was standing as still as she could to force herself not to run. She looked to her feet when the ground shook, confused and then it was there, in front of them. Skye wasn’t a squeamish person. She’d done a lot of terrible things dealing with gory injuries, and killing compys and terror birds while here. She was not afraid to get her hands dirty. But all of the color in her skin drained away when she stared at those beady eyes, each the size of melons. Skye almost puked on the spot. Bobbi’s voice snapped her out of it and she turned to run. 

The spider was incredibly fast and this was its territory. It could move over all the roots more than twice as fast as them with all those different legs. Skye scrambled up and over a root and turned to pull Alisha up since she was struggling. A web shot out and wound around Alisha’s leg. Alisha’s eyes widened and Skye grabbed onto her arm with both of her own. She planted her feet and held on as Alisha clawed a death grip on her forearm with one hand and gripped her pant leg with the other hand. “Hold on!” Skye shouted, both to get Alisha to hold tighter and to let the others know they were in trouble. She pulled, working all of her muscles, pushing with her legs, trying to pull Alisha up over the root so she could free her leg but the Spider was advancing and pulling at her to drag the redhead in the other direction. 

Bobbi had been in the lead when she heard the yelling. She stopped, gesturing for everyone else to keep running ahead of her. Everyone passed her but Mack, and they watched the situation starting to play out with horror.    
  
The web that had caught Alisha wasn't even from the spider chasing them. It came from above, but the first spider was using the already strung web to pull at her. Bobbi's eyes raced across the string of sticky webbing to the canopy, where a second, even larger spider had cast its line. The moment Bobbi saw it start a descent on a new line she knew what she had to do. They couldn't beat this one. The terror birds were one thing but it would be impossible to get close enough to the spiders to do any damage without being caught or injured. They couldn't fight them. All they could do was run. Alisha couldn't run.   
  
"Skye, come on!" Bobbi shouted. The first spider was yanking on the webbing with enough force to pull Skye off her feet. She had no traction and there was no chance. "You have to leave her!" Bobbi knew it was terrible but it was a difficult call and there was no other option. Alisha started screaming and tears were streaming down Bobbi's face. She couldn't help her, but she could help Skye.    


Skye wasn’t just going to let go of Alisha. Her teeth were clenched and she grunted and groaned as she strained muscles she didn’t know could strain to try and hold onto Alisha. Alisha’s nails dug deep into the flesh of Skye’s forearm. When Skye saw those webs originally, she’d been ready to bolt before anyone else had even registered them. Now, however, now she was fighting for Alisha’s life. “We can’t just leave her!” She said as Alisha’s nails dug deeper into her forearm. Skye stared at Alisha’s wide, wild eyes. She was  _ not _ going to just let go! She couldn’t!   
  
The second spider touched the ground in the same moment that Bobbi and Mack, having the same thought, forcibly ripped Skye from Alisha's grip. Mack had Skye by the back of the collar and Bobbi had her by the belt and they dragged her away just as the first spider realized the competition for its meal. Long legs were moving like lightning as the two arachnids lunged for Alisha at the same time. It happened so quickly, yet lasted an eternity at the same time. The first spider had her by the legs and the second by the torso. They jerked away at the same time and Alisha's blood curdling scream stopped the group ahead. They shouldn't have looked back. Alisha was still alive for a moment after her body was ripped in half. Bobbi could see it in her eyes. It was a look of unimaginable terror and pain that would be seared into their eyelids for the rest of their lifetimes, however long they were. The sickening crunch of bones snapping was almost drowned out by Alisha's screams. Her body came apart and she was screaming, organs hanging from her upper body, for another few seconds until the spider clamped its pinchers over her spinal cord at the base of her skull with enough force to shatter it and finally kill her.

Skye struggled to hold on. Her own eyes were wide and more than a little wild. She was beyond terrified of what was happening past Alisha’s body. Two gigantic spiders. There were probably more. There had to be more. But Skye...she couldn’t make herself let go of Alisha. She screamed as Mack and Bobbi forcefully tore her away. Alisha’s nails tore at her flesh as she was dragged in the other direction, breaking the skin and leaving jagged open scratches down the inside of her left arm in their wake. She couldn’t make herself look away from the terrible scene before her as the spiders tore Alisha in two.    
  
" _ GO! RUN _ **_! RUN_ ** **!** " Mack was screaming, veins popping out across his neck. He grabbed both Bobbi and Skye and shook them. The spiders wouldn't be occupied for long.

Skye was numb. She didn’t feel the pain in her arm from the scratches. She was aware of the tears streaming along her cheeks, blurring the edges of her vision. She heard Mack’s screams and she scrambled to her feet, stooped to grab the machete before her feet began to pound the ground, urged on by Mack and Bobbi but she was dazed as she ran. Her body knew she had to move, fight or flight firmly in flight mode. She wasn’t at all conscious of the direction they moved, only that she was follow Mack’s voice. Over the roots, through thicket and vines that whipped about her face and arms as she ran. Sweat beaded all across her skin. Her muscles screamed angrily at her, flaring with cramps and jolts of pain. She had no idea how long they ran but no one wanted to be the first to stop. 

Skye wound up, eventually, being the first to fall, literally. She’d misjudged a vault over a large grouping of roots and landed in the dirt on her hands and knees. Sweat mixed with the tears still rolling down her cheeks. She huffed and puffed, gasping for breath and when it was just too much for her body, her stomach roiled and she heaved, retching up the entire contents of her stomach right there in the dirt below her. 

“Skye!” Bobbi noticed Skye go down first and the whole party slowed to a jog, and then stopped. Bobbi came running back and dropped to her knees next to Skye, wrapping an arm around her waist to help hold her up and wiping stray strands of hair out of her face as she heaved. “Breathe.” Bobbi held her firmly, but not tightly enough to constrict her breathing. She was trying to get Skye back to the present before it was too late. The rest of the group slowly calmed when nothing dropped down on them from the trees. People were allowing themselves to fall into the dirt and cry in a little circle on the ground, using roots as benches. “We couldn’t do anything.” Bobbi assured her. She knew Skye tended to feel responsible for every life around her, so something like this could destroy her. But she’d had to let go. She only wished Jemma was here, because Bobbi knew by the crazed look on her face that she wasn’t getting through to her.

“Do you hear that?” Yoyo piped up between gasps of air. Everyone immediately looked to the trees because of the too familiar sentence, but this time they did hear things. The jungle seemed green again and there was life. The buzzing was back, sunlight made it through the canopy, and they could hear the sound of rushing water in the distance.

“Are we near the waterfall?” Joey asked breathlessly.

“We’re near  _ a _ waterfall. There’s no way it’s the first one.” Mack shook his head. They all needed a distraction and running water was what they locked onto. 

Skye was far gone. She barely heard any of the things Bobbi said. She could only hear Alisha’s screams, the sounds of her bones snapping, could only see the abject fear in Alisha’s face when Bobbi yelled for Skye to let go, the pleading look in Alisha’s eyes not to let her go. She might not had have a complete choice in the matter, but she’d still been forced to let go. Alisha was dead. There were gigantic spiders in the jungle. Skye didn’t even look up when Yoyo spoke. She could only hear the labored breaths she was still trying to catch and the heavy pounding of her pulse in her ears. She pushed herself to her feet and grabbed the handle of the machete again. Slowly coming around enough to hear the water. She didn’t stay still, she couldn’t. Skye was still very much dazed as she started walking, her movement stiff, trying to find the direction the sound was coming from. 

“Skye?” Bobbi was startled when she got up and started walking just as fast as she’d gone down. Everyone went quiet as they watched her distance herself, both physically and emotionally. Nobody was sure what exactly to do, so they followed and matched her stride. Bobbi took up the rear and made sure nothing was following them. They took this as Skye telling them that whatever happened could be dealt with later. Right now they needed to find the water source and then find a way back to the beach. Bobbi just hoped Jemma would be able to do something for Skye. They would all need some time to process what had happened, but Bobbi knew Skye would be taking it worse than the rest of them, and with good reason.

Skye was on autopilot. She couldn’t actually make herself speak at the moment. Her brain told her to follow the water, so she followed the water. After what happened, that was the only current thing she could do to protect the group in some fashion; find them a new water source. A few times she glanced up toward the sky during a few breaks in the canopy to judge the position of the sun while lining it up with the compass on her bracelet so she’d have some idea of orientation of where they were. 

Joey hung by the back with Bobbi. Mack and Yoyo were in the middle. They seemed to be silently arguing with each other through head nods/jerks and hand gestures. Mack lost the silent squabble and picked up his pace enough to fall in step with Skye. “You know, you’d be okay to take a break, catch your breath-,”    
  
Halfway through the sentence, Skye reached up and put her hand on his arm. Mack stopped, Yoyo stopping just shy of running into him. Mack opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong but Skye held her hand up. “Shhhh,” She pointed to her ear and then pointed in the direction she thought the water was coming from. “This way,” Skye said after a few long moments of listening. They took a turn toward the west and as they walked the sound became louder. They made their way around the side of a nearly forty foot tall rocky outcropping. They circled around it until they came to a section of very tall, very thickly branched trees. Skye looked up into the tree closest to her, plotting a course to climb. 

Mack stood next to her. “Skye,” He said. “There’s gotta be a way around.”

“It’s all rock,” Skye finally spoke. “This is our best bet to climb and take a look.” She said it as if it was the most reasonable thing in the world, as if they hadn’t just been nearly devoured by mutant truck-sized spiders. 

“What about your arm?” Mack asked. 

“What about my arm?” Skye shot back without looking at him. She hooked the machete into the long sheath on her belt and moved to a section of root with some good foot and handholds. Slowly, Skye began to climb her way up into the trees. There were a pair of branches that looked like they’d make a good lookout point between two of the densely packed trees so Skye made her way toward it on the climb. It took a few minutes but Skye moved fairly quickly all things considered. When she made it to the branch and was standing flat on what was almost thick enough to be a platform, she turned to look inside. The trees were only one side of a walled in waterfall and pooling pond. The other sides were framed by the forty foot rock walls. The pooling pond drained out through a hole in the rock outcropping to Skye’s left, the opposite side of the part they walked around. The rock walls encircled the area, which was almost the size of a football pitch. The walls of the rock outcropping were dotted with cave holes. The pond was surrounded by a rocky border that was ringed in dirt and grass. It was well protected. Skye could have cried if she wasn’t on emotional autopilot at the moment. She turned and looked down at the others. “Climb up, we’ve got bottles to fill.” She told them and then she disappeared, making her way down the other side to head toward the water. 

When Skye refused to actually talk to Mack, Bobbi knew it wouldn't be worth trying to talk to her now. Survival was the priority and she was sure only Jemma would be able to help heal her mind once they got back. They just needed to get her there, and Skye seemed to be functioning on some level, so Bobbi did as she said. One by one, they climbed up over the fork in the tree. When Bobbi got over and saw the clearing and all it had to offer, her jaw dropped. She couldn't be the only one thinking what she was thinking. Once everyone was on the ground inside, they took a moment to just spin in circles and look at the whole thing even though Skye was already headed to the edge of the water.    
  
"What if we-" Joey started.   
  
"Nobody would go for this." Yoyo shook her head.    
  
"They might just have to if things continue how they are." Bobbi said. She left the others to look around and joined Skye at the water's edge, just the two of them. She didn't make the mistake of trying to talk about the scratches on her arm or anything that had just happened.   
  
"You must be thinking what I'm thinking. This place looks safe." Bobbi dipped her water bottle into the water, but didn't look up at her.

Skye peeled her bag off. She knelt at the water’s edge and began to fill up the empty bottles in her bag. She let the others catch up to her at their own pace. She wasn’t actually surprised when Bobbi joined her. She looked across the pooling pond at the tall waterfall and shook her head slightly. “They’ll never go for it,” She murmured. “Leaving the beach means giving up on rescue.” Her brow furrowed in thought and she frowned a bit at the thought of leaving the chance of rescue, however remote. 

"We should keep it on the table as a viable option though. Ward wouldn't know where we are." She added. They hadn't yet had any problems since the group broke off, but it was good to have options. It seemed well sheltered from any beasts. As far as she could tell there were no plant. The terror birds wouldn't be able to get in and she doubted the spiders would come openly into the light.

Skye definitely liked the idea of Ward not knowing where they were. That was a big draw.  "I'm not taking it off the table, " she shrugged.  "I'm just being realistic," she reasoned as she worked on filling more bottles. Her eyes kept straying to the scratches on her arm as she worked. Skye frowned.  She needed to get back to the beach.  She needed to get back and she needed to talk to Jemma, to shut her brain off. She needed to see Jemma,  just to make sure with her own eyes that Jemma was okay.

"I know." Bobbi sighed. Maybe she was being a little too realistic. Everything had gone so very horribly wrong and Bobbi knew, after the events of the afternoon, that being realistic was hard. Skye had been the one holding onto Alisha, but Bobbi made the call and she knew she would never be able to get over that guilt. The one thing she knew would make her feel better would be Jemma's face and her and Skye's happy little reunion when she got back like always, because Alisha was gone, but Skye would have been too if she hadn't forced her to let go.    
  
"Guys, we need to get back." Joey approached them slowly and pointed to the sky. It was hard to see very far away when the trees and cliff face were so high, but there were dark clouds approaching.

Skye looked up and frowned when she saw the clouds.  She capped the last bottle and stowed it in her bag as she nodded to Joey and he stepped away to head for the tree. Before she stood up,  she looked over at Bobbi. "Thank you," she said. She didn't explain, but trusted that Bobbi would know she meant for saving her life, and for coming to check on her still despite the tough call she made. Skye stood up and headed back to the tree to climb back up and over to the other side.  Skye looked down at her compass.  She oriented herself and pointed with the machete that she'd  pulled ball out of the sheath.  "If we go that way,  we should come out on the beach a ways down from camp, but we can walk home on mostly open beach. " It gave her something to focus on,  the idea of getting back to Jemma.

"Let's do it." Bobbi agreed. They didn't have any other plan and Skye was their best at navigation other than Hunter, so there were no objections. They didn't exactly have a lot of time to wander and find their way back.  
  
___________

The rain worried Jemma. She knew it could cause Skye to get sick, lost, or any number of problems and it was difficult to keep her mind off of the worst case scenarios. Will and Fitz had offered to keep her company, but Jemma preferred to stay in her and Skye's shelter alone. The rain was peaceful, in a way. When she was warm and dry in the shelter with her jacket and blankets, she was sure she would have enjoyed it had she not known that Skye was out there trying to get back with their friends.   
  
There was one positive from the rain, though. The troughs were filling up and if Skye had succeeded in getting water, they would have more than enough. Maybe Skye and the others would be able to take a day off from trekking into the jungle. It was a nice thought. Jemma distracted herself by trying to come up with things to do during her potential break. There really wasn't much besides taking a long beach walk or a short hike in the safest part of the jungle, but it would still be fun. The thought could only distract her for so long, so Jemma pulled her book from her bag and started reading it from the beginning for probably the hundredth time. It was getting darker and later when Jemma finished the first twenty or so pages. She finally heard sloshing footsteps outside and muffled conversation. Excited for Skye's return and eager to see she was unharmed, Jemma tucked her book in between a few layers of clothes in her suitcase and got out of their little bed. She pulled the tarp aside some to see, but even the air was dark and murky. She took a step into the rain to get a wider scope, not particularly caring if her hair got wet. Rain splattered across her face and she squinted her eyes, but she still couldn't see anyone. From out of nowhere, a hand clamped over her mouth and another across the back of her head. She let out a surprised yelp and tried to back up, but she hit a large body.   
  
"Hi again, Sweetheart." Jemma's skin crawled and a shiver ran up her spine when she recognized the voice. Nobody could hear them either over the rain on the metal roof of that damn fuselage. She was alone. She sure as hell wasn't going to just let him take her though, so she lifted her leg and slammed her heel back into his shin. They both fell backwards as Ward lost his balance and the tarp ripped free from the top of the shelter when they landed on it. Ward's hand was temporarily moved and Jemma sucked in a breath in preparation to yell for help over the rainstorm, but a hand on the back of her head slammed her face down into the sand. Jemma struggled furiously, unable to breath with sand in her mouth and her eyes, but Ward didn't relent. When he finally pulled her back up again by her hair, she saw a few others as he clamped his hand back over her mouth. Raina didn't look sorry at all and had an amused smirk on her face. Donnie was a little more nervous, whether because they were kidnapping a person or because Skye could show up any minute, she wasn't certain. But he came forward with a handkerchief and Jemma knew what was going to happen next.  
  
"We don't want to hurt you, but if you scream we'll be forced to." Ward whispered in her ear from behind. She knew she had a blade up against her spine and Jemma was shaking. If there was one thing she didn't want to happen to her it was another damn blade in her spine. So she didn't say a word when Ward's hand moved and Donnie tied the handkerchief around her head in her mouth, even if it was too tight and there was still gritty sand in her teeth. He also pulled out a small ball of twine made from jungle plants and Jemma really didn't like where this was going. He crossed her wrists over each other and tied it so tightly around them Jemma couldn't really feel her hands anymore. But she didn't want to risk complaining by trying to speak, so she held fast.     
  
"Up you go." Ward grabbed onto the back of her jacket and when he stood up, she was forced to as well. "Don't fight us, my threat still applies. And I could do worse things than hurt you." Ward held up his blade and Jemma wished she could cut off that smirk with it. She didn't have a choice though. She had to go with him. The most she could do was leave tracks as deep and thick as possible for Skye to follow and hope they didn't get washed away by the rain.


	9. This Ends Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **WARNINGS!!!!!:** Violence, *sexual assault(attempted rape), gore and death lay ahead (Dearest Panyan: apologies from the both of us for...this.....)
> 
> As always, you're all wonderful!! Thank you, thank you, thank you, for reading this epic journey as we churn it out! thanks for the kudos, comments and love!  
> Sorry for any typos we missed!  
> Without further ado...hang onto your butts and enjoy #WhereverWednesdays!  
> <3 <3  
> :D
> 
> ______________________

Skye could have done without the storm, but at least it meant the troughs would be completely full. She hoped back at camp the group had found more supplies to make a third trough, even. The new waterfall meant they could breathe easier at least, but rain filling the troughs meant Skye and her crew might not have to go back into the jungle. Skye needed, at the very least, a single day to stay out of the jungle after what happened. It only took just about forty-five minutes to get from the new waterfall straight out to the beach. From there, they turned north (right) and followed the shoreline back toward camp. It was a much easier process (despite the thick, wet sand they were slogging through) than climbing all over the uneven forest floor.    
  
All Skye wanted was to change into dry clothes, collapse and let Jemma coddle her without anyone else bothering them for, at the very, very least, a few hours. In the grand scheme of things, it felt like a very immature desire, but it was truly all she wanted and all she allowed herself to think about (for the sake of her sanity) on the walk back.    
  
When they reached the fuselage, Skye's pace picked up a bit as she broke off from the others. She started pulling her messenger bag off before she reached the front of the shelter. "Jem-," she stopped short of the front of the shelter, the loose strands of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail earlier were plastered to her face with the rain. The tarp, torn from the entrance of the shelter, was the first thing she noticed. Second was that the shelter was empty. There were numerous sets of deep prints around the shelter. Skye dropped her bag and ran back to the fuselage as if she were running on dry, solid ground, not thick, wet sand.    
  
"Jemma!" she called out as she hoisted herself up into the plane. She spotted Will, Coulson and May talking to Bobbi and Mack about the trek. She grabbed the closest one (Will) by the collar of his shirt and with surprising force pulled him toward her. "Where's Jemma? Is she in here?" Her eyes scanned the interior of the plane to find people staring at her, but none of them were Jemma. She wanted to believe that the tracks were just the others from the plane, coming to bring Jemma into the fuselage for some reason, but she could tell already this was merely wishful thinking.    
  
Will's eyebrows hiked up. "She was in your shelter - is she not there?" he asked, alarmed.   
  
For the second time that day, what little color that was in Skye's face drained away. She didn't waste time explaining anything as her eyes widened. She let go of Will, turned on her heel and ran, dove out of the fuselage and landed into the sand. She scrambled to her feet, clawing at the dirt to move faster and then raced back to the shelter. She stopped long enough to find the direction that the muddy tracks seemed to go and then Skye ran headlong and blindly into the jungle, screaming Jemma's name as she vaulted over obstructions in the path and pushed through heavy growth and vines, not caring when it stung and scratched at her arms, shoulders or face.    
  
Her mind raced faster than her feet could carry her.  _ They took Jemma. I'm going to murder every last one of them. They took Jemma. How did no one notice that they FUCKING KIDNAPPED JEMMA?!?! _ Skye ran as if her own life depended on it because, if she really wanted to be brutally honest with herself, it did.  _ I shouldn't have left her here alone,  _ she mentally berated herself. This was her punishment for such a foolishly negligent decision. Skye pressed on, running faster than she ever had, stumbling into the thick mud, scrambling back to her feet, running headlong into unknown.

____________

"Pick up the pace Sweetheart, you're getting pretty slow." Ward shoved at her back and Jemma stumbled forward, almost losing her balance. They'd been walking for about an hour and Jemma guessed their distance to be at least a few miles. She was trying to walk slowly in case anyone was trying to catch up to them, and Ward seemed to know this.    
  
"My name is Simmons." Jemma tried to say, but it sounded like incoherent nonsense through the cloth in her mouth.   
  
"What was that?" Raina taunted, hanging back some to walk next to Jemma. Jemma refused to look her in the eye, look any of them in the eye, and give them the satisfaction.    
  
"I think she wants a break." Ward said. Jemma knew there was no way in hell he was being genuine. She knew what he meant when his hand rested on the small of her back and he stepped around in front of her to stop their movement.    
  
"Come on, don't play with her like that now, at least just wait until we get back to camp." Quinn, who had been quietly hanging back through the whole ordeal, spoke up. Jemma's eyes shot over to him and sent him an almost look of thanks. "It's raining. Let's just go." He grunted. Ward gave him a glare that shut him up though, and Jemma shuddered.    
  
"What were you saying?" The hand on the small of Jemma's back moved down and Jemma practically snarled at him, but it just amused him and he pulled her flush against him, no matter how hard she was trying to lean back.    
  
"This wasn't part of the plan." Raina spoke up firmly. Clearly she wasn't ok with what was about to happen and Jemma only hoped she had enough authority in their group to stop it, though she already knew she didn't. Ward ran a dictatorship, not a democracy. There wouldn't be any kind of vote, Ward got what he wanted when he wanted it, even if that was her in the jungle while it was raining. Jemma wasn't going to let him have it though.   
  
The second Ward's second hand gripped at her inner thigh, Jemma pulled her head back and swung it forward as hard as she could. It startled and hurt Ward, but Jemma was feeling quite dizzy herself when his grip on her loosened. She didn't let it stop her though. Jemma was just far enough away to jerk her knee up, and it made unforgiving contact with his groin, sending him into a fit. He let go of her completely and bent over, groaning, and Jemma bolted. She didn't make it far, though, because once Ward realized she was getting away he stopped exaggerating his pain and went after her. The others in his group stayed behind, not exactly fans of what he was doing.   
  
Jemma only made it about twenty yards before Ward tackled her to the ground. Her shoulder slammed into the roots and it was sad, but Jemma's first thought was how upset she was that her CDC jacket was ripped all along the arm. She was drawn back into remembering the real problem when Ward rolled her onto her back and straddled her thighs. She was pinned with one of his hands at her throat and the other somewhere Jemma didn't want it. He was tugging at the button of her jeans and Jemma thrashed wildly, but wasn't getting anywhere.    
  
"We have the doctor, let's just go." Raina called at them when she heard Jemma's whining and saw her face. She wasn't all bad like Ward. He didn't even listen to her and the button came loose. Jemma was screaming into the cloth even knowing it wasn't doing anything. She got a scream back in response though, and it wasn't a human one.   
  
"Terror birds." Ward said. He froze and sat upright, his sexual attack momentarily paused. He knew that sound, and it was close. It was a battle cry. "Come on." Ward yanked Jemma to her feet by her upper arm, ignoring the tears streaking across her face with the rainwater and her fearful eyes. Jemma was thanking whatever island god had done the saving this time. And then she realized she shouldn't have when she saw beady eyes by a tree behind Raina. Her own eyes widened and she started yelling for them to move, but nobody understood. Eventually Ward looked where she was looking and the color drained from his face.   
  
"Fuck." He said simply. "You better be a good runner." Was the last thing Ward said to her before everything broke into chaos and a pack of about three terror birds came at them.   
  
"Run!" Donnie shouted the obvious next step and the group scattered. Jemma could hear Quinn screaming, but she didn't know if it was because he was being eaten or because he was a wimp. Jemma didn't particularly want to know.    
  
"Go faster!" Ward shouted at her, but as he did he stumbled over a root himself and Jemma jerked free. She didn't lose the momentum and kept running, not daring to look back to see if any of the birds had been on their tail. She only heard Ward shouting angrily at her and not in pain, so she knew he was alright, unfortunately. She veered to the left and tried to find the path they'd taken to get this far,  but she was running in a random direction and she knew it, so she kept changing directions to lose Ward.

______________

Skye could hardly breathe. She had cramps in her side from running and her muscles felt like they were on fire. She didn't let any of it slow her down. She needed to find Jemma. That was the sole mission. If she got to maim Ward and his cronies in the process, right now, Skye was more than a little okay with that. In fact the more she thought about what they would possibly do to Jemma, the more angry and vengeful she became. They would want to keep Jemma alive, sure, but that didn't mean they wouldn't hurt her. Skye had lived through plenty of foster homes who thrived on hurting people while keeping them just on the edge of existence where they questioned whether or not it was worth it to hang on and keep living through it. She had the multitude of scars to prove it, both the visibles ones and the hidden ones. The idea of any of them harming Jemma made Skye's blood boil. It pushed her on, further and faster, past her pain and stamina endurance, feeding off of her fear and adrenaline.    
  
Skye never stopped and she never slowed. Too much had been taken away from her in her life. Skye refused to lose Jemma. She didn't care at all about announcing her presence as she ran, she screamed Jemma's name every single time she pulled a deep enough lung full of air to do it. Let the terrifying animals give chase, Skye would lead them right to Ward's crew of Shitbags. She wondered how much of a head start they had when they took her. How long had Jemma been gone? How long did no one, including Jemma’s supposed best friend not notice that Jemma was missing? Why had no one checked on her given that they all knew about Ward's threat?    
  
Skye felt her anger surge again. What if she had taken Jemma with them on the trek today? Then Jemma wouldn't have been in camp to kidnap her. It was irrational, the way her mind went there. Jemma could have easily taken Alisha's place and Skye would have had to watch her be ripped into pieces by giant spiders. Skye shuddered and tripped over a root. She landed in a heap of mud, root and underbrush. She pushed back to her feet and, as if she hadn't tweaked her ankle and slammed face and shoulder first into the ground and tree roots, was instantly in motion once more, pushing herself harder than she was sure she ever had to keep moving,  _ don't you dare stop until you have her back! Faster! Move your ass! You're too slow! Pick up the pace! You've lost every important person you've ever had, we are  _ **_not_ ** _ losing Jemma.  _   
  
Skye's feet slammed into the muck, legs wobbling but moving swiftly.  _ Faster, harder, further, don't stop, don't stop, don't you dare stop for any reason. Your lungs can take it. This is nothing. Go. Move. Faster.  _

______________

Jemma didn't stop running. She ran until her legs burned and she couldn't breathe, only sucking in air through her nose, and once she felt she was finally about to pass out, she ran faster. She didn't know how far behind her Ward was and she didn't want to look. She just kept dodging around tree trunks, hoping she was out of his sights and the rain washed away her prints. Branches scratched her face and tore holes in her jacket, but nothing was going to stop her. Nothing looked familiar and she knew that at any moment Ward could slam into her or a monster could eat her. She didn't know where she was, she had no idea how big the island was, and she was sure she wasn't going to see Skye again. But she kept running anyway, her instincts didn't let her give up.    
  
Jemma's tears clouded her eyes and it was too dark to see the small root on the ground. She had been climbing and jumping over the massive ones, but it was a small one that beat her. Her toe caught underneath it and her heart nearly stopped as she fell. She couldn't break her fall and she slammed into the ground, face skidding against a large, partially buried root. It took longer than she would have liked to get up. She choked out a sob and then actually felt like she was choking on the dirt and sand and the handkerchief. She couldn't get up normally and had to plant her tied hands in the mud to brace herself and get up.   
  
Over the pounding of the rain and her own heartbeat in her ears, she heard a faint call. Someone was calling her name and she spun in circles, trying to find the direction it was coming from, but it was bouncing off the trees and echoing from all around her. She had no idea. But it was feminine, and it wasn't Raina, which meant it was Skye searching for her. She cried and screamed but couldn't make enough noise for her to hear. She stopped and listened closely, straining her ears for the source. For a split second she thought she could hear it in front of her and to her left. Jemma didn't have the time to try to make sure. She just ran.   
  
She kept running and the sound of Skye's calls got closer the more her joints ached and burned and screamed for her to stop. She was stumbling with every step and trying to call out to Skye, making muffled cries every few seconds. She was hyperventilating and worrying that she was going to miss Skye. If they passed each other and Jemma couldn't get her attention she would be lost completely. So she strained her vocal chords and screamed as loudly as she possible could, not Skye's name, just a shriek. She needed volume.   


___________________

Skye was still moving. She never stopped, except for that moment she thought she heard screaming. She skidded in the mud and looked around. Which way? She looked down at her compass just long enough to note which direction she came from according to the needle. She sucked in a deep breath and screamed Jemma's name as loud as she could, pulling the sound from her diaphragm as if she were singing a note, straining her vocal chords as she screamed it. Afterward, she listened, breathing heavily through her nose instead of her mouth so she could hear any noise. 

  
_ C'mon Jem...come on, come on, where are you _ \- Skye heard it then. Her heart nearly stopped when she heard the bloodcurdling scream. In the back of her mind, she thought of the time Jemma had been attacked by the terror birds and was stuck up the tree, how she'd repeatedly prayed for Jemma to keep screaming because if she stopped, it meant...Skye turned to her right and burst through the next set of hanging vines.  _ Keep screaming, baby, just for now, almost there, almost there.  _ __  
  
Jemma began sprinting again and looked down at her feet to jump over a big root. When she did she crashed into a chest and fell back on her ass. A startled scream ripped out of her throat and she frantically kicked backed away on the ground from the dark shape above her.  
  
When she collided with something, Skye barely managed to keep her balance. She stumbled a few feet and looked at who (or what) she collided with. She realized it was a person just as they started screaming and scrambling backward. First she saw the CDC logo just barely through the wet mud stains on the jacket.  __ Jemma ! Skye stepped closer and Jemma scrambled to back away. There was something tied into her mouth to gag her and the hands she held up were tied and she was covered in scrapes, cuts, mud and tears all over her clothing. Minus being bound and gagged, Skye probably looked fairly similar.    
  
"Jemma!" The name came barreling off her tongue as she advanced quickly and dropped to her knees in the mud in front of her. "Jemma! Hey! It's me, Jem!" She reached for Jemma's face and moved forward on her knees for every movement Jemma made. Her hands framed Jemma's face and turned it to look at her, wiping at her face in a vain attempt to wipe it clear. "It's okay, it's okay," she tried to pull the handkerchief free but Jemma was biting down on it so hard she couldn't . "Jem-,"

Once Jemma's sight finally focused on the person suddenly in her face and she saw it wasn't Ward, her screaming decreased to frantic mumbling. She was shaking and crying and she was so scared and happy at the same time. The hand Skye had on her face was pressing against her scrape and she whimpered and pushed against the opposite one. She didn't feel like she had time to cry and let Skye hold her. Ward could still be chasing her and she kept trying to speak even with the gag in her mouth and trying to turn her head so see if anyone or anything had found them.

Skye let go of Jemma's face only so she could grab the sides of the handkerchief. "Shh, shh, shh, relax your jaw a sec," she waited until Jemma did and then reached inside the ring of the handkerchief on either side of Jemma's mouth and pulled it out enough to get it over Jemma's chin. She moved to her feet and pulled Jemma up to her feet by her arms. She'd lost the machete when they collided. "I'm sorry I wasn't there," she said as she pulled her hunting knife from its sheath with her right hand and brought Jemma’s bound wrists up. As she went to cut the ties, she spotted the popped button on Jemma's jeans and paused, for just half a beat. Her eyes rose to look into Jemma's. A moment later she looked back down and hurriedly cut the ties, pulling the binds away as soon as she was able to. 

  
The second Jemma's hands were free she threw herself at Skye, slinging them over her shoulders and around her neck and hanging on with more force than was probably necessary. She had five seconds to just stand there clutching her, chest heaving, before her mind forced her to acknowledge the ongoing problem instead of just shutting down now that she was with Skye.   
  
"They're- he's chasing me." Jemma said breathlessly. When she let go of Skye she would be able to see her still wide, crazed eyes and her body itching to keep running.

Skye’s arms wrapped around Jemma’s middle reflexively. She tried not to squeeze her too hard since she didn’t know what other injuries Jemma might have, but she closed her eyes momentarily and took a few slow, deep breaths as she held onto Jemma for those very few seconds. She nodded when Jemma pulled away. She could see that Jemma was incredibly shaken; her eyes were wide, she was, well, actually trembling a bit. There was rustling not too far from them in the jungle. She pulled Jemma toward the other side of the small clearing they were in, away from the sound and held the hunting knife out to Jemma. “He won’t be chasing you anymore when I’m done with him,” She had enough time to kiss Jemma’s forehead. 

Afterward, she gave Jemma’s shoulder a squeeze, then turned around to face the direction of the rustling, keeping Jemma behind her though she stood a few paces ahead. Her eyes scanned the ground for the machete but didn’t see it right away. The rustling turned out to be both Donnie and Ward. Donnie came flying through first, angling for Skye as soon as he spotted her. Skye turned to the side, caught him by the material of his hoodie, using his running momentum to throw him off his feet as far away from her and Jemma as she could. She turned to prepare for Ward’s charge, relaxed her muscles and resigned herself to the tackle he launched at her. She fell back with the momentum and threw Ward over her head. He was quick enough that he tried to pull her with him and wound up under Skye in the mud as they rolled. As soon as their momentum stalled, Skye’s balled fist swung in rapid succession one, two, three, four times, slamming Ward’s head down into the mud with each blow. 

Skye saw red as the fury built within her but before she could land another swing, someone else had tackled her off of Ward and into the mud on her side. “This isn’t how I like to meet my dates, but I’m willing to make an exception for the circumstances,” It was Quinn. Skye swung her balled fist into his diaphragm as he was taking a breath. Quinn lurched, his breath knocked out of him. Donnie had regained his footing and was advancing on Jemma, lunging to try and wrestle the knife away from her. Skye threw Quinn’s weight off of her. She clawed at the mud and climbed to her feet, started for Donnie and Jemma but Ward grabbed her and yanked her back to him by a handful of her ponytail. He dug a knife tight against her neck, enough that he drew blood but not deeply enough to cut past the first few layers of skin. He dragged his other hand down her chest and murmured something in her ear about finishing where he’d left off with her girlfriend. Skye’s nails dug into his arm where she’d been trying to claw it free. 

Teeth ground together, Skye actually growled, a feral sound low in her throat. She grabbed her left wrist with her right hand and swung her left elbow backward, not caring that it made the knife blade dig into her neck a bit deeper. Her elbow connected hard with Ward’s ribcage. His grip on her faltered and Skye flipped him over her head and onto his back. Her boot connected with his cheek and then she was on the ground again with a long, ‘Oof!’ as the wind was knocked out of her. Quinn was on her again, straddled over her hips, hands wrapped around her neck. Skye pushed his head up by the bottom of his chin, nails dug into his face as she coughed and choked on her attempts to breathe. Her free hand scrabbled over the mud, searching for anything she could grab to swing at Quinn. Over his shoulder, Jemma was fighting with Donnie and Ward was advancing on them. Skye’s hand hit the handle of the machete. Her rage took over. She had enough of this bullshit. Her hand wrapped around the handle of the machete and with a growling grunt, she swung the machete and it connected into the crook of Quinn’s neck and shoulder, burying deep through the flesh, muscle and sinew. He choked as he jolted to a stop and fell off of her. Skye struggled to her feet and a new wave of adrenaline hit her. 

Skye stomped her boot down onto Quinn’s other shoulder. She pulled the machete free with an almost animalistic roar rolling out of her throat and immediately swung it three more times at Quinn in wild fury. When she was done, he was on the ground, twitching, writhing and bleeding out. Skye rounded and came face to face with Ward, who stared her down, his hand adjusting its grip around the knife. Blood dripped off the end of the machete as Skye gulped down air to try and catch her breath. “This ends... _ now _ .” She growled as she began to advance toward Ward. 

Jemma had taken a few swipes at Donnie with the blade to keep him at a good distance, the whole time keeping a fearful eye on Skye to make sure she could handle herself, even if there wasn't much she would be able to do herself. When she saw Skye kill Quinn though, she froze. Even Donnie stopped to look. Skye was covered in splattered blood and that in combination with her dripping blade and feral eyes, even Jemma was a bit scared. For a second none of them moved. Skye had been the first to kill another person on the island. It didn't quite sink in with Jemma. The others moved faster.    
  
Donnie grabbed her wrist while she was staring at Skye and wrenched the knife from her hand. Jemma was back in the fight. She felt bad for hitting a teenager at all, but she pulled back her fist and quickly landed it on his jaw. He came back from a stumble looking angry now and he held the knife tightly in his hand, though he didn't seem like he would use it after the horrified look on his face after Skye killed Quinn. He did charge at her and Jemma, not knowing what to do or how to react, didn't have enough time to react. He slammed into her like it was an aggressive hug and they both toppled over the giant root Jemma had tried jumping over when she'd crashed into Skye.    
  
They rolled another few feet down the hill in the mud before stopping, Jemma on her back and Donnie on top of her. It was with much less skill than Skye, but Jemma managed to push him off of her by tucking in her legs and kicking out at his stomach. With the advantage of the hill he rolled off of her and down slightly before he grabbed onto a root to stop his motion and started pulling himself up as Jemma did. He had lost the knife during the scuffle and they both stared at each other with clenched fists. Neither of them were trained fighters, but they had ended up on different sides of this. Jemma wanted her freedom and Donnie had probably been convinced by Ward that they needed her to survive.   
  
"Donnie, we don't need to do this-" Jemma had made a mistake trying to talk him down, because the moment she let her guard down he came at her with a swinging fist that caught her in her cheekbone and made her eyes water on impact as her head jerked back. Jemma pushed at his chest while he was so close, but he swung again and Jemma tasted copper in her mouth from her lip. She was just trying to defend herself against Donnie's onslaught of attacks and she managed to get a good hit into his gut, but it didn't stop him from shoving her so hard she fell and her back hit the side of the big tree root again. She saw a slight glint at Donnie's foot and lunged for it, but he saw it too and had his hand on the handle while Jemma was still reaching for the blade. He'd found Skye's knife and when he grabbed and lifted it the blade sliced into Jemma's palm and she scrambled back. He was coming toward her and she knew Donnie wouldn't kill her, but she didn't know that he wouldn't hurt her.

When Skye and Ward collided, they quickly wound up in the mud, both disarmed, both swinging wildly and landing blows left and right. Skye’s knuckles cracked against Ward’s jaw. Ward’s fist crashed into her ribcage. Ward tried to choke Skye. Skye clawed her fingers into his eyes and jab him in the throat. Skye clawed her way to her feet and kicked Ward in the ribs. Ward caught her leg on the second kick and yanked her feet out from under her. He made it to his feet and Skye swung her feet, kicking directly at his kneecaps and knocking him back to the ground. Skye reached for a knife in the mud and Ward trampled on her hand. Ward pulled Skye up by her hair and the back of her neck. He threw her back against a nearby tree and Skye felt a sharp pain in the lower part of her back that she attributed to the jagged bark of the large old tree. She pushed off the tree, launched a punch at Ward’s face that landed first her fist against his cheekbone and then followed through with a secondary hit with the hardest part of her elbow. He stumbled back and she punched him as hard as she could in the sternum. Ward fell back, gasping for air and groaning. 

Skye advanced on him. Ward swept her feet out from under her and she landed, cracking her left temple on a rough tree root in almost the same spot she’d hit it in the plane crash. She felt the warm blood that began to seep from the wound as her vision blurred around the edges. During the whole fight, Skye had been trying her best to keep tabs on Jemma and Donnie. She’d spotted some of their fight but every time she made to go after them, Ward had stopped her. As she tried to get up to head for Jemma and Donnie while those two traded blows, Ward grabbed her by the neck again. He leaned in to try and say something threatening, but Skye swung her hand up, her fingers curled tight, hand full of mud, she smashed his nose hard into his face, felt it crunch as he groaned and fell back. Skye rolled to her stomach and clawed at the mud again, pulling herself up, slipping and sliding in the muck. She took two steps toward Jemma and Donnie, eyes wide when she realized it wasn’t just her knife he’d found, it was her machete. He was running at Jemma, the bloodied, muddied machete raised over his head, shouting unintelligibly as he rushed Jemma.    
  
Skye didn’t think, she just reacted. In one single fluid motion, she locked her stance, pulled the gun from her back waistband, flipped the safety off with her thumb as she threw both her arms out, one hand aiming the gun, the other bracing it, her arms locked and she squeezed the trigger off three times in rapid succession, aiming for the top left hand side of his back. Donnie’s rush for Jemma stopped with an abrupt jolt. His body jolted with each bullet. His eyes were wide as the machete fell from his grip and landed in the mud behind him just a moment before his collapsed to his knees and fell back into the mud, staring blankly upward at the sky. 

For a few moments, the three of them all remained perfectly still. Skye’s own eyes were wide. Movement behind her made her wheel around. It was Ward, scrambling up to his feet. Skye trained the gun on him, her face darkening again, jaw grinding tight. This whole situation was Ward’s fault. He’d caused this shit with his greedy power trip. He kidnapped Jemma. He possibly sexually assaulted her. He led these people to violently attack them and Skye had been forced to defend them both. Ward shifted and Skye adjusted her grip and inched toward him, her lip curling in a sneer. “Give me a reason, you power tripping piece of shit - give me a fucking reason to do it. I’ve got nine left in the magazine...I only need four to start with your limbs and leave you for terror bird bait.” She stared him down. She wanted it. She wanted him to charge. She wanted that excuse to take him out for what he’d made her do since she’d had no choice. “What? No spine now, Ward?” She growled. “Can sacrifice your cronies but you’re too busy…” She cast her glance down at his legs. “Too busy pissing your pants now, huh? Not enough conviction to follow through? All talk -  _ COME ON, COWARD!”  _ She bellowed. “Don’t hold back on me now! Do it!” She challenged.  

Ward slowly held his hands over his head. He didn't know how Skye had gotten ahold of the handgun, but he didn't want to go up against it with his fists and he knew Skye wasn't afraid to pull the trigger. She had shot and killed a teenager and Ward was done testing her. He accepted defeat on this one and just wanted to get away alive. He didn't charge Skye, but he did run. He turned and sprinted the rest of the way up the hill, slipping in the mud some and grabbing at tree roots to help him, just hoping Skye didn't shoot him in the back out of spite.

The urge was there, Skye took a step or two in his direction as if she might give chase and shoot him in the back. He deserved it. She would be doing the world at large a favor. They wouldn’t have to worry about his crew of goons trying to kidnap Jemma again if they had no leader to egg them on. Bobbi’s voice stopped Skye from pursuit but she was still aiming in the direction Ward had run, as if he might turn around and return.    
  
"Skye!" Bobbi's shout reached them over the rain. She and Mack had come back in by themselves to go chasing after Skye and Jemma. They had heard a gunshot and, while confused, feared the worst. Bobbi saw Jemma first and ran to her, waving her hand to tell Mack to go to Skye, who was still standing stock still with a gun in her hand, pointed at something that had disappeared into the trees. Donnie was dead at Jemma's feet and she certainly didn't look well.   
  
"Jemma?" Bobbi tapped at her cheek and Jemma jumped and shied away. Her pupils were blown wide and Bobbi knew immediately that she was in a state of shock.    
  
"Skye, put it down." Mack approached Skye slowly and placed his hand over the top of the gun, lowering it for her. He didn't try to take it because he didn't know how she'd react, but he did put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "What the hell happened?" He asked. They could put the pieces together when they saw Skye with the gun and Donnie shot to death, along with Quinn who looked near chopped to pieces. 

Skye heard Mack. She saw him through clouded vision. The adrenaline started to wane and with it, the reality of what she’d done to Quinn and Donnie began to weigh on her. By the time Mack put his hand on the outstretched gun, it was shaking in Skye’s hands. Her finger had been resting outside the trigger guard rather than on the trigger after Ward ran away. She’d even flipped the safety on, both clear signs that she knew her way around the firearm in her hands. She’d had to use it a few times in work before but had never had to kill anyone. She’d  _ had _ to use it this time. There hadn’t been a choice. Her brow was creased in a haze of confusion as they tried to focus on Mack. Her mouth hung open but she couldn’t seem to actually answer Mack right away. “...I had to…” the words barely came out. 

  
"Skye, get over here." Bobbi's voice was grave. Jemma was shaking like a leaf and staring into space over her shoulder, tears streaming down her cheeks. She could see blood mixed with the mud on her face and her hands and all over her and she didn't know the extent of what she'd suffered while with Ward. She knew the only thing that would snap Skye out of her trance was Jemma, whether it was Jemma comforting her or the other way around.

Skye blinked when Bobbi issued the order. She turned and as soon as she saw Jemma on the ground, shaking, muddy, bloody and looking a great deal catatonic,  “Jemma,” Her name slipped off Skye’s tongue. The gun temporarily forgotten as Mack had taken it away from her, Skye was in motion again. Her demeanor changed nearly instantly, like a switch being flipped. She melted from ‘defend and destroy,’ to ‘care mode’ in barely the span of a breath just from the sight of Jemma’s current state. Her own mental, emotional and physical state of being were completely forgotten. She moved to Jemma’s side and knelt in the mud next to her.   
  
“Jem,” All venom and malice was gone from her voice, replaced with fear and concern. She was careful to touch the side of Jemma’s face that she hadn’t flinched at earlier, trying to avoid the injuries where she could. “Jemma,” Skye said her name a little more firmly. She turned Jemma’s face again and moved her own to get a look into Jemma’s eyes. Skye knew that she’d caused some of (possibly a great deal of) this fear with her own actions. “Hey, Jem...look at me,” Probably not the best idea since Skye looked about as beat up, bloodied and muddy as Jemma. “Jemma, can you hear me?” 

Jemma's shaking decreased when Skye neared, but she didn't still entirely. Her limbs still quivered and she glanced all over Skye with quickly moving eyes. She was covered in blood, some of it her own, but most of it belonging to Quinn. Skye held her face and Jemma felt the urge to pull away. It wasn't Skye she was scared of, she was just scared and shocked in general. She had been kidnapped and the kind, loving woman she'd come to know just hacked someone to death with a machete and shot another. She knew she hadn't had a choice but the forefront of her mind was still in shock and active terror. She could hear Skye speaking to her, but her mind was on other things around her. She was checking to make sure the faces really were Skye, Bobbi, and Mack, that Donnie wasn't going to get up and attack, that Ward wasn't lurking in the trees, and that there were no creatures after them.    
  
"What's wrong?" Bobbi's forehead was wrinkled with concern and she looked back and forth between Jemma and Skye. Jemma didn't seem to react to Skye's coaxing at first, but Mack put a hand on the arm she was about to use to reach for Jemma and lowered it like he had with Skye's gun. They just needed to give her more time.   
  
After another minute of the rain splattering across her cheeks and the top of her head, Jemma finally started to feel a bit like herself again and not a scared animal. Her mind was catching up with her and the first thing she did was start fumbling with her own jeans to get the button back where it belonged. Her hand stung and she saw the cut, but she ignored it. Her eyes came back up to Skye's face. It was difficult to tell what was her blood and what wasn't, but she knew Skye was hurt in some way and she was upset. She hadn't expected their night to go like this at all and she weakly reached out with her cut open hand, trying to grab at Skye's clothes to pull her closer without having to move.

Skye watched Jemma’s face, studying it intensely for an indication that Jemma was returning to herself. “Jem, you’re safe, we’re here,” She said since she was convinced a lot of Jemma’s initial fear and shock was because of what she’d done to Quinn and Donnie, especially after the way Jemma initially stared at her. Skye’s eyes burned, welled with tears she forced to stay unshed. When Jemma did start coming back to herself a bit, Skye’s shoulders dropped in slight relief. Jemma started fumbling with the button for her jeans but with the shaky, injured hands, she couldn’t quite get it. Skye moved slowly, with deliberate caution. “Hey, Jem,” She spoke loud enough to be heard over the rain, but in a gentle tone to pull Jemma’s attention. Her hands stalled on Jemma’s wrists to settle them and then reached to her jeans and clasped the button closed properly on them. 

Skye didn’t dare break the eye contact when Jemma’s eyes found hers again. She stared into Jemma’s eyes, at the fear and trauma in them. She saw the wound on Jemma’s hand and reached into her own back pocket for a handkerchief that was there. She’d used it during a few jungle treks to wet and wrap around her head to help cool her off. It was soaked, obviously but she quickly wound it around Jemma’s hand and then moved closer. She pulled Jemma in, wrapped her arms around her and held on. “I’m sorry, Jem,” she murmured over and over again into Jemma’s ear as she rocked slightly and moved her hand over Jemma’s hair and along her back. There were so many things she had to apologize for, she didn’t specify any of them. Mostly, she was sorry she wasn’t there to protect Jemma so she wasn’t kidnapped in the first place. “Please say something,” She begged after a number of minutes, which felt like hours with Jemma’s silence. 

"You saved me." Jemma whispered. Skye's touch had a healing effect on her mind and her adrenaline slowly started to fade. The tremors stopped and she was breathing normally again, but that didn't mean she wasn't clutching the fistfuls of the back of Skye's shirt that she managed to grab onto. "It's not your fault." She promised, tucking her chin over Skye's shoulder and taking a deep, shaky breath. She wanted to be clean and dry again and she wanted to get out of the jungle with Skye and make sure neither of them was badly injured. 

Skye closed her eyes and squeezed Jemma a bit tighter, though she was afraid to squeeze her too tight since she didn’t know exactly all the places she might be injured. “Course I did...I told you I wouldn’t let anything happen to you…” Of course, Jemma had been kidnapped and she was injured, but Skye ran headlong into the jungle to find her and protect her. Jemma was alive. Skye was trying to focus on that fact alone. She sniffled quickly, as quietly as she could. “Do you think you can walk?” She asked. Her hands were only steady because they were holding onto Jemma at the moment. She told herself she had to focus and be strong until they got Jemma home. They needed to get out of the jungle, out of the rain and to clean and patch their wounds. 

"I'm fine." Jemma nodded. She had a few cuts and a lot of scrapes and bruises, but she was ok. She had been worse before, so she took it all in stride. When Jemma let go and came out of the hug, she saw the blood on Skye's face from her head wound. "Are you alright?" Her brow furrowed in concern and she wiped blood, mud, sweat, and tears out of Skye’s face with her uninjured hand.

Skye closed her eyes a second at the touch. She nodded. The scratches on her arm from Alisha during the spider bite were caked in mud at the moment. Her head was killing her. She had bruises and cuts and scrapes, and her back still hurt pretty bad from being thrown into the tree, but she knew she could make it back to camp. “I’m okay,” physically at least. She pushed some of Jemma’s hair out of her face and touched an uninjured part of her cheek. “C’mon, let’s get you home.” Yup. Home. It was home and it was where they both belonged right now. She reluctantly pulled back and stood up, ignoring the pain in her tweaked ankle as she held her hands out to help Jemma up to her feet. Once she was up, Skye wrapped her arm around Jemma’s middle, just to make sure she was steady. Mack had stepped away to give them a moment. A bit reluctantly, he gave Skye back the gun and, after double checking that the safety was on, she stowed it in its normal spot at the back waistband of her pants. Mack grabbed Skye’s knife and the machete as well and stowed them in the backpack that was still on his shoulders. He and Bobbi started to lead the way back. Skye tried her best to walk them around the bodies without passing too close both for Jemma’s sake and her own. 

The trek back was long and much slower than the harried run into the jungle Skye had made. When they were almost to the beach, the rain stopped just as suddenly as it had started earlier. The fuselage had emptied out and people were staring when they returned. Skye ignored them. She led Jemma to the shelter, inside and moved to help her sit down in the airplane seat they’d removed from the fuselage to used as a chair in the front corner of the shelter. She touched Jemma’s cheek again and said, “I’m going to fix the tarp and then we’ll get patched up, okay?” she waited for Jemma to nod and then gathered the tarp to tied it back up to the shelter. 

While she tied it, and Mack and Bobbi stood outside the shelter with them, Skye looked at them without meeting their eyes. “I swear I’ll explain everything,” She said. “Later.” She glanced toward the shelter. It was more important to take care of Jemma first. She looked between Bobbi and Mack. She trusted them both, she could only hope they trusted her enough in turn to keep the gun on the down low for the moment. “Would you get me the first aid kit?” she asked them. The thought of walking away from the shelter while Jemma was inside just then was unimaginable, even to walk into the fuselage. She couldn’t make herself do it.

"Just take care of yourselves for now." Bobbi told them. She and Mack looked between each other and somehow silently agreed that this was priority and the explanation for the gun could wait. Sharing the information would only make people panic and turn against Skye and that wasn't what they wanted. So Mack went to find Fitz and the others who were close to Jemma and tell them that she was ok.    
  
Jemma watched the interaction, but her muscles and her mind were so tired she just slumped in the seat and ignored it. She just wanted the both of them to get cleaned up so they could go to sleep for the night. When Skye came back into the shelter Jemma did perk up a bit. All she wanted was physical contact with her and to thank her a thousand times for coming for her.

When Skye was done with the tarp, she went to the side of the shelter where she had a small enclosure made out of metal flushing from the plane to cover her stock of firewood. She got a fire going and by the time she was done with it, Bobbi returned with the first aid bag. Skye thanked her and went inside the shelter. She pulled the tarp shut over the entrance, put the first aid bag and her messenger bag, which she'd grabbed from the sand, next to the chair Jemma was in. She almost felt like she could breathe again, but just seeing the state of dishevel Jemma was in prevented her from fully relaxing.    
  
Skye knelt in the sand in front of the chair. She brought her hands to rest along the outsides of Jemma's legs and look up into her face, full of apprehension as she spoke. "Jem...when they had you, did they, um..." Skye's brow furrowed as she tried to word her question while dozen of her own memories from a particular group home she lived in as a teen began to play through the back of her mind. she cleared her throat slightly. "Y-Your, um, your button, on your jeans, did they...?" she couldn't make herself ask it outright but with the mention of the button, she hoped it would make enough sense.

Jemma's eyes widened when she realized what Skye was talking about and she tensed as she remembered what had nearly happened. She shook her head, but she could see Skye wanted more of a confirmation.   
  
"He- he tried." Jemma swallowed a lump in her throat and her eyes went down to the sand for a moment. "We were attacked by terror birds before he could-" Jemma couldn't say it either, but she made sure Skye knew it didn't happen and she looked back up to her face.

Skye turned her face down and hung her head a moment. She just barely managed to swallow the half sob that wanted to escape. Her shoulders still lurched a second before she brought her hands up to Jemma's shoulders and leaned up to pull her in for a tighter hug than she probably should have, she couldn't help it.  She was more than upset to know that the attempt was made (and in the back of her mind, angry she didn't shoot Ward for this offense) and also extremely relieved that it didn't actually happen. Who knew Terror Birds could be useful for more than barbecue? She kissed the side of Jemma's head and began murmuring a litany of apologies into her ear as she held onto her. "I'm so sorry, Jem. I shouldn't have left. I'm sorry." Like a broken record, it played on murmurs in repeat a second, third and fourth time.

"Skye, it's not your fault." Jemma murmured. She wrapped her arms around Skye and slid off the end of the chair so they were both on their knees in the sand, bodies molded together, holding each other tightly. "You were getting food and water, I was the one who shouldn't have stayed alone when I knew we had been threatened." Jemma argued. It was the most words she had used since being rescued and she hoped it meant Skye would know she was coming back to herself and that she really meant it.

It was a huge relief to actually hear Jemma's voice. It made Skye grip her a little tighter for awhile longer. She wanted to clean them up and patch their wounds and get changed and all of that, but she didn't want to let go of Jemma just yet. "We came back and you were just...the tarp and...no one even knew...you were just gone." She murmured through a few unsteady breaths. The only feeling Skye could relate that moment to was waking up in the hospital and being told the Brodys, the closest people she had ever had to real parents, were dead. It was the same feeling she felt after Jemma drowned and while she'd been doing CPR on her on the beach. It was fear, in one of its purest forms; loss.

"I'm sorry." Jemma whispered softly. She knew it truly wasn't anyone's fault but Ward's but she was still sorry she had scared Skye so badly. She was sorry Skye had to kill people to get her back. The whole situation had been horrific for the both of them and Jemma was glad it was over so they could get cleaned up and change and go to sleep.

"It's not your fault," Skye parroted back to Jemma. She hadn't even begun to fully process what she's done to Quinn and Donnie, let alone what had happened to Alisha before that. She sniffled as discretely as possible and kissed the side of Jemma's head again. She took a shaky deep breath through her nose and leaned back. her hands came up, carefully, to the sides of Jemma's face and held her there before she kissed her proper, not caring about the mixed mud, sweat, tears and blood on either of them just for a few quick seconds while she reclaimed the connection between them.    
  
"Let's go get cleaned off so we can patch you up, yeah?" Skye asked when she broke the kiss without letting go of Jemma completely just yet. The weight of having  Jemma leaning pressed against her was reassurance that Jemma was here, safe and alive.

Jemma exhaled a heavy breath when the kiss broke and she brushed Skye's muddy bangs out of her face, frowning at the blood in her hair on the side her head had been slammed into the tree root.    
  
"I need to make sure you're ok too, you're hurt." Jemma knew she was scratched, scraped, and bruised, but she wasn't going to let Skye forget about herself. 

"I wouldn't feel right using the drinking water." Jemma looked around them and located the two bottles that were theirs. She wanted to have enough water left to take a break the next day. She already knew they needed to use the ocean, but besides the fear that it would sting, she also knew she hadn't been in the ocean since she had drowned.

"The troughs are likely full from that storm," Skye said "And we found a new waterfall, a better one actually. But, yeah, I'd feel bad using the drinking water with how much we have to clean off," she agreed. One look over Jemma's face told her that Jemma was freaked out about the only other water prospect they had; the ocean. Honestly, Skye couldn’t fault Jemma at all for having an aversion to the ocean after it had killed her.    
  
"Hey," she offered Jemma a small reassuring smile. "We'll grab some of the soap from my toiletry bag and take a walk down the beach a bit and clean off in the ocean. We'll bring some of the clothes we cut up as rags and the coconut shell halves with us to help, you won't have to go in past the shallows and I'll be with you the whole time," She promised. "The quicker we go, the quicker we can patch up and lay down," Skye wanted to get some food and extra water into both of them too, but for this current pep talk, she was willing to hold off on adding it to the To Do list.

"Ok." Jemma agreed. She didn't like the idea of going into the ocean, especially since there could possibly be sharks, but if they didn't go deep enough to be swimming, they wouldn't be a problem and neither of them could drown. It was safe and they would be able to wash off the much and grime coating their bodies and even get some cleansing saltwater in their scrapes, cuts, and wounds. It wouldn't be pleasant but Jemma knew they would feel much better afterward.    
  
"Let's get some clothes and get it out of the way." Jemma moved to her bag on her knees and dug into it to come out with her pajama pants and a clean t-shirt.

Skye smiled. She leaned over and kissed Jemma's shoulder, not caring at all about the mud and muck on it, on her way by to grab some clothes. She grabbed a pair of plaid pajama pants and an oversized sleep shirt with a wide collar that usually hung off at least one of her shoulders. It was an old sweatshirt with the longer sleeves cut short and the collar cut across. It was one of her few comfort clothes, worn specifically to calm her down when heading to bed. She grabbed a bottle of shampoo and some soap from her toiletry bag and grabbed two beach towels she'd pulled from a recovered suitcase days before, plus some cut up clothes rags and the coconut shell halves. When they had everything, they left the shelter and started down the beach away from the fuselage.   
  
Skye tried to distract Jemma as they walked, to try and keep her from over thinking the ocean too much. "We ran into more bugs in the jungle," she said. "They were brown and at least as long as Mack is tall. They blended in with the ground. I stepped on one and it scurried away, knocked me on my ass and it's buddies scuttled over me," she shuddered at the thought and left the giant spider part of the story out for now. "We lit a torch and hung it down to clear a path, watched them scuttle away. Bobbi looked them over and she goes, 'Jemma would lose her mind if she saw this.'" Skye glanced over her shoulder. They had made it around a bend in the beach that left them out of view of the camp, so she stopped and put their things down carefully in the dry sand.

"Arthropleura?" Jemma guessed. She asked it like Skye knew what they were and would be able to confirm, but realized her mistake and laughed a bit. "Did they look like giant centipedes?" She asked. Bobbi was most definitely right, Jemma would have lost her mind. "You should draw one in the notebook!" She exclaimed. She wanted to document all the creatures they found for their own use and for once they got back to the mainland.

Skye arched her eyebrows at Jemma when that word came out. "Gesundheit," she smiled a bit at her own dumb joke. She narrowed her eyes in thought and nodded. "Yes, that. Their backs were like, uh..." she moved down a few feet to the damp sand, crouched down to flatten it out and then used her finger to start drawing a rough outline of the bug. "It was like...plates of armor?" she drew it out, added the little legs and antennae. She looked up at Jemma.  "Is that one of...those things?" she moved to stand so she could step back to gather the stuff they'd need to use in the water. "When things settle down a bit, we can go to the new waterfall. It's farther away but we can walk up the shoreline and then it's only a half hour or so to cut in from there." she hadn't forgotten her offer to take Jemma to the first one before everything went down. She wouldn't take her to the centipede den, but, the waterfall was a different story. "You can fill your notebook full of things I wouldn't even think to document until you told me about them."

"That sounds wonderful." Jemma agreed. A walk down the beach and through a bit of the jungle sounded like a fun, safe excursion and Jemma was far from opposed. She nodded down at Skye's drawing to confirm that it was what she thought it was and they continued walking. Once they got far enough away that anyone looking wouldn't be able to see them properly, Jemma paused and looked out at the water. It was dark and terrifying and Jemma was more than a little hesitant to go in.

Skye made sure to put their things down, the ones that wouldn’t be coming in the water with them, in the dry sand well out of reach of the tide. She temporarily set the shells, shampoo, soap and make homemade rags in the sand next to them and reached out. Her fingers traced their way down the inside of Jemma’s forearm until their palms touched and she could lace their fingers together. She squeezed Jemma’s left hand with her right despite the fact that the motion kind of hurt since her hand was stiff and marled from Ward stomping on it earlier. 

“We’re only going in to our knees,” She said. “At the deepest. That’s all we need to go. At any point that you need to, you can get up and walk out and if you think you can you just have to let me know and I promise I’ll pull you out,” She assured Jemma without any judgement on her fear. It was a valid fear and Skye just wanted to help Jemma get clean, even if it meant Jemma refused to go in the water and Skye had to help her clean off one coconut shell of ocean water at a time. 

"I can do it. It's just water." Jemma said, but it was clear she was trying to convince herself. It was just water. The ocean wasn't a living monster that would consume her if she got too close. It was just shallow waves on a beach and she could walk into it. Once she was resolved to go in, she gently squeezed Skye's hand before she let go and went to unzip her jacket. It stuck in a couple of places and Jemma cringed for the lost piece of clothing. She really did like that jacket.    
  
Mud had gotten through the large tears in the arms and Jemma's arms were still covered in it even once the jacket came off and she dropped it in the wet sand. She was a bit more shy about her shirt. Even though she'd done it before it somehow felt different now. She ignored it though and unbuttoned it until it was loose enough to pull up over her head. It was then Skye would be able to see the scrapes, especially on her left arm. They spanned from her shoulder all the way to her mid forearm and were bleeding in several places through the dirt that got past both layers of clothing.

Skye tried her best just to focus on peeling her way out of her own layers. Her baseball tee shirt with the 3/4 sleeves was trashed. It had various holes from her runs through the jungle. She pulled it up and over her head by the bottom hem of it, hoping to calm Jemma’s reluctance with the balance of her comfort in peeling both her baseball tee and her underlying tank top off simultaneously, leaving her down to her sports bra, pants and boots. She looked over at Jemma and immediately frowned as she saw the scrapes. She stepped closer and reached out gingerly for Jemma’s arm, eyes roaming over it from shoulder to forearm. She bit her bottom lip to try and stop herself from apologizing to Jemma again. Skye wasn’t in much better shape. She had bruises framing her neck, a small shallow scabbed over slice in her neck from where Ward’s knife had pressed too hard to it a few times, bruising along her ribcage, plus her temple was still slowly bleeding. The scratches on her forearm were still so caked in mud that they weren’t visible. There was a long scratch along the middle part of her lower back, an angry red color, warm to the touch, and more tender than some of her other injuries. Her knuckles on both hands were mangled, her right hand was swollen more than the left because Ward had stomped on it. The pinky on her right hand wasn’t sitting at quite the right angle either and Skye found she couldn’t quite curl it like the rest of her fingers. “Jem…” She didn’t even know what to say anymore, other than wanting to continue profusely apologizing. 

"Your hand!" Jemma gasped when she saw it. Her eyes welled up again and all self consciousness about being topless ceased to exist in her mind and she grabbed for Skye's wrist. It was bloodied and purple with bruises and Jemma hated that it had happened.    
  
"Your finger's broken." Jemma cringed and ever so gently prodded at it to get a feel for where her bones were. She was incredibly relieved to feel that they were intact and that it was probably a fracture and not a shatter. It was much more likely to be able to heal without a cast or surgery, but Jemma was definitely going to split it once they were clean.

She held Skye's hand in her own, palm up, and gestured to her finger. It wasn't going to be fun to fix, but she had to compartmentalize and focus on getting them clean. It was step one. So once she lowered her hand and let Skye's hang on her own, she unbuttoned her jeans and tugged on the zipper. She couldn't help the light blush across her cheeks as she pushed them down over her hips. At least she was covered in mud and Skye wouldn't be able to tell. She was slightly horrified herself when she looked down and saw a bruise on her inner thigh where Ward had grabbed at her and her shoulder blades tightened as she stilled for a moment and looked up to see if Skye had noticed.

Skye blinked. She grimaced and inhaled a slight hiss of pain when Jemma grabbed her wrist. “It’s o-,” Skye cut off, biting her lip hard to hold back a groan of pain when Jemma prodded her finger. She stared down at their hands a moment when Jemma pressed their palms together. Her pinky was definitely angled a bit wonky. Just like that, the connection between their palms was gone again. Skye focused on kicking out of her boots. Without giving it thought for embarrassment, she peeled her way out of her jeans and underwear and tossed them with her shirts. She left the bra on at the moment since she wanted to bring it into the water to clean it a bit, but pulled the front zipper down until it unhooked. She looked over at Jemma, eyes roaming partially to take in the sight of her, simply unable to help from indulging and partially because she was scanning for injuries. Of course her eyes zeroed in on that bruise. The thought of it made her stomach churn and heated her blood. When she felt Jemma’s eyes on her, she shifted her gaze to Jemma’s. With a quick half step, she moved back into Jemma’s personal space and wrapped her up in a hug, not at all giving a shit about their varying states of undress, she just needed to hold on for a moment, ground her thoughts away from what Ward had done and had tried to do to Jemma. She needed to be present here and not stuck inside her own head. She kissed the side of Jemma’s head, biting back the bile that rose to the back of her throat along with the apology that tried to escape. 

When Skye's body pressed flush against hers- without a real layer of clothing between them at all- Jemma's face burned and she was sure she was blushing all over and not just in her cheeks. Her arms were awkward around Skye as they hugged, just barely feeling before she let herself touch her and gave her a very gentle squeeze. She could tell Skye was bruised across her torso from the violent fight in the jungle, so she didn't hold her too tightly. Her fingertips grazed lightly over scars on her lower back and she just held onto her for a second, enjoying her warm, smooth skin despite the dirt.    
  
"Skye," Jemma finally cleared her throat. She was gradually feeling more conscious of their nudity as their body temperatures lowered without the sun beating down on them and with a coastal breeze tickling their skin. "We should get cleaned up." Jemma pulled away from the hug, but reached for Skye's uninjured (or less injured) hand with her hand that hadn't been cut. "It's going to sting." Jemma warned her. She took a step into the wet sand and a wave crashed over her ankles.

Skye let her mind just go blank. She focused instead on the fact that Jemma was safe and that she was standing here, able to hold onto her. Jemma had already seen the worst of her scars on her back and Skye found she didn’t even mind it when Jemma’s fingers traced over them. Any other human would have been treated to broken fingers or a broken wrist at the very least if they’d attempted to touch those scars. She inhaled a slow breath and nodded when Jemma reminded her that they were here for a reason. “Right,” She nodded again, curled her hand around Jemma’s. “Yeah. Okay,” She stooped and scooped up the items they brought with them to clean up and stepped into the shallow water with Jemma, favoring her somewhat twisted ankle to try and put less pressure on it as they moved. She looked over and watched Jemma’s face, keeping up next to her step for step, Skye waited for Jemma to stop them at the furthest point she wanted to go. As the water reached some of the smaller scratches here and there along her legs, Skye flinched and cringed but made no sounds in reaction to the minor stings. 

Jemma waded in the water and ventured out until the surface of the water was fluctuating up and down between her mid thighs and her kneecaps as waves pulled in an out of the shore. It already had a relieving effect as all the sand and everything that had stuck to her over the past two weeks started coming off in the surf. She hadn't had much time to clean up since they had gotten to the island and it hadn't mattered all that much until now.    
  
Jemma took a deep, shaky breath and gave Skye a grateful nod. The fastest way to go about it was to soak herself completely, so she bent her legs and sank into the water. A sharp intake of breath was the only show of discomfort as water came up to her throat and her wounds stung and burned. Jemma's teeth chattered since the water wasn't exactly warm, and she wrapped her arms around her knees, letting the natural currents in the water clean her off to start.

Skye stood stock still next to Jemma. She watched her, not in a perverse way, just to ensure that she was alright, especially after she actually went under the water. With the items in her arms, Skye decided she would wait to clean herself off until Jemma was clean and settled so they didn’t lose any of the items she carried and so she could, essentially, stand guard. She wasn’t doing it because she thought they would be attacked. She didn’t think they would here. She was standing guard against any fears Jemma might have, ready to drop everything tucked into the crook of her arm in order to reach for Jemma if anything at all freaked her out. When some of the taller waves crashed and splashed certain open scratches, she felt the burn and sting, but she knew it was nothing compared to what would happen when her left arm went under water, or her temple, or even her back. Her hands, well she could handle those. She hadn’t expected Jemma to go all the way under water, especially not for prolonged seconds. 

So Skye watched, waited and counted off seconds in her head. When the chill got to her, she moved to sit down after making sure their bath items were secure in her right arm. She clenched her eyes shut for a few seconds as the water began to soak into her left arm, loosening and washing away the thick caked mud from her skin, taking small bits of the blood splattered away. She took slow, even breaths and watched the crests of the waves so she’d know if any of them were going to be above her chin or not. A moment or two, she looked up at the stars to see if the sky looked much different down here than it did by their camp. She only ever looked away from Jemma for three to five seconds at a time, not wanting to make her uncomfortable by staring too much. 

Jemma's teeth chattered and she shivered as the cold water soaked into her wounds. When she felt she had enough, she stretched out her legs and got up. Her scrapes and bruises, on her torso at least, were visible now that the waves had wiped her clean. Her head and face was another story.   
  
"Do you have that soap?" Jemma's arms were wrapped around herself, trying to keep warm. She wanted to wash her face and hair and get out of the water as soon as possible.

Skye’s eyes followed Jemma’s legs when she stood up. Admittedly, they lingered a little longer than necessary. “Hm?” Skye felt cold and she knew she was shivering a bit. Her teeth weren’t chattering yet and she figured the cold temperature would help her with swelling, maybe. “Oh, yeah,” She nodded, grabbed one of the rags and the liquid bottle of soap and held it out to Jemma. She realized they wouldn’t need the shells since Jemma was willingly dipping into the water so she could dip her hair back into it, so Skye tossed those over her shoulder and back to the beach. She balanced the other rags and shampoo bottle between her knees after handing the other items over to Jemma. She pulled her sports bra free of her shoulders and began to rub the two halves of it together in the water, cleaning it out, wringing it out, soaking it again. She kept glancing at Jemma, just to check on her...and maybe to cast a lingering gaze here and there. When she was done with the bra, she flung it back to the shore just far enough that the waves wouldn’t reclaim it. She could wring it out again and get the sand off of it in the morning. 

Skye got to work after that. She leaned back as a wave came, holding her breath and blowing out through her nose as the wave crashed over her so she would sink under enough to wet her hair. She reached back and ran her hands through it repeatedly to get the water in there to get the grit and the muck out of there. When she came back up, she squirted some of the shampoo into her hand, tucked the bottle back between her knees and then it went into her wet hair and she worked it through her dirty hair, doing her best to work all the mud, the blood, the sweat and general grime free. She’d used the ocean to clean herself off once or twice over the weeks, but she hadn’t actually attempted to immerse herself and clean off. When she was done working the shampoo through her hair, she sunk back under the next wave and kept moving her hands through her hair to get the dirt and lather free again. She felt kind of bad putting this shit into the ocean, but what else could they do? When she was done, her hair felt less clunky. It wasn’t perfectly clean of course, because of the salt water but it was much better. She took the soap and another rag and slowly began to clean off her face and neck. It was only after that that Skye stood back up. She added more soap to the rag and cleaned off her shoulders, her torso and down to her feet. She reached what she could of her back and then her right arm. 

It was with the greatest reluctance that Skye began to use the soap and water to clean off her left arm. She bit hard into the inside of her cheek to avoid making any pained noises as she cleaned off this arm. It revealed the 8-9 scratches that streaked on both sides of her forearm from just below her elbow down to almost her wrists. Alisha’s nails had made these scratches, some of them so deep that Skye thought it might have gone down to the muscles. They were her last attempt to be saved from the giant spiders. Skye kept her arm bent slightly at the elbow. She dunked the rag into the water, swished it around to get more suds and gingerly wiped at her arm again, continuing to clean long after she’d already managed to get all of the mud, scabs, grit and everything else clean of it. Skye just kept dunking the rag and bringing it back up to wipe at her arm. She wasn’t entirely conscious of the stray tears sailing down her cheeks as she did it, turning her arm over and over, staring at the ghastly gouges through her flesh that had previously been obstructed by the absolutely caked on layers of mud. 

Jemma stole a glance at Skye every few seconds to check her progress and gauge how much longer they would both need, and maybe a bit to let her eyes wander. She initially looked out of curiosity, but she found herself cataloguing injuries she saw in her head. When Skye started focusing on her arm, Jemma took a good look too and her eyes widened. The scratches were deep and Skye looked in a great deal of pain. She hadn't seen the cause for the injuries, but the time for asking was when they were warm and dry in Skye's shelter, not naked in the ocean.    
  
Jemma didn't care one bit that Skye was completely naked and Jemma was only in her undergarments as she got closer and touched a hand to her arm. Without saying anything, she took Skye's rag and carefully started dabbing at the scratches so Skye didn't have to do it herself. Jemma had finished cleaning her face, revealing the raw skin and scrapes across the whole left side of it, and all she really had left to do was give her hair a good scrub, but it could wait until Skye was taken care of.

By the time Jemma’s hand touched her arm, Skye’s hands had started shaking. It wasn’t from the chill. It was from the nerves as everything continued sinking in during the silence between them other than the crashing waves. To try and stop the shaking, she curled the fingers of her hand, ignoring the pain it caused in her knuckles. A number of desires welled through her. She wanted to back away from Jemma and her attempts at being gentle while she helped her clean her arm. She wanted to sit down and sob. She wanted to swim out into the water until her muscles stopped working and release her burdens into nothingness. She fought each and everyone of them. “It’s...t-thanks,” She cleared her suddenly overly dry throat. “I’m good...if you want to finish…” There really wasn’t a thought in her mind about how dressed or undressed either of them were because she was too busy fighting against her brain as it struggled through reminding her about the terrible things that happened, that she’d done over the last two weeks, that she didn’t deserve someone to comfort her and take care of her. She didn’t deserve those things because she had made terrible decisions and, more importantly, she’d murdered people today. She didn’t deserve anything. But Jemma did. She deserved to not have to be alone, to have someone there to assure her that the water was safe where they were at, to help her finish cleaning off if she needed it and to let her know she was safe. Skye tried to force herself to keep focusing on the present but it grew harder with each passing moment as she grew more and more weary and tired. 

"I'm here for you too, you know." Jemma said softly. Every so gently, she brought Skye's hand to her lips and kissed the back of it, being sure to avoid any and all injuries. She wanted to take a better look at the scratches, but she had to finish cleaning up and they could go take care of themselves with the medical kit.    
  
"I just need to wash my hair and I'll be finished." Jemma held out her hand and once she had the shampoo, she lowered Skye's hand and sank down into the water. She didn't go all the way under, but she tilted her head back and let the water soak down to her scalp before she started scrubbing. She had to go through it twice to even get any suds but when it was finished, her hair felt much less crusty and dried out and the simple thing made her feel so much more human.    
  
Jemma could see Skye was struggling very badly with something behind her eyes, so she stepped up herself and made sure she could take care of Skye as well as she had done for her.    
  
"Let's go get warmed up, take care of those scratches, and get to sleep." Jemma put a hand on the opposite side of Skye's waist and started guiding her back to the shoreline. In the breeze outside of the water it felt like they were freezing and Jemma left Skye where she was standing to grab the towels and come rushing back. She wrapped one around Skye's shoulders for her before getting her own around herself. She toweled herself off and threw on her pajamas as quickly as she could manage. Skye seemed slower and Jemma hurried to assist, holding up her weight while Skye got her clothes on.

Skye curled her fingers around Jemma’s quickly when Jemma kissed her. She couldn’t pull the words from her brain to make them come out to thank Jemma so she just nodded and stood nearby, waiting, shivering not both because of the chill and the nerves and emotions. She tried not to belittle herself for failing to stay strong and supportive for Jemma. Skye definitely felt sluggish. It had happened pretty quickly from the water toward the sand. She was a bit surprised at the need to lean on Jemma to get her clothes on. It pants and shirt warmed her up a bit and after they were on, she put the towel around her shoulders and pushed her wet hair so it would sit on the towel instead of her shirt. They gathered their items and started back to the shelter. 

By the time they made it inside, Skye more or less dropped her things in the corner and sat down on the end of the bed, too tired to sort through her dirty, useless clothes and the other things. “I just need some water, before we fix your hand,” She slowly dried her hair with the towel, wondering if it was worth it to brush her hair or not even bother. When her hair was slightly drier, she reached for her back, movement a bit stiff as she opened her messenger bag to grab one of the water bottles. She uncapped it and put it to her lips to chug down half of it. Her tongue felt a big thick, but that was a sign of dehydration right? She just needed water that was all. “Do you feel a little better?” She asked. “Now that you’re clean?” 

"I feel a lot better, thank you." Jemma answered her, but her mind was racing in several different places. She was already digging through the medical kit for alcohol and bandages and a small splint and though it was hurting to work with her palm sliced open, for once it was going to be Skye who came first. She wrapped it once so she wouldn't bleed on Skye, but that was all the attention it got for now. Jemma had been shaken up, but Skye had been forced to do terrible things, and she didn't even know how she got the scratches yet. Skye had stayed strong for her in the jungle, but it was Jemma's turn to be the caregiver so Skye could fall apart if she needed to.    
  
"My hand is fine for now, I want to take a look at your arm and your finger." Jemma sat down on her legs in front of Skye and held her hand out, palm up, next to her battered up hand and waited for Skye to submit to her care.

Skye wanted to protest. She did. She thought she would have felt better after cleaning up. She did feel better that she was clean and not caked in...other people’s blood and such. She hesitated to hold her hand out to Jemma, partially because she wanted to take care of Jemma’s wounds first and partially because she knew it was trembling a bit. She flexed her fingers (except for the broken one) and tried to steady her hand before she held it out. “I’m okay,” she looked at her warped finger as she spoke the words without conviction, like she was trying to convince herself of it instead of Jemma. 

"Don't do that." Jemma's voice wasn't mean or snappy when she shook her head and spoke, but it was firm. "You have broken bones and injuries that need to be healed. Don't lie to me, I want to help you." She explained. She very gently held Skye's hand and looked it over from all directions once again. She wasn't an orthopedic surgeon, but she knew what the finger bones were supposed to look like and how they were supposed to line up. Her frown from a moment ago disappeared and was replaced with an apologetic, concerned expression. Her lips were pursed into a thin line as she tried to come up with the best way to reset it.   
  
_ You can’t _ , Skye thought to herself as she watched Jemma shake her head and then inspect her hand. Jemma could fix the gouges in her skin. She could fix her finger. She could sew up or burn the wounds, sure. Jemma couldn’t erase the things that happened today or change the fact that Skye had made some major judgmental mistakes today, that she’d murdered people. She couldn’t undo all the bits of Skye’s childhood that her shaped and molded her into a ‘act first to protect yourself, ask the questions and second guess it later,’ personality traits. In this case, protecting herself meant protecting Jemma, which led to terrorizing and murdering people. They deserved pain, for all they’d done to Jemma. But did they deserve death? She could have used restraint. She could have shot Donnie in the shoulder. She could have incapacitated Quinn but she’d lost control and had let the rage take over. 

"I'm so sorry, this is going to hurt. A lot." Jemma was completely honest with Skye and she kissed the back of her hand before swiftly applying enough pressure to her finger in the right direction to get everything lined up properly again. There was a moderately loud crack and Jemma cringed.

Skye’s eyes came back into focus as Jemma kissed the back of her hand. Her brow furrowed and then in the next second, Jemma snapped her finger back into place and Skye saw an explosion of bright stars in her eyes. She let out a loud shout of, “ _ FUCK!! _ ” because it really fucking hurt. Skye  _ barely _ held off on yanking her hand away. Her eyes were already watery but they filled up, spilled over and fat tears streaked her cheeks. She rolled her eyes up and clenched her eyelids shut as she clamped her mouth shut and expelled a stifled throaty groan of pain. She could only hope Ward’s nose hurt this much when Jemma snapped it back. 

"I'm sorry!" Jemma flinched when Skye cursed and she lunged forward while still holding Skye's hand in hers. She kissed her cheek and wiped away Skye's tears with her free hand and murmured another ten apologies into her ear. She kissed her soundly on the lips to distract her as she carefully slid the finger splint from the kit over the broken digit. When their mouths finally parted Jemma tightened the brace just enough to hold the joints in her finger perfectly still. She was glad Skye had been paranoid enough to have the very thorough first aid kit checked on the plane.    
  
"That was the worst part, I promise." Jemma knew there were other things she had to do that would sting, but it wouldn't be nearly as bad as resetting her bones like that. She saw the look of dread on Skye's face when she pulled out the alcohol and cotton balls and Jemma found herself wanting to apologize even more. She felt like she was just torturing her, even if she knew it was to help her heal.    
  
"I'm not going to stitch these, it's too late and I don't want to trap bacteria inside." Jemma gestured to Skye's arm. She was glad she didn't need to sew them up because she didn't know if she'd be able to handle hurting Skye so much in one night. The alcohol was enough. She doused the cotton ball and dabbed along each of the cuts as quickly as she could so the pain wouldn't last very long. She finished with some antibiotic pain relieving gel before she wrapped her entire forearm in a long strip of gauze. "All better." Jemma said. She kissed Skye's hand again and rinsed her knuckles with some clean drinking water. They only had the one bottle of alcohol and they couldn't afford to use it on every little scrape or cut.    
  
"Finish your water, you're all done." Jemma grabbed Skye's water and pushed it into her hands. "I'm going to grab some food, I'll be right back." She pushed off her knees with her hands and shook out the sting from her right one as she got to her feet. She didn't want to leave Skye alone for a second, but neither of them had eaten in a while and it wouldn't do to starve to death.

Skye tried to make the least amount of noise possible while Jemma dabbed the alcohol covered cotton ball over ten long scratches on her forearm. Part of her brain told her she deserved the pain from these wounds after what she'd done today. The other part was ready to collapse and breakdown. She fought the breakdown off rather than trying to stifle her guilt. She wasn't the kind of person who was afraid of being alone; Skye had been alone her whole life, that was nothing new or unusual. However, the combination of her need to take care of Jemma (Jemma's wounds weren't cleaned and patched) and a deep well of fear that formed as a pit in her stomach had her forcing her way to her feet.    
  
"Hey, Jem, no, wait," she reached out her left hand and caught Jemma by her closest wrist. "I've got some food in my bag. It can wait." She said. "Your hand and anything else that needs to be cleaned and patched up are more important," Her speech wasn't slurred but the string of words came out just a bit slower than her normal cadence. She blamed it on the headache from smashing her head into that tree root and her general exhaustion and hoped it wasn't enough for Jemma to notice and worry about.

Jemma's body seemed to relax and automatically be pulled backward just by Skye's voice without her even tugging on her. It made her remember that she was injured at all. She gave in to Skye's request and moved to sit back down in the sand in front of their bed as Skye sat back down as well.    
  
"It's nothing." Jemma shrugged, but held out her wrapped hand for Skye anyway. She hadn't had a chance to look at it, but it was just a cut, she could deal with it.

"Don't lie to me," Skye echoed Jemma's cent from earlier back at Jemma as she unwrapped Jemma's hand. "I want to help you," she held Jemma’s hand up by the back of it to support it and looked down at what looked like a deep enough gash that it went down to the muscle. She wasn't sure about the stitches situation for whether she could put them into the cut or not for similar reasons to the ones Jemma said about Skye's arm. "Alright, Doc," she looked up from Jemma's palm to her face without letting go of her hand and arm. "What's the verdict?" she reached her left hand out and pushed some of Jemma's hair behind her head, touched her cheek in the clear space next to on of th scrapes and outside of her black eye. She tried not to frown too much but it took a lot of effort not to.

Jemma was shocked when she looked down at her hand. She hadn't thought it was as deep as it was. Like Skye, she was sure her adrenaline and stress had made it seem less than it was. Jemma was almost thankful it had been coated in mud so she didn't have to stitch it up. It was in a painful place, since she had to continue to use her right hand, but there was nothing she could do.   
  
"Just sterilization, that's all we can do." Jemma sighed. She tried to flex her fingers some and cringed. It wasn't easy and she couldn't move her fingers more than an inch or so. She was lucky it hadn't gone far enough to damage any tendons, but it had probably cut into some of her muscle and possibly a ligament. She couldn't see past the blood that started to slowly seep from the wound.

Skye used the cloth that had been on the wound before to apply pressure, holding one hand under Jemma's and using the other one to press the cloth on the wound itself to try and stop it from bleeding first. She leaned forward and kissed Jemma, giving them both a moment of distraction. After a few minutes, Skye went back to work. She set the bloody cloth aside. Parts of the gash were still bleeding but very slowly. Just like Jemma had for her arm, Skye soaked a cotton ball in alcohol and cleaned the cut, trying to cause the least amount of pain possible though there wasn't much either of them could do about alcohol in an open wound. When she was done, Skye spread some of the antibiotic pain gel on the wound, took one of the large square gauze pads, folded it in half and pressed it to the wound then wrapped it securely a few time in a long strip of gauze and secured it with the medical tape. She looked up at Jemma when she was done and studied her face. "Anywhere else?" she asked, to be sure.

Jemma bit her tongue and didn't allow herself to cry anymore. She'd done that enough today and she knew Skye was probably hurting a lot more than her right now. She didn't want Skye to ignore her own pain and feelings to try to comfort her when for once Jemma wanted it to be the other way around.   
  
"I don't think so." Jemma looked down at herself. There wasn't too much that could use medical attention at the moment. The rope burns on her wrist from the crudely made tying material needed a fresh aloe leaf and Jemma didn't want to deal with that right now. She could sanitize the scrapes down her arm and on her face, but she wanted to conserve the alcohol as much as possible, so she ignored it.    
  
"We should eat something." Jemma gave them a direction and a new objective. Her stomach was starting to grumble at her now that the action had died down. She easily drank most of her water bottle and moved to sit on her side of the bed with Skye instead of in the sand.

Skye was slow drinking her water. She was thirsty, she really was, her tongue was dry and felt thick and heavy in her mouth. She felt off but couldn't quite say why. Too many parts of her body hurt to pinpoint any particular ache or pain. The bed shifted when Jemma sat next to her. Skye put her bottle down after capping it. She grabbed her messenger bag's strap and pulled it over through the sand. She reached out and moved her arm around Jemma, running her left hand along her back, as much to comfort Jemma as it was to ground Skye.    
  
Skye pulled the clasps and flipped the bag's flap open. She unzipped the main pouch and pulled one of the softball sized oranges they'd collected from the days trek from the top of the bag and held it up for Jemma with a small smile. "I have more than oranges," she assured. "There are some bananas, figs and guava in there too. "We also found," she leaned, exhaling a slightly huffed breath when the slight stretch made her back twinge. she rummaged through the bag still and came up with three kiwi fruits, the first they'd found of these so far on the island.She held them out toward Jemma as she sat back up and tried to decide what out of the bag she would eat herself.

"I hope you aren't expecting bananas like you get in the grocery store at home." Jemma couldn't help the chuckle. It was a little known fact that the common banana was altered quite a bit from its original wild family member. Jemma peered into Skye's bag and reached for the first banana she saw. On the outside and even once Jemma peeled it, it just looked like a normal banana, but short and stubby with a greenish peel. But Jemma bent it in half to show Skye and exposed the massive number of black seeds inside, leaving hardly any room for edible fruit. "The ones we eat are clones of a rare banana from China." Jemma informed her. She had a wealth of strange information, she knew, but it was an entertaining show and tell.  
  


Skye had settled for starting to peel one of the oranges. She'd needed both hands for that so she'd settled for resting her heavy head on Jemma's shoulder as she pulled the peel apart and dropped the peel pieces into her bag to discard later. Her brow furrowed and she picked her head up as Jemma reached into the bag. "What?" she asked, unsure how a banana could somehow be something other than a banana. Her eyebrows arched up her forehead when Jemma pulled the banana in half and showed her the inside. She reached out to poke at one of the seeds and frowned at the bizarre looking fruit. "...I guess that's disappointing for the smoothies," she lamented with a heavy sigh, as if they'd had a blender for mixed drinks in the first place.

Jemma smiled and a little huff of a laugh probably bounced Skye's head a bit. Now content, she let her own head rest on Skye's and grabbed for a more edible fruit that was less effort to consume. She grabbed her knife from where it was tucked underneath all the bedding. Two weeks ago she would have been disgusted by eating fruit that she cut with a knife that had just been in sand, but now she simply wiped the sides of the blade against her pants leg and cut her kiwi in half. There were less of them than everything else, so Jemma put the other half soft side up on Skye's knee and bit the green insides out of the skin. It definitely wasn't the most elegant way to eat a kiwi, but it worked.

Skye wasn't really feeling all that hungry, but she knew it would upset Jemma if she didn't eat. When she finished peeling the orange, she pulled it in half and handed one half over to Jemma. She made her way through the orange wedges and, less gracefully, through the half of the kiwi Jemma gave her, taking small drinks of water between them. She didn't reach for anything else after she finished the kiwi, orange half and the rest of her water bottle. In fact she was starting to nod off a bit on Jemma's shoulder. It was just hard to hold her eyes open. There were things to talk about, things that she wanted to tell Jemma, but she couldn't make the words come just yet. She felt concerned that everything started feeling...clouded? Her legs felt a bit rubbery on top of it, tingly even. She thought it was from all the exertion from the day. The nerves and muscles in them were shot at the moment from overuse while she didn't have completely proper nutrition to replenish and refuel them with after all of it. So she shouldn't be too worried about the slight pins and needles she felt buzzing from her hips to her legs, right?    
  
"We didn't just run into the arthur...anthro...those centipede armor bugs today," Skye murmured in a sluggish, weary tone.

"Oh?" Jemma had been wondering. She had no idea how Skye had gotten those scratches, but they most definitely weren't from a blade or a tree root and they hadn't come from her fight with Ward and Quinn. Something had happened and Jemma hadn't wanted to push, but if Skye was ready to tell her Jemma was ready to listen.    
  
"What was it?" She asked. Her arm wrapped around Skye's waist once she was finished eating and with Skye's weight on her side and shoulder, it wasn't difficult to ease them both into a laying position on the bed, Jemma on her back and Skye slightly tilted toward her.

Skye's forehead creased, first at the arm on her back (Ward slamming her into that tree trunk had really done a number on her back), then at the movement as they laid back. It took a bit of extra shifting to wind up comfortable angled on her side curled toward Jemma. Her eyes glassed over and she kept them trained on Jemma's collar as she took a shaky breath. "Spiders," she said it quietly, as if saying the word too loudly would summon them. She closed her eyes as a shudder rolled through her and her fingers curled anxiously in the material of Jemma's shirt. "It was a whole...den of them. Their webs were...the sun never made through the canopy they were so thick and..." Skye's breath came out staggered, her hands trembled no matter how hard she tried to steady them. "T-They were so big...like, like, the size of a car...and  so f- _ fast _ ..." Ah shit, she didn't want to crumble and cry. She was still holding back the tears from spilling but the way they drained from her eyes made her sniffle.    
  
Skye closed her eyes and gave her head a shake, like she wanted to jar the visual memory loose to push it out of her mind. She failed. "It dropped behind us and we r-ran. It caught Alisha by the foot with its web," she paused a moment. So many horrible things had happened today alone, let alone the last two weeks. Skye had dealt with a lot in her life. She had a high tolerance and threshold for dealing with some heavy shit but she was definitely reaching her limit. She sniffled again and when she opened her eyes, they shifted to Jemma’s.  "I h-had her," her voice shook. "I-I had her, she was holding on...and then a-another one...T-They were fighting over her and...and Bobbi and Mack, they were pulling me and..." Skye let go of Jemma’s shirt and turned her hands toward herself, looking at the palms of her bruised and battered hands. She lost the battle and the tears escaped down her cheeks as her wide, watery eyes went to Jemma's face without actually seeing her both because her vision was so blurred with tears and because her mind was far away back in that moment. "I had her..." It came as a whisper, her voice shaking on every word, as if she actually had a chance of saving Alisha. Logically, she knew she hadn't had a shot at all. The moment that web hit her foot, Alisha was dead. Skye knew that. If Alisha hadn't been with them, it might've been Skye instead. If Bobbi and Mack hadn't pulled her free, Skye wouldn't have let go of Alisha and she'd be dead. But Skye was here and Alisha was gone.

Jemma's heart felt like it dropped into her stomach as Skye started stumbling through her words. She saw her lip quivering and when Skye started crying there was an intense pang in Jemma's chest. Skye was more upset than Jemma had ever seen her after everything that had happened and Jemma held her close, so close she could feel her breath on her collarbones.   
  
"Skye..." Jemma didn't know what to say. She said her name and hoped it gave some semblance of comfort paired with her holding onto her tightly and kissing the top of her head repeatedly. She couldn't imagine- and didn't want to- what Skye had seen when two predators fought over their prey when the prey was human, and a friend. They had all experienced so much trauma and Jemma knew Skye's breakdown was because of the collective experience of it. She just wanted to make it better and she didn't know how, so she held her and whispered comforting words into her ear. "It's okay, we're okay" she repeated over and over again and kissed at Skye's forehead and any part of her face she could reach.    
  
Jemma was also trying to hide how troubled she was about the spiders. As far as she knew- and she knew a lot about prehistoric creatures- there had never been any arachnids like the ones Skye described. They were dealing with unknown lifeforms. Hell, they were dealing with monsters and Jemma was afraid that after this new find she could no longer expect to only discoverer preexisting creatures.   
  
"I'm here, it's going to be alright." Jemma lied. She still believed they were all going to die here, but Skye needed faith and Jemma was going to give it to her. She wanted whatever time she and Skye had together to be as long and happy as possible.

The most crying Skye had done up until this point, outside of silent stray tears and her first exit into the jungle after the Mace situation, had been while she was performing CPR on Jemma and right after Jemma first started breathing again. After that, there hadn’t been time. She had run off into the jungle after Mace because she didn’t want Jemma seeing her breakdown about it. After what happened with the storm and lightning, Skye didn’t give herself the opportunity after that. If she wasn’t around Jemma, she was around someone else. The few nights she’d been alone in her shelter, she hadn’t even let the dams break then because she had spent those days overworking herself so much that her body would shut down and sleep instead. 

Now, however, Skye couldn’t control it. She didn’t resist at all when Jemma pulled her in. Her face pressed into Jemma’s neck and shoulder and what had been reserved tears and sniffles snowballed into unabashed bawling into Jemma’s shoulder and collar. Her shoulders bobbed and when she managed to get her arms around Jemma’s middle, she fisted handfuls of her shirt as if it would some how ground her. She blurted out apologies, half of them unintelligible, about Alisha, about being gone when they came and kidnapped her, about what she did to Quinn and Donnie. It wasn’t just any one thing. It was all of the things from the last two weeks; her very sudden and very intense feelings for Jemma after only hours of knowing her, the plane crash, Jemma drowning, the desperate CPR that almost didn’t work, Izzy, JT, Mace, Fitz’s glares and accusations, the wary looks and passive aggressive comments from the others, Ward and Garrett’s advances, the knives, the compys, the terror birds, Buzz, trying to distance from Jemma, Will kissing Jemma, fostering her even more intense feelings for Jemma, water shortages, food shortages, group divides,  _ Lord of The Flies _ , the air pocket in the tail, Jemma’s book, sharing things with Jemma that Skye had only ever talked about with shrinks before and because she was forced to talk to them, sneak attacks, kidnappings, centipedes, spiders, Alisha, murder. 

It was too much and Skye held it in for too long. She apologized for losing her control too. She just kept murmuring over and over again, “I’m sorry,” sometimes to the point that they just rapidly flowed together as if they were one long stringed word, “Imsorryimsoryimsorryimsorry,” As if she were a broken record and she just couldn’t scratching over that one short phrase. She’d fought so hard to be strong and optimistic and to be there for Jemma, to be there for the group even when they seemed cross with her. She knew this progression was normal for the sheer amount of trauma experienced, but it didn’t stop her from feeling like a total failure for this breakdown. 

"Hey, hey," Jemma held Skye's shaking body and hugged her close. She didn't know what she could say to fix it other than telling her it was alright and being there as she cried. "Shh," Jemma stroked Skye's hair and tried her very best to easy her sobbing. "It's okay, it's okay," she repeated nearly as much as Skye was apologizing. Jemma knew she never could have been brave enough to get through the things Skye had, both before and after the crash, so she wished she could get across to Skye that she had nothing to apologize for.    
  
"Shh, darling, everything is going to be alright." Jemma said, pushing a strand of wet hair behind Skye’s ear. Jemma hadn't even realized she was going to use the pet name until it was already off her lips. She usually only used it as a name for her significant others and she wouldn't have thought of it as anything special before, but now she was using it as a tiny piece of normalcy. They didn't have to be shouting or sobbing each other's names all the time and Jemma didn't want to, so she embraced the piece of normal and she hoped it helped Skye feel even the teeniest bit better as she held her and slightly rocked back and forth.

It took awhile to calm down.  Skye was down to sniffles, post cry occasional hiccups and staggered breaths while Jemma rocked with her.  The small word,  that little term of endearment rustled through Skye's haze. She kissed that closest spot she could on Jemma without risking Jemma letting go of her,  which happened to be her collar bone. "Thank you, " it alternated between that and small apologies between be sniffles.    
  
"I'm okay, " she whispered after she had finally settled down a bit.

"It's okay if you're not." Jemma promised. As much as she hated seeing Skye so upset, it was bad for her to hold everything back and bottle it up until she exploded. She had had a good release of it tonight though, so Jemma wasn't going to push her any further. She just held her and continued stroking her hair and Skye's upper back where she knew she wasn't injured.

Skye shook her head slightly. She sniffled so her nose didn't go runny on Jemma's clean pajamas even though she'd tear stained Jemma's shirt a bit. "I'm okay," she insisted it for herself mostly. "I'm good," she cleared her throat and wound her arm a little tighter around Jemma's middle, like she was afraid Jemma might go somewhere even though she knew Jemma wouldn't. "For now," she said to acknowledge that she knew it was okay if she wasn't alright. She wasn't trying to hold all those things in, it just was old habit to suck in all the heavy things that happened to her into the dark void inside her and harbor them there until she could process and expel them later. It was different now. Jemma was here to support her the way Skye had been trying to support Jemma this whole time. The void had been rapidly shrinking and there wasn't enough room to hold all the things happening day after day after day to them on this island. 

"I'm good," Skye asserted again. "Thanks, Jem," she was completely unashamed by the compulsion to burrow into Jemma's shoulder and collar while holding onto her. She could have lost Jemma today, or worse could have happened to her, clearly  after what Ward had tried. In Skye's mind, even with her guilt over what she's done, nothing else that happened today was worse than what could have happened to Jemma. Skye held on tight and tried to just regulate her breathing to get it back to normal.

"Let's get some rest." Jemma breathed a sigh of relief as Skye came back from wherever in her head she had been. They were each other's rock and it was hard to see her like this. A good night's sleep and a day to relax tomorrow would do them both good. She would do everything within her power to make sure Skye could just stay in their shelter the next day with no responsibilities. She had done enough for everyone, they could handle themselves for a day, especially with the influx of water.   
  
"Go to sleep, Skye." Jemma whispered. She continued to cradle her head and she overlapped their legs under the blankets. She wanted as much physical contact with her as possible and she wanted a long rest for both of them.

  
Skye wasn't going to argue about being all wrapped up and coddled by Jemma. Anyone else and Skye would have never let her guard down so drastically as to not only openly sob on her but to let someone else take care of her so willingly. It wasn't in Skye's nature to do that. The last people she allowed to give her that kind of genuine comfort were the Brodys. Skye had promised herself after they died that she would never let herself get that close to someone or let them in so far past her built up defenses for the sole reason that she knew she would never live through it if she lost them again. It took less than eight hours of spending time with Jemma for Skye to want all the barriers to come down. There were still some in place, that it would take time to knock down and get past, but she was actively working on it.    
  
All of it amounted to the fact that Skye was wrapped around Jemma, pressed as close as possible, her muscles slowly winding down and relaxing, eyes drooping with every calming stroke of Jemma's hand on the back of her head or her back.  She couldn't have held her eyes open much longer if she'd tried. "Night, Jem," Skye sluggishly murmured as she let sleep claim her whole Jemma calmed her, grounded her, kept her wrapped safely in a temporary cocoon that blocked out everything but the fact that they were together and safe for the moment.


	10. Tequila...?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You guys...are awesome! Thank you reading, thank you thank you for the kudos, comments and love! <3 your faces!!  
> I am severely impressed by all of the guesses about Skye that were in the comments from last week's chapter (episode? bahahaha), I was actually worried that SO much was going on that people would miss the little cues that someone might be up. 
> 
> If you don't get a reply tonight to your comment, will do my best to get back to you tomorrow at the latest!!  
> Thank you for always being awesome!! :D 
> 
> Without further ado, fasten your seatbelts and please remain seated and keep arms and legs inside the ride at all times!!  
> <3 <3<3
> 
> ____________________

For a couple of hours, Skye's sleep was actually fairly restful. She'd been so physically, mentally and emotionally spent and then so calm and relaxed with Jemma holding onto her that her body had just naturally shut down to go into sleep mode in an attempt to reset from all the damage and trauma. In the middle of the night, however, her body took a swift downward turn. A fever took hold and she started to sweat heavily. Despite the fever, she was extremely cold and because of it she was shivering so hard her teeth were actually chattering. The wound on her back was a big source of the heat making her sweat. The entire scratch was raised and swollen, hot to the touch and seeping slightly. The longer she shivered and the longer the fever tried to burn her up, the harder it became to breathe normally. Her breath came in rapid, short, shallow bursts and gasps through her mouth, hitching on occasion.   
  
The discomfort pulled her from sleep but when she tried to open her eyes, her vision shook violently back and forth in a blur before a they rolled upward in their sockets and brought her back into darkness. Her arms were limply around Jemma's middle and she couldn't seem to work them quite right, though her nails managed to dig in slightly at Jemma's back in an effort to rouse her. Her legs, which had been tingly and numb earlier, had no feeling in them now, which was more than a little alarming. Skye tried to speak but the words came out choppy and barely audible because of her extremely shallow breathing. Most of the words were unintelligible, but she kept mumbling them even as she fell in and out of actual consciousness. "L-legs," was among them but so were: Banana, something that sounded like 'arthuropurpleosauradon,' something that vaguely sounded like Odysseus, Falling, Freckles, Jemma's name was in there a few times, something stammered that sounded like 'Tie's crooked,' but was very choppy, and a few other stammered words. They were on a random loop. Half the time they were stuttered through her chattering teeth and stumbling choppy breaths. 

Skye couldn't open her eyes again but she could feel them rolling wildly beneath her closed eyelids. Her fingers gripped deeper into Jemma's back for a moment before she could no longer actually control them since her shivering was so intensely shaking through her, or at least through her from the hips upward. Skye wasn't sure about her legs because she couldn't feel them or her feet.

Jemma woke to a slight discomfort in her back and frowned when she realized Skye's fingers digging into her were the cause. When she fully woke, she could hear Skye mumbling something, but she couldn't quite understand.    
  
"Skye?" Jemma was wide awake now and she pulled back so she could see Skye's face. She was sweating profusely and her face was twitching, sending Jemma into an immediate panic. She hadn't realized how warm Skye was until she saw everything going wrong. "Skye?!" Jemma repeated, this time with more urgency. She sat up and was on her knees by Skye's head in an instant, tapping on her cheek with one hand and gently shaking her shoulder with the other. She wasn't waking from whatever state of unconsciousness she was in and Jemma immediately scanned over her, looking for signs of a known illness. Something was very wrong.

Skye barely registered any kind of movement but she did feel the arm that had been around Jemma's middle as it fell to the bed cushion when Jemma moved. She heard Jemma's voice and felt the tapping on her cheek. Skye fought to open her eyes but was unsuccessful at first. She tried to sputter out Jemma's name but the first time, it just came out as a chattered, strangled groaning sound from her throat. The second time was a strained, raspy, "J-Je-J-Je...mm..." She struggled to make her tongue work and to try and breathe deeper to be able to speak but her tongue felt thick and heavy in her mouth and she had no control at all over the rapid, short, ragged, shallow inhales and exhales as if even her lungs were shivering or spasming.    
  
After some shaking, some tapping and hearing Jemma’s voice rise, Skye managed to force her eyes halfway open. All she saw was a fuzzy back and forth blur of darkness and dim orange light from the fire as her eyes not only raced back and forth but rolled all around in different directions. The only other word she managed to stutter out through the strangled grunts was, "Le-le-...l-legs" She had a split second where her wide eyes were just barely still enough to focus on a double vision blurred version of Jemma before her eyes rolled up into her head again.

"Skye! What about your legs?!" Jemma was shouting. She didn't think Skye could hear her and she was panicking, her own heart rate raising rapidly. She shoved Skye's shoulder to get her situated on her back to take a look. She looked up and down Skye's legs. She couldn't see any blood through her pajamas and she would have known if Skye had a broken leg (even though that wouldn't cause this). It didn't make any sense.   
  
"Skye, wake up!" It seemed like a ridiculous thing to say, as a biochemist who saw sickness and disease quite frequently, but she said it nonetheless. She needed to know what happened so they weren't flying blind. "Can you hear me?" Jemma shook her shoulders again.

Skye wanted to fall asleep. It was the strongest urge she had; just let her eyes stay closed, curl up into herself for warmth and fall asleep. She needed sleep. That was all, she just needed sleep. Skye couldn’t exactly roll over and curl up, though. She couldn’t even move her legs, so there would be no curling up. Oh right, legs. What did Jemma ask her? Skye gurgled out another strangled groan. “C-c-can’t,” She sputtered. She kept trying to open her eyes and every time she did, they jumped back and forth and rolled into the back of her head, which lolled back and forth between Jemma’s shoulder shaking and Skye’s harsh shivering. Her hands clenched, straightened, contorted in spasm. Muscles in her face twitched. What was she saying? Jemma was shouting something at her. Skye couldn’t make it out. “F-Fe..f-fe-feel,” She was talking about her legs. It took struggling through a few more burbles and grunts, an excess of saliva and her uncontrollable, swollen tongue before she sputtered out, “L-le-legs.” 

Being on her back brought new discomfort; the pressure of her weight on the swollen, itchy, hot, painful scratch. Skye’s back arched to try and lift off the pressure but it was only the middle of her back that lifted up. The lower part of her back down by her hips didn’t lift up. Her eyelids finally popped open, pupils dilated so far they engulfed all but a tiny ring of her irises.  She still couldn’t see anything due to the blurry nature of her vision coupled with the rapid jerky movements her eyeballs made. “B-Back…” She rasped. She tried to tell Jemma it hurt but she couldn’t get the word out around the gurgled groan that escaped her throat. Each of her shallow gasps of air began to take on a wet sound, wheezing as the saliva coated and filled her throat faster than she could swallow the thick, almost foamy globs of it. She fought as her eyes tried to roll again and kept trying to roll up into her head. Her eyelids fluttered, closed, open, fluttered, opened, closed, fluttered. Her eyes jutted back and forth, up, down, to the side back and forth, up into her head, unfocused. Was this how she was going to die, whatever this was? 

"You can't feel your legs?" Jemma was dying to go into doctor mode, to rationalize everything and put her feelings aside so she could focus. It was one of the most difficult tasks she'd ever faced in her life, to not freak out right now. Skye needed her as Jemma, but she also really needed a doctor. So Jemma stopped, took one deep breath, and dove back into the case. She could see now that she was looking that Skye's legs were oddly still compared to her shivering body. Skye said something about her back and Jemma's first guess was that she had an injury to her spinal cord that affected her nerves and that an infection had given her a fever. Naturally this was a terrifying conclusion and Jemma sought out proof that this was not the case immediately.   
  
"I'm sorry, just hold on." Jemma told Skye. She had one hand on Skye's shoulder opposite the side she was sitting on and the other at her waist. It took quite a bit of force to move Skye's dead weight onto her side again, but when she did she pulled up the back of Skye's shirt frantically to look for any severe wounds. She gasped when she saw the scratch on her back and how swollen and inflamed it was. She hadn't spotted it earlier as other injuries had taken precedence, but now Jemma was horrified that she missed it. It looked infected, but Jemma found yet again that she was wrong.   
  
As Jemma was looking at the wound site, Skye's body started convulsing violently and Jemma yelled in surprise. "Skye?!" She moved back to her face and she wanted to throw up when she saw the whites of Skye's eyes and foamy saliva at the corners of her mouth. Jemma was frozen. She didn't know what to do. She knew Skye was having a seizure and she knew she had to let it finish, but she had never been more terrified in her life. She had almost died herself, but watching Skye like this, she felt more pain in her chest than when she had drowned and she didn't think she'd be able to survive if Skye died.   
  
"What is wrong?!" Jemma knew Skye couldn't answer and probably didn't even know, but her hand was on Skye's cheek anyway, not holding too tightly lest her muscles resist and she hurt herself. An infection wouldn't cause a seizure this quickly. Jemma sat back on her heels with silent tears streaking down her face and her bottom lip quivering with a near sob. Her hands were in her hair, tugging at it and trying to get herself to think. She ran through every sickness she knew and then she realized. It wasn't a sickness. Skye had encountered so many creatures in the jungle, there was only one possibility. Venom.   
  
Jemma scrambled for the first aid kit and frantically dug through it, tossing away the bags containing supplies she didn't need to open up room for her shaking hands to find what she needed. The small case of anti venom held several vials each for different creatures and Jemma frantically looked back and forth between it and Skye. Pick the wrong one, and she could die, but if she did nothing Skye could die anyway. Her seizure hadn't stopped and her violent jerking continued, but Jemma didn't know. She didn't know if what had bitten or stung her even existed in the real world and had an antivenom in the case, but she had to try.   
  
It wasn't a snake. It could be a sea creature since they had been in the ocean, but Skye's back had only been submerged for a few moments and she would have had a reaction if she'd sustained the swollen injury while she was in the water. That left the scorpion. She had no idea if they lived on the island or if the antivenom would even work, but she had no option. She grabbed the vials with the proper labels along with the syringe and hurried back to Skye's side.   
  
"Shh, it's alright, stay with me." Jemma stroked Skye's hair as the seizure finally died out and Skye fell still. Her face was a mess, but Jemma didn't even care and she wiped it clean with the blanket and continued. Skye seemed unconscious, so Jemma hoped she wouldn't move again while she was working. She did her best to estimate the dosage she needed and once it was in the syringe, she set it to the side in the case and found her long forgotten necktie in her bag. She tied it around Skye's arm above the junction of her elbow and slowly inserted the needle into Skye's vein and pushed down on the plunger.   
  
"Please don't die." Jemma begged. She couldn't lose Skye.

_________________

Skye didn’t wake up again for a couple of hours. The sun was getting ready to come up so when her eyes cracked open, everything was shades of blue and lighter than the nighttime darkness she’d gotten used to on the island. She wasn’t profusely sweating anymore but there were beads of sweat on her forehead and her neck still. She’d stopped shivering and her eyesight, though still somewhat blurry, was steadier since her eyes weren’t jutting back and forth anymore. She was wheezing on each inhale and exhale still. She had no idea what the fuck happened. Her head was pounding and she exhaled a small, tired groan. And then she realized she couldn’t move her legs. Her eyelids jumped open and then drooped halfway and her breathing became more labored. A few sounds left her throat but they weren’t the words that she was trying to force out, they were somewhere between a groan, a whimper and a grunt strangled up in her throat.   
  
Jemma's head shot up when she heard the teeniest variation in noise from Skye's labored breathing. She had been sitting next to her, medical kit within reach, the whole night past when Skye had had the seizure. She had done quite a bit of crying. Her eyes were puffy and she had only stopped because she seemed to run out of tears. When Skye started to wake up though, Jemma was back to full attention, eyes and ears alert. Her breathing didn't sound good by any means, but it was still there. Skye hadn't died overnight.   
  
"Skye, hey..." Jemma got closer. She could tell Skye wasn't as present as she could be. But she was alive and improved from her post-seizure state during the night. It was something. "Blink twice if you can hear me." Jemma knew she wouldn't be able to speak after such a large scale seizure and still recovering from the effects of the venom. She just wanted to know if Skye's mind was any further along than her body, if she was stuck in her own body, confused and scared.

Skye’s brow creased. She kept trying to move her legs but couldn’t feel them moving. Her arms didn’t work either but that was more that they were stiff and sore from injuries, especially her left arm. Moving them hurt multiple muscles groups. She squinted when Jemma spoke and tried to focus on her face. Everything seemed blurred around the edges. It took a moment or two to sort through Jemma’s words and comprehend what she was saying. She moved her eyelids afterward, blinking them twice before she was back to squinting slightly. The fact that she couldn’t move her legs was really starting to freak her out. She put her left hand on the bed cushion and tried to push herself to sit up but her arm wobbled almost immediately and she flopped back down. Shifting her head, she let out another one of the grunted/groaned whimpers, and lifted her head to look toward her feet. Lifting her head made her dizzy though, so she clenched her eyes shut as she put her head back down. Skye had no idea what happened. She remembered shivering. She remembered her fever. There was some back pain. Skye couldn’t remember a whole lot else about waking up in the middle of the night. If she couldn’t walk in this place, she was as good as dead and, more importantly, how was she supposed to protect Jemma if she was...paralyzed? Skye’s heart began to race wildly in her chest, which made her breathing quick and shallow.

"Don't try to move." Jemma told her quietly. She started stroking from her forehead into her hair again and leaned to her right, where she had a coconut shell filled with water and a wet cloth. She squeezed it into a ball with her free hand to let the excess water dribble back into the shell before she spread it out across Skye's forehead.  
  
"Don't be afraid." Jemma's hand cradled Skye's cheek and she leaned over her to deliver a feather-light kiss to her lips. "I know you must be scared, but it's going to be ok." Jemma was going through every form of comfort she knew and she was grabbing for Skye's hand and giving it gentle, periodic squeezes.  
  
"You had a seizure. My best guess is that the scratch on your back is from a scorpion. It's the only explanation." Jemma tried not to let her troubled mind express itself in the tone of her voice. The anti venom seemed to help, but she was only guessing here. "It could take a few days to get back to yourself. Do you understand? Blink twice for yes."

Skye struggled to process everything. She felt relief from the cool wash cloth but anxiety at the same time, because of the paralysis. She tried her best to calm down,  or to remain calm, but it was a struggle. She blinked twice to let Jemma know that she heard her. Against her better judgement, Skye attempted to shift whatever parts she could move closer to Jemma. One of her hands caught the material of Jemma's shirt as another one of those whimpers escaped her throat.  She felt pathetic.  What was she going to do for multiple days? What if she didn't actually recover?  What if this was permanent?

"Shh, just rest." Jemma came closer and slipped her hand between Skye's hand and her shirt. Tears were spilling over her eyelids and running down over her cheeks. She was infinitely relieved that Skye was awake and communicating and understanding. Her guess seemed to have been close enough to the truth for the anti venom to work and she had faith that Skye would continue to get better.

Skye curled a couple of her fingers around Jemma’s hand when it picked hers up from the shirt material. Her body definitely wanted to go to sleep, but Skye didn’t actually want to. Jemma was crying. Skye frowned. She tried to squeeze Jemma’s hand tighter, but she couldn’t make words come out. She wondered how long that was going to last. She had no idea when a scorpion could have stung her. Her back...how had her back been injured? She scratched it when Ward threw her at a tree? Skye closed her eyes. Even though the rag was on her forehead, she leaned into Jemma’s shoulder without thinking about it and within a couple of minutes was asleep again. 

"How is she?" Fitz's head popped into the shelter around the tarp about an hour later. He came around the tarp when Jemma waved him in and sat down near their bed. Bobbi had come in to check on them when she hadn't seen Skye in the morning and word quickly spread about the incident. For the most part people were leaving them alone, but the occasional checkins were nice.   
  
"Better." Jemma rubbed Skye's temple with her thumb and kissed her cheek. She moved Skye's hand to rest at her side so Jemma could sit up and talk with Fitz. She really was relieved he was finding ways to live with his extended feelings for her. She was sure the outburst he'd had that caused their fight was stress induced. Nobody had a completely rational mind in a situation like this.    
  
"I brought you both some food. I don't know if Skye's eating, but I know you should be, and you haven't come out of the shelter..." Fitz trailed off. He took off the backpack he'd been wearing and pulled out a leaf-wrapped package of cooked fish. Jemma had the fruit in Skye's bag, but she hadn't been eating it and hadn't had anything to eat in a while, so the sight of the fish made her stomach grumble slightly.   
  
"Thank you, Fitz-" Jemma took the package, but Fitz had finished yet.   
  
"I also brought this. For Skye." Fitz pulled a familiar wrapper out of the side pocket of his bag. It was one of the birthday cake flavored bars, probably the last. "I never ate it in the airport. I got my bag back when she and Bobbi went diving. I'm sure Skye would appreciate it more than I would." Fitz acted like it was nothing, but Jemma's smile was wide and her eyes were watery. It was a drastic change from his treatment of her earlier and Jemma couldn't wait to see Skye's face when she woke up. Surely she liked them if she'd brought a whole box of them to Indonesia. It might lift her spirits once she could eat again.   
  
"This is wonderful, thank you so much." Jemma opened up her arms and Fitz moved forward to hug her. They'd been distant since the fight and still awkward after Fitz's apology, but Jemma believed that now she and Fitz could go back to being friends like they were meant to be.

It was another hour after Fitz left before Skye woke up again. Ace had come to the shelter, with two water bottles. He was trying to whisper since when he first walked in, Skye was asleep. “Trip says to give these to you for Skye,” He held the bottles out to Jemma. “We opened lotsa coconuts,” He informed her, trying to keep his voice low. “He says it’d be better than just water,” Ace shrugged his shoulders as gave her a bashful smile before he peered around Jemma to look at Skye. At that point, it wasn’t obvious that Skye was awake because she wasn’t quite fully awake. She could hear their voices. Even with her eyelids closed, she knew it was day time from the brightness through her thin eyelids. Her brow furrowed a bit. Her left foot was full of constant intense pins and needles. Her legs from hips to ankle were still numb, she couldn’t feel them, but her left foot was full of pins and needles. Skye tried to pep talk herself into forcing her eyelids open so she could, eventually, try to talk again. Her mouth was dry but her tongue didn’t feel like it was terribly swollen anymore.  

"Well thank you, Ace, this is very kind of you and Trip. I'm sure Skye will appreciate it when she wakes up." Jemma made sure to smile at Ace and make sure he thought this was something as simple and easily recovered from as an average cold. She had no idea how he could possibly be feeling as a child going through all of this, but she wanted to help keep him as innocent as possible through the ordeal.   
  
Jemma took a sip of the coconut water in her bottle to show Ace she was happy with it, and she put the one reserved for Skye with the protein bar by the bed. It was a kind of hilarious version of the bedside table of a sick person in a hospital. Instead of flowers and teddy bears, there was coconut water and a measly granola bar, but here it was a big gift. She was sure Skye would be happy when she woke up. 

Ace smiled at Jemma, but then looked past her toward Skye again. It was weird to see her just lying there instead of constantly up and doing things around the camp. He leaned closer toward Jemma and asked. “Is she gonna die?” He asked. 

“ _ Ace _ ,” Mike had been waiting outside the shelter since Ace said he wanted to bring the bottles in on his own. Now he poked his head in as he gave Ace a stern look. He looked at Jemma. “Sorry,” He said. “The more the story circulates, the worse it becomes as people exaggerate, y’know?” He frowned when he saw Skye just laying in the bed, breathing a bit unsteadily after few breaths. He put his hand on Ace’s shoulder. “We’ll get out of your hair, but let us know if you need anything, okay?” 

"She'll be better in no time." Jemma nodded at Mike to let him know it was okay. She said the words reassuringly to comfort Ace. He didn't have the intuition yet to see the strain in her eyes as she said it. Ace seemed to be put at ease by the doctor telling him Skye would be just fine, and she waved them off as Mike put a hand on his son's shoulder and led him out.    
  
"Won't you?" Jemma turned to Skye with a sad smile and took up Skye's hand into her own again. The fever was starting to come down and Jemma knew she would be in and out of consciousness for a day or so, but she wanted to see Skye better immediately to put her fears to rest.

“You’ave mom voice,” Skye’s words weren’t perfectly clear, they were slow and a good bit raspy but they were there at least as Skye’s hand curled around Jemma’s. It still took her a little while to make her eyes open most of the way, though the lids still drooped a bit. She squinted to try and clear her vision around the edges and before she could really stop it, a stupid smile curled across her lips as Jemma’s face came mostly into focus. “ _Sooooooo_ _pretty_ …” she murmured, sounding more like she was a sleepy drunk than recovering from nearly dying from a scorpion venom induced seizure. 

Jemma felt a swell of emotions suddenly come up to the surface. She was relieved and happy Skye was awake, flustered at her unabashed statement about what she thought of seeing Jemma, and amused because of her voice and the way she almost seemed hopped up on drugs. It was like seeing her after getting her wisdom teeth out and Jemma was going to act like that was what it was. They could forget for a single moment that all they had been doing since the crash was barely escaping death.   
  
"Oh, stop. You're silly." Jemma teased. She playfully tapped at Skye's shoulder with her free hand and gave Skye's hand a firm squeeze.

The dopey grin stayed on Skye’s face. “You  _ are _ …” She insisted. A moment later, her face fell more serious and her brow creased a bit in confusion. She leaned closer toward Jemma and murmured. “M’foot,” She frowned and looked down toward her feet. Her left one was on the bottom since she was turned on her left side, but her toes were twitching a bit. “Feels like pins,” and needles. Skye’s brain wasn’t exactly firing on all cylinders so it was jumping around a bit. It was hard to talk in full sentences, or in fully coherent phrases but the effort was there at least.  

Jemma's brows furrowed as well when Skye's carefree expression dissipated. She was very concentrated as she spoke and Jemma only let go of Skye's hand so she could get up and move a bit on her knees to get to Skye's feet.    
  
"This one?" Jemma wrapped her fingers around the foot that was just barely moving and gave it a squeeze. This meant the feeling was slowly coming back from the effects of the venom on her nervous system. She would be ok. Happiness tugged at her heartstrings and the corners of her mouth alike. A joyous little smile splayed across her features and she tickled the bottom of Skye's foot with her fingertips. "Can you feel that?" Jemma didn't even know if Skye was ticklish, but she was going to find out.

Skye’s eyelids flew open wide for a moment. “Stoppppppppppp!!” Skye’s toes and foot wiggled but the rest of her leg and her right leg remained still. She wiggled her toes about to try and evade the tickling and pushed her face into the pillow cushion and let out a few staggered snickers. It tickled, yep, she was ticklish - which was probably a secret no one else knew? - but the pins and needles hurt too. They were fairly intense but no matter how much her foot moved they didn’t subside and the rest of her leg wasn’t full of them. Skye thought that might be a good thing for the moment because if she had them from hip to toe at the moment, it would probably be agonizing. 

Jemma's laugh was loud and she was quite amused, but she wasn't cruel and held her hands up when Skye protested so strongly. Her giggles still hadn't died down when she crawled back onto the top half of the bed and laid down facing Skye, hands together under her cheek as a bit of extra pillow. She smiled widely at Skye and couldn't help the bubbliness she felt in her chest. It was a nice change.   
  
"You should drink." Jemma seemed to remember her caretaking duties once she calmed back down from her short, giddy high. She twisted at the waist and grabbed for Skye's bottle of coconut water. "A gift from Ace." Jemma explained, holding the bottle in front of Skye so she could see it.

Skye smiled another dopey little smile when Jemma returned. She reached her hand up, movement still a bit stiff and sluggish. She touched Jemma’s jaw for a moment before Jemma spoke and turned. “Tequila…?” She murmured, only half joking. She squinted at the bottle. She could see it was clear liquid but it didn’t quite look like water, though. 

"Oh you'd like that, hm?" Jemma gave her a fake suspicious frown, but it broke after a second. She couldn't keep a straight face because of how silly she was acting. "It's not alcohol, but it's still good." Jemma slid her hand under the side of Skye's head to help lift her up enough to take a sip. She held the bottle firmly against Skye's lips so she wouldn't spill any when she drank.

Skye gave her a crooked smirk. A couple of tequila shots after all they’d been through would be much deserved, indeed. If Skye wasn’t as tired, sore and a great deal still heavily out of it as she was, she would have felt entirely pathetic being unable to properly sit up and drink her own bottle of (coconut) water. Her mouth and throat felt extremely dry, though so as soon as the first gulp of the coconut water was down, Skye was eager to chug as much of it as she could without choking. Despite their best efforts, a little trickle of it went down the corner of Skye’s mouth and spilled down her chin but she was too busy chugging down multiple gulps of the rest of it to really care about dribbled bits. She was a little bit breathless by the time she was done drinking through half of the bottle. Just getting through drinking that bit was tiring. She leaned her head against the upper part of Jemma’s arm near her shoulder and slowly caught her breath. She wasn’t wheezing on every single breath but it happened every so often still. “It’d be,” she said between slow breaths. “Better with tequila,” She murmured to make the joke. 

"Oh no it wouldn't." Jemma scolded lightly. "You need to stay hydrated." A bit of the doctor in Jemma was coming out and she just wanted to do something, anything, to make Skye feel better, even if that was just helping her drink (not alcohol) and comforting her with soft touches.   
  
"You can sleep, it's ok." Jemma laid down completely with her once she capped the bottle and stroked Skye's hair. She kissed her forehead, which thankfully was less warm than the night before.

Skye shook her head. She moved her arm loosely around Jemma’s middle. She had only a vague idea of how much time had passed. She knew it was daytime because it was bright out even inside the shelter. Some of her memories of waking up in the night before the seizure had returned but they were extremely hazy. Honestly, she was a bit afraid of going back to sleep. What if she didn’t wake up? What if something happened and she didn’t wake up? What if Ward and the rest of his crew attacked the camp again? What if she went to sleep and when she woke up again, her foot was back to having no feeling at all instead of pins and needles. “What’f,” she inhaled a slow breath and frowned, her brow creasing. “My legs don’t come back?” It was a little easier to talk now that she’d had some of the coconut water to drink but her words were still slow and sluggish on her tongue. If she didn’t regain her ability to use her legs, she would be a waste of resources and, more importantly, a clear weak link. What would she do if Ward came back for Jemma? She wouldn’t be able to keep her safe and if Jemma was trying to keep her safe in such a situation, she would surely stand the biggest chance of being killed at that point. That was completely unacceptable. Skye frowned as her mind rolled through possibilities, none of them good.

"They will." Jemma assured her. She refused to think any other way. It was the venom, Skye would be back to normal once she worked it out of her system. "The cut on your back isn't deep and there's no spinal or brain injury. Your legs will come back." Jemma used Skye's words to make sure she understood. "Just rest now." Jemma pressed their foreheads together and closed her eyes to try to encourage Skye to go back to sleep.

Skye felt skeptical. She knew they were limited in what they could and couldn’t both figure out and a do in regards to medical incidents. She also knew this place was full of things that didn’t exist in the real world anymore. There was little she could do, however, while Jemma was lying there with her, stroking her hair and trying to ease her back to sleep. Her eyelids closed but her brow remained full of worry creases and the frown was still on her face. Whether it was because of her condition or because it was Jemma that was with her, Skye let out a shaky breath and whispered. “I’m scared.” Under any other conditions and circumstances, Skye would have never, ever admitted this outloud. Ward could have had her tied up and tortured for days and Skye would’ve gladly died rather than admit such a weakness. She spent her life relying just on herself. There was never anyone to admit it to before but herself. 

Jemma took a deep breath and held it in her chest for a moment before she slowly let it out, trying not to immediately say "I'm scared too". It was a valid fear that Skye wouldn't get back to one hundred percent, but they couldn't think like that.    
  
"We'll be taking that hike to the waterfall in no time." Jemma promised. She held the hand that wasn't across her waist and brought it to her lips between them, kissing around her split knuckles.

Skye fell quiet and let her fingers curl a bit around Jemma’s. “I really did want to take you,” She said after a long few moments of silence, sounding sleepier than before since having her eyes closed was slowly pulling her back to sleep. “Before,” She added, to explain that she meant her previous promise to take Jemma to the first waterfall. “I wasn’t just bullshitting,” She murmured. Things had never really had a chance to ‘die down,’ really. If it hadn’t been for Ward and Garrett’s breakaway and robberies, things might have been calm enough to bring Jemma on the trail, while bringing Buzz along with them perhaps. But everything just seemed to hit the fan all the time. Skye’s fear was that it would happen when she had no way to protect Jemma, or anyone else. 

"I know." Jemma breathed. It didn't go unnoticed to her that for the first time since her seizure, Skye's words were clear. Her mind was coming back and Jemma knew her legs would soon enough. She sat up, but only to pull the thinner blanket of the two up over them. She let her legs intermingle with Skye's so that when she could feel again, Jemma would be there too. "I know." Jemma repeated. She kissed Skye's forehead and pulled her close so she could sleep.

Skye struggled to try and stay awake. It was a losing battle and she knew it but she fought it anyway. She could feel the light pressure in her foot when when of Jemma's legs moved. Despite the pins and needles whenever she moved her toes or foot or whenever it touched against anything with even the tiniest bit of pressure, Skye couldn't help but move her foot along the bit of foot or ankle, whatever it was, Jemma had wound up resting against her tingling partially numb foot. Within minutes of the movement, curled up in Jemma's arms, Skye lost the battle and fell asleep, breathing evenly after her muscles finally went slack.

___________

There was a small buzz about the camp about an hour or so after Skye fell asleep again (though it wasn't from Buzz, the dragonfly, who was currently perched on a section of the shelter wall near Skye and Jemma's heads). within a few minutes of whatever people were squabbling over, a knock came to the wall of the shelter next to the tarp and afterwards, Lincoln pushed it aside and leaned through the doorway. "Hey-," he paused and lowered his voice when he saw that Skye was asleep. For a second, he thought Jemma was too with them all curled up together so he dropped his eyes away since he felt like he was intruding. "Hey, I'm sorry to bother you," he said when Jemma looked his way. "We had a problem with one of the troughs. It's fixed now but we're gonna need to go on a run to refill it. Bobbi asked if I'd come let you know," he said. "Is there anything you need that we might be able to bring you from out there" he asked with another glance toward Skye. "Besides water," He clarified.

At first when Lincoln began to explain, Jemma's brow creased with worry, but as he explained that the trough had been fixed, she relaxed ever so slightly. She was frustrated that they seemed to have lost all of their extra rainwater, but maybe that had been the cause of the trough collapse. They needed to be more careful.   
  
"I don't think there's anything else I need here. Thank you for asking." Jemma said just above a whisper. She didn't dare even shake her head lest the movement wake Skye up after she finally went back to sleep. "Be safe." Jemma added after Lincoln nodded and started to back out of the tarp.

Lincoln gave Jemma a nod and a small salute. "Will do," he gave her a small smile and retreated, making sure to pull the tarp back into place as he left.    
  
________________________   
  
Skye was out cold for a handful of hours. It was mid afternoon when she woke up again. She was breathing easier, though every so often a wheeze still appeared on an exhale or so. She tried to turn her body to roll onto her back instead of her side and was disheartened to realize that the only thing she could feel from her waist down was still her foot full of pins and needles. She sighed and shifted back onto her side, her fear rekindled, frustration growing. She reached up to rub her forehead, her closed eyelids and the bridge of her nose.

Jemma had managed to lull herself into a catnap so she could stay with Skye, but when she started shuffling about Jemma's eyes opened too. She could see the disgruntled look on Skye's face and quickly sought to kiss it away.    
  
"How are you feeling?" She asked after the short (but sweet) kiss. She didn't get time to hear Skye's answer, because Bobbi seemed to appear out of nowhere. She pushed the tarp aside and Jemma knew something was wrong the instant she saw what a mess she was. 

Skye was momentarily distracted by the little kiss. She exhaled a small sigh and was preparing to lie and say she was fine but Bobbi appeared before she could.   
  
"We need to talk." Bobbi looked back and forth between Jemma and Skye, not quite sure who she needed to talk to or both. Jemma looked back and forth between Skye and Bobbi, trying to figure out if she was talking to her.    
  
"I'm coming." Jemma said after a short moment. She knew Skye would want to know what was going on but the second she heard of trouble she would want to be trying to resolve it and she needed to stay put in her condition. "Stay here, I'll be right back." Jemma laid a hand on Skye's shoulder and pushed herself to her feet.

As soon as she spotted Bobbi's harried appearance, Skye tried to push herself to sit up. She didn't get far before Jemma’s hand on her shoulder eased her back down. Skye was much too worried to just lay there. She frowned when Jemma told her to stay put, because it wasn't like she could go anywhere without her legs. After Jemma stepped out of the shelter,  Skye grunted and ground her teeth as she used both hands to roll herself. Her hips and legs only turned part way from the carried motion of turning her torso. She put her palms down on the bed cushion and pushed herself to sit up. She regretted it instantly as a dizzy spell overtook her. She leaned forward and dropped her head into her hands, clenching her eyes, attempting to both stave off the world spinning and to keep from falling back. While all of that was happening, she also tried to hear what Bobbi and Jemma were discussing.

"Lincoln's dead." There was no way to sugarcoat it. Bobbi told her clearly and without a doubt, but that didn't mean tears didn't make their way onto her cheeks. She was a ruffled mess, sweat soaked and covered in dirt, so the tears made tracks down her cheeks.   
  
"What happened?" Jemma surged forward and grabbed Bobbi's upper arms. She was falling apart and melting through her fingertips. Jemma knew Bobbi was among one of those who had seen the most death, but she needed her to pull herself together enough to tell her what happened.  
  
"There was a giant snake. I mean giant, Jemma." Bobbi grabbed Jemma's shoulders with equally as much force as Jemma had on her arms. "The size of a bus. Bigger!" Bobbi shook her slightly and Jemma just stood there, eyes wide with recognition and fright. There were more dangerous creatures in the jungle than Jemma had originally thought possible.   
  
"I know what it is." Jemma assured Bobbi so she wouldn't have that crazy you-have-to-believe-me look in her eye. Lincoln had been killed and most likely eaten by a titanoboa or something of the like. One more reason Jemma almost hoped Skye wouldn't be able to get back up and go into the jungle. At least without the feeling in her legs she was alive.   
  
"We didn't get the water." Bobbi lowered her voice. She didn't want everyone to panic and she needed to pull together the group that seemed to lead things to figure out what to do next. "I'll bring everyone here to talk, update Skye." With that Bobbi was gone before Jemma really had time to process. Another person was dead and they were back to possibly dying of thirst. Somehow she managed to walk back into the tent looking cool and collected.  
  
"Skye! You should be lying down!" Jemma's exclamation was shrill when she saw Skye trying to exert herself too soon. She hurried to her side and slowly, also a bit forcibly, pushed Skye to lie down. The last thing she wanted was for Skye to hurt herself.

All Skye heard was ‘Dead,’ ‘bigger than a bus,’ and something murmured about water that she couldn’t quite make out. Her head was still spinning from the sudden way she had pushed herself up when Jemma returned. Skye winced when she shouted. “I’m fine - Jemma! What happened? I can sit, I’m-,” She grabbed onto Jemma’s closest arm to try and stop her from forcing her to lay back down but Jemma was way stronger at the moment than Skye was. She clenched her eyes shut again at the jostling since it made her dizzy again. She forced herself to lean up on her elbows so she wasn’t flat on her back. “Who’s hurt? What happened?” And why wasn’t Jemma going to help? Her mind was running through all the possible people who could have been on that run - Bobbi, YoYo, Mack...who else did they bring with them?? “What’s going on?” Her words weren’t as sluggish as before and they were a good deal clearer than before but Skye still sounded a bit like she had had a good few shots or strong drinks in her. 

Jemma wanted to say "it's fine" or "nothing", but she knew that wasn't what Skye wanted and Bobbi would be coming back with the others and they needed to decide what to do next. So she sat down next to Skye and tried to prepare the words in her head.  
  
"Bobbi and her team didn't get the water. They came across a titanoboa- it's a giant snake. Lincoln is dead." Jemma sighed. It may have been concerning that she no longer got watery eyes when she heard a person had died. She was ready to move on and continue to help the rest of the group survive. She was hardening and Jemma knew her defenses would melt away eventually, but for now they were useful.

Skye didn't have the control over her fears and emotions that she normally had in place. They were considered auxiliary defenses and her body was more focused on surviving the venom more than keeping herself guarded.  Her face fell, her hunched shoulders sagged and she looked toward the tarp door as her brow furrowed. Her eyes watered over,  not just because of another death, not just because there was another terrifying predator to add to the list,  but because she was relieved Bobbi, Mack and Yoyo weren't on the dead list.  Outside of Jemma, she had spent most of her time with them on the jungle treks. They had each other's backs but knew they wouldn't fault each other for running if something got one of them before there was any chance to help.   
  
Her eyes shook with the unshed tears as she looked over at Jemma,  her mouth slightly agape,  struggling for words.  "W-What about Mack and Yoyo?"She asked.  "Was anyone else with them?" She tried to sort through the haze to compile her thoughts properly.  "Are they hurt? Was Bobbi hurt?" Skye hadn't had enough time to check. She didn't think Jemma would have let Bobbi just leave if she was hurt,  but she also knew Bobbi was capable of making quick getaways too.  She could see the closed off difference in Jemma but Skye was still struggling to organize everything reaching through her mind just then.

"As far as I know, everyone else is fine. Bobbi would have told me had someone been hurt." Jemma saw the panic welling up in Skye's eyes and reached for her hand. She didn't want her to worry even if there were ample things to worry about. It was her time to rest and Jemma felt bad Skye was pulled into this at all, but she also knew Skye wouldn't have it any other way.

Skye frowned. She squeezed Jemma’s hand a bit tighter than she intended to. Would Bobbi have been coming to tell Jemma that she was dead if she’d been physically able to actually join the trek into the jungle? Would a gigantic snake follow them back to the beach if it wasn’t completely full with one human devoured? What about the water? What were they going to do about that? Unless they had a big rainstorm one somewhat full trough would only last them so long. Would anyone go back into the jungle with all the animals that they could run into after this? Skye would begrudgingly do it still, but she couldn’t and she couldn’t make other people do it in place of her. She was still lost in an unending panic reel of thoughts when the others arrived at the tent. Bobbi was the first inside and Skye’s eyes followed her immediately, trying to find any wounds she might not have told Jemma about and attempting to assess her mental state by sight alone. 

"How are you feeling?" Bobbi ignored the pressing issues at hand to check in with Skye. It was clear that she was upset. There wasn't a person standing in the tent who wasn't, but Bobbi knew Skye personally and knew that even if she hadn't been there, the burden would still find its way to her shoulders.    
  
Bobbi came and sat at Skye's side opposite Jemma and gave her shoulder a jovial, but very gentle, shove. Coulson and May trailed in after and looked uncomfortable with the casual exchange, but found places to sit in the sand nonetheless.

“ _ Me _ ? Are you alright?” Skye meant physically. She knew it wasn’t possible Bobbi was alright mentally. Even though Jemma had tried to make her lay back down, Skye had been mostly leaning up on her elbows. She tried to push herself up to sit again, which was entirely a bad idea because every major movement made waves of dizziness wash over her. “What happened?” She asked as Trip, Mack and Yoyo followed inside, squeezing to sit or stand in the bits of extra space inside the shelter. Fitz and Will arrived behind them, likely following the scent of something afoot. They crowded just inside the entrance of the shelter. Skye looked over Mack and Yoyo when they came in but they seemed like they were alright outside of being a bit disheveled.

"I'll live." Bobbi nodded. She gave Skye's shoulder an awkward little pat before Coulson cleared his throat. Jemma moved to sit behind Skye so she could lean against her and not have to try so hard to stay sitting up. Fitz and Will were shooed off with the job of keeping the press (just a few of the loud, noisy people like Victoria Hand) away from the shelter as they talked.    
  
"We'll all mourn Lincoln's loss later tonight with everyone. Right now water is priority." Coulson spoke up. He was right about compartmentalizing. They only had so long in here before the group demanded to know what was going on.    
  
"How much do we have?" Jemma asked.   
  
"About seven water bottles full. Enough for about a third of a day for all of us." Bobbi piped up. This was including the fact that their numbers had decreased to just over twenty.    
  
"Don't forget about the coconuts. That adds about five bottles." Yoyo reminded them. It was a good addition but still only bought them less than a day's time.

Skye leaned back against Jemma, muscles sagging in relief at not having to strain so much. She frowned, first at Bobbi’s answer since Skye had used answers like that herself and then at the rather dire water situation. 

“There are a lot more further down the beach we haven’t gathered yet,” Trip said. “That will add to both food and water stores,” He said. 

“It will, but will the expenditure of effort outweigh its return?” May piped up. 

“I don’t think we have a choice,” Mack shook his head gravely. “We’ll have to go back in.” 

Skye glanced at Bobbi and then looked around at the others. “How much do we have stashed with the tail salvage?” She asked. She had been keeping track of these things but her brain was still fairly muddled. 

"I'll check." Jemma said. "Bobbi?" She looked between Bobbi and Skye and the tall blonde moved to support Skye's weight while Jemma crawled over to her bag and rummaged until she found the inventory composition notebook. She came back and reclaimed her place behind Skye while flipping through pages.   
  
"We have about fifty varying sodas. There are fifteen water bottles." Jemma told them. This was the solution, it was just a matter of not angering people when they came up with water and soda that the rest of the group hadn't known about. They hadn't originally used the water because it was emergency storage. They had also lost quite a few water bottles during the siege and the few deaths in the jungle, so it would be good to have the cans and bottles to use for refills as well. "It could give us maybe two days." She added.

Skye murmured an apology to Bobbi , while Jemma went for her book, both because she hadn't been with them when it happened and because of the whole supporting her weight stuff.    
  
"So we have time to get back there for a run in the next day or two," Mack reasoned.    
  
"While that's happening, we'll be collecting more containers as we go through the emergency supply," Trip nodded, though the grave look of concentration hadn't left his face.    
  
"We could do two shifts of runners, the first group can go in the morning, second shift leaves when first one returns," May reasoned. She surveyed the whole group of them while she spoke but paid special attention to Bobbi. She didn't want to force them to go back into the jungle.    
  
"The trail through the jungle from the beach is marked, right?" Coulson asked. Mack nodded. "So we could gather a second group and take them along the trail tomorrow. Give you three a rest. You've more than earned it."    
  
Skye's brow was creased as she struggled both to take it all in and to try and keep her guilt at bay since sh felt entirely useless to the group in her current condition. "No one's going to volunteer for that after you tell them what happened to Lincoln," she frowned. Except Skye. Skye would have volunteered to do it (and likely would have fought with Jemma over it). Bobbi, Mack and Yoyo still might, but it wasn't right to put that burden on them.    
  
"We should probably hold off on breaking out the emergency supply until tomorrow at the earliest," Skye added, trying her best to keep her focus dialed in. They had about a day's worth of water left. They had more food than that and opening the coconuts would add to that at well. "We don't break into the tail salvage for the food until we have to as well." She looked at Trip. "How long would it take you to make more traps to scatter down the beach if you had help?" Maybe she couldn't walk but she would get them to prop her against the shelter wall and she could use her hands.    
  
Trip considered it a moment. "If we worked a bit into the night I'd say we'd have at least....four, maybe five by morning to put out for the day?" he answered.    
  
Skye nodded. "What other options, any at all that you can think of, do we have at our disposal?" she shifted her gaze around to each of them.

"Hunter has been wanting to go on more treks. He got over the compy scare. He and I can make a run for water. It's almost safer in small groups." Bobbi pointed out. 

Skye understood the logic of going in duos instead of groups. It was less to worry about, even if it was still dangerous.    
  
"We can make up a second shift when you get back," Mack spoke up after glancing at Yoyo for a nod of confirmation. "We'll spend the morning gathering whatever food we can close to the shoreline to build up our stocks.

Even if their hidden stock would tide them over for a few days they needed to actively work toward a more stable life source. There was a possibility, but as Bobbi glanced at Skye she wasn't sure she should bring it up. The conversation was open though.   
  
"The area around the second waterfall is secured by cliffs and dense trees. I think it's worth considering a move." Bobbi's jaw tightened as she said it and she looked around, trying to read faces.

Skye had indeed opened the conversation to any possibilities. She gave a small nod to confirm what Bobbi said was true and reached out to give her  closest forearm a reassuring squeeze. "It would likely need some prep work to make it permanent. It currently requires climbing up and through the giant trees that close off to ring the last side."    
  
Coulson and May exchanged a glance. Trip seemed to be considering the options. Mack and Yoyo waited, watching the others for their reactions. Skye closed her eyes a moment and tried to force herself not to flinch, thinking about the spider incident and feeling the dull throb in her left arm beneath the gauze covering the scratches Alisha made. She opened them again when Coulson spoke.   
  
"Maybe one of us," Coulson motioned between himself and May as he spoke, "Could go with one of your shifts, so we can get an idea of what we're really talking about here," he said. It was clear he felt hesitant. Leaving the beach meant accepting that no one was coming to look for them, that all they could do was dig in and hope to survive.

"You could, but it's much safer to leave expeditions to the experienced until the actual move, if it comes to that." Jemma claimed. she flipped a few more pages across the crude maps of the island they had made and continued to update with new trails and dangers.   
  
"Skye, you could draw it instead." Jemma put the composition book and one of the pens they'd found in Skye's lap. It was something she could do to be helpful and they really did need to know what the area was like to make any sort of decision.

Skye looked down at the book and pen in her lap. She picked the pen up as her brow creased and just held the book and the pen for the moment. "Yeah," she nodded, "I'll  do that," She could work on drawing it once the conversation was finished. Skye cleared her throat, feeling like many eyes were on her even though she was focused on her lap, and then her currently useless legs. She took a slow breath, sorted her thoughts and looked up. "Any other suggestions in the meantime that will help either with food or water?" she asked. "Do we have enough material to create a third trough to add to what we have for whenever it rains again?"

"The raft from the original hospital shelter is still folded up in the cockpit. It's too torn on the edges to float, but the middle can be used to make a very large trough." Jemma suggested. She didn't like the idea of scrapping the raft for its resources, but the waterproof material was valuable and the thing couldn't exactly get them back to the mainland.    
  
"That's good. Trip, you can get Fitz to work on that in the morning while the two double teams-" Bobbi pointed to herself to mean her and Hunter and then Yoyo and Mack for team two, "try to make more water runs. Skye, you draw that clearing. Jemma, you should probably help Coulson and May with rationing the tail supplies." Bobbi concluded. Jemma had somehow adopted the role of inventory as well as doctor, but she would much rather be running math and sorting things than stitching people up, so it wasn't so bad.

Skye hated to feel like she wasn't contributing to the ideas or to the work, but at the same time she still felt weak and worn down with her condition so she was greatly relieved for Jemma and Bobbi for their suggestions and for delegating tasks. She gave Jemma's closest thigh a squeeze when she suggested using the raft for a bigger trough. She knew that couldn't have been an easy sacrifice to offer up. Sure the raft itself couldn't be used to get them off the island, but it was symbolic of the desire and mere possibility of doing so. She gave a small nod as other murmurs of agreement went up around the group.    
  
Shortly after the agreements, the others dispersed from the shelter, Mack pulled the tarp closed across the entrance to give them both a moment. Skye set the notebook and pen to the side for a moment and, with a good deal of effort, pushed herself to sit upright so she could look over at Jemma, searching her face and her eyes for signs of distress about the situation, about Lincoln, the snake, the supplies, anything. The closed off way she had shared the information Bobbi gave her, before the others arrived, had startled and worried Skye. "Are you alright?" She asked, holding Jemma's gaze in order to gage how truthful she was in her reply, trusting Jemma would know she didn't mean just in a physical sense.

Jemma sighed. She didn't really know how to answer Skye. She knew she would be skeptical if Jemma told her she was fine, even though she sort of was. Honesty was the only way to go.   
  
"Disturbingly, yes." Jemma admitted. She was horrified with herself for not being all that bothered that Lincoln was dead even though he had been a kind person. She was getting used to it and had selfishly only been relieved that those she was friends with had gotten back safely.

Skye was still frowning as her eyes watched Jemma carefully.  What freaked her out more than the fact that another one of them had been picked off, this one by a gigantic snake, was the fact that Jemma seemed to be starting to normalize it. She wanted, again, to offer up a promise to Jemma that she would get them off the island somehow, that she wouldn't let them die here. But Skye knew even less now than before how she would accomplish such a thing without the use of her legs. She leaned her weight heavily on one of her hands and reached out to touch Jemma’s cheek and jaw with the other. She closed the gap between them and brought their mouths together for a lingering kiss. She leaned her forehead against Jemma's afterward and watched her through her own tired eyes. "This isn't all there is," she said with conviction, meaning the death, the violence, their current situation of being stranded. She didn't know exactly what was ahead for them but she knew there was more than what was happening to them right now, could feel it in her bones (or at least the ones that weren't still numb). She needed to believe it and, maybe most importantly, she  _ wanted _ to believe it. It was a back and forth tug of war between them, handing off back and forth which of then played the optimistic one. It changed by the minute as things happened and right now, it was possibly a slight balance between them for varying reasons.

"We should probably face the possibility that this may be it." Jemma sighed. Her eyes flicked down at the bed instead of Skye's face. She knew it was harsh and probably not what they needed to hear, but she was realistic. "At least for now. I don't know about you, but I want this to go somewhere." Jemma gestured between the two of them. "That means we need to survive this. Together. If that means we harden for now I can't say I'm not okay with that." Jemma explained her reasoning.

Skye's  lips pressed into a thin line as Jemma laid out her reasoning. she couldn't really fault Jemma for going with the realistic approach. It's what Skye had done at the Waterfall when Bobbi suggested the idea of moving to it. she doubted the group would go for it even if it was a safe viable option. Skye was reluctant to go for it, if only because it really meant giving up on finding rescue. She wanted to move there even less at the moment since she literally couldn't pull her own weight. She leaned up, kissed the side of Jemma's head and, with some amount of shuffling her weight for balance, pulled Jemma against her and into a hug. 

"I don't want to lose the real you in the process," Skye had done things she had to compartmentalize that was for sure. She had been doing that for her whole life, for different reasons at different times. Skye had very much lost sight of herself in the jungle fighting with Ward, Quinn and Donnie, to an extreme degree, and she was still recovering from that on top of the physical issues from the venom. But she was entirely aware of how far down the rabbit hole of feral fury she had ventured and it hurt to watch as Jemma slowly started down a path of steely resolve, even if it was happening as part of survival instincts.

Jemma didn't know what to say. She leaned into the hug and took a deep breath as she did so. Skye also had a point, but Jemma didn't know how they were supposed to preserve their original personalities in such an environmental extreme. She couldn't promise Skye she would feel certain emotions, but she made a promise to herself to not allow herself to harden without noticing. She would take the time to stop and let herself feel. To start, she would stay with Skye for another few minutes before she had to go dig up the tail supplies and start creating a rations plan.    
  
"The feeling is mutual." Jemma rested her head on Skye's shoulder and put a gentle hand on her waist. They both knew what Jemma was talking about, but she didn't want to say it. She didn't want to vocalize that Skye had killed people because she didn't want Skye to assume Jemma thought it was her fault. She knew it wasn't.

Skye squeezed her arms tighter around Jemma and closed her eyes as she leaned her head against the side of Jemma’s. She knew what Jemma was referring to. She didn’t want to say it either. She didn’t want to think about it, but so far it was always floating around her brain. Mace, Quinn, Donnie, those were directly her fault. Kebo, Alisha, they happened on her watch. She would always have this list on her mind, Skye knew that. She’d find a way to live with it somehow, just like everything else she had learned to live with. She didn’t  _ want _ to do anything like it again, but, if Ward and the rest of his crew came after Jemma again, Skye sure as hell wasn’t going to hesitate to destroy them. She didn’t want to say this out loud. Actually, she didn’t think she needed to say it. 

“Trying my best,” Skye murmured in return, pressed her fingers firmer into Jemma’s back. She turned her head and kissed the side of Jemma’s. After indulging in a few extra moments just holding onto each other, Skye took a slow breath and murmured, “Make sure you allot yourself some of those pretzel snack bags in your rations,” She teased very lightly. 

"We'll see. It isn't food we're short on." Jemma replied. She hadn't realized it as a joke until she'd already replied seriously and she felt the humor die in the air. "Is there anything you need? Or want?" Jemma asked. She allowed herself five more seconds before she pulled her head off of Skye's shoulder and broke the contact between them, but only for a moment. She was back into care mode and helped Skye lie back down on the mattress, proceeding to move the blankets up to her waist-to keep her warm from any breeze that got in but not hot from the weather. She needed to make sure she wasn't uncomfortable in any way before she left.

Skye shook her head. “No, I’m good,” she assured. Obviously she was still freaked out by her legs. Her mind still wasn’t completely back in the game 100% and neither were her verbal skills as she still sounded somewhat loopy. She would be better when Jemma returned from her task, of course, but she didn’t need to tell Jemma either of these things because she didn’t want to add to her worry. She stifled a couple of grunts as Jemma helped her lay back down, using her messenger bag stuffed under her pillow to prop her head up enough that she’d be able to sketch out the waterfall area while Jemma was working on inventory and rations. She caught Jemma’s hand before she stood up and pulled it in so she could kiss the back of it quickly. She gave it a quick squeeze and then let go and watched Jemma go before she grabbed up the notebook and pen and tried to figure out how she could sketch the waterfall with her limited illustration skills. 

_________________

After a long rest of the day of creating an inventory rationing plan and helping deal with the outcome of the group discovering they had been hiding the supplies, Jemma finally came back to the shelter where Skye had been resting for the second half of the day. They had had to manage the supplies and explain to everyone that they were strictly emergency reserves before everyone finally calmed down and gratefully took what was allotted to them.   
  
Jemma slipped into the shelter quietly, doing her best not to rustle the tarp as she hoped Skye was asleep. When she looked up and found she was wrong, she sighed and dropped her notebook on top of her bag so she was free to lay down with her. "You should be asleep." Jemma said quietly. She tapped the tip of Skye's nose with her finger and smiled.

Skye leaned up on her elbows when the tarp rustled. She exhaled a sigh of relief when she saw that it was Jemma. Fitz had come by earlier to pick up her sketch so he could deliver it to Coulson and May and after that Skye had heard some of the squabbling about the supplies. It made her feel like shit that they had to field the outrage without her since it had been her plan too, to hide it for emergencies. It was a good thing they’d hid it, considering it would have been halved, at the least, if Ward and Co knew about it. But now Jemma was back. 

Skye’s eyes were watery from a yawn as she pushed her messenger bag out from under her pillows and laid back. She shifted her upper half toward the side, muscles around her eyes flinching a bit as she did. She smiled, though, when Jemma tapped the end of her nose, going slightly cross eyed as her eyes followed her finger. Her smile was a little punchdrunk. She was tired but she also didn’t want to sleep. She definitely hadn’t wanted to fall asleep until Jemma was back. She felt too paranoid that something would happen when she was physically unable to go check up on Jemma or the others. “Couldn’t sleep,” Her voice was a bit more slurred than it had been earlier, brain drained and just a bit out of it. The pins and needles had spread, as well, both her feet and parts of both of her legs had them now. While she knew that was a good sign - no, it was a great damned sign - but it didn’t exactly tickle. Every movement at all from the hips down sent shocks of stinging pain through parts of her legs. They still felt heavy and if she was going to move them at all, she didn’t think they would move far. Even if they could, each movement was, well, painful. “I want to wait f’you,” She murmured as she reached out to rest her hand along Jemma’s hip, her movement a bit lazier than normal. “How’d it go?” 

"There were a few bumps, but it's all sorted now." Jemma assured her. She shifted in bed so she was on her back, and she pulled Skye toward her by the wrist so she could lay practically on top of her. She pet Skye's hair with the hand wound around her waist and twisted her head enough to kiss her forehead before leaning to grab her book from beside the cushions.   
  
"You still haven't read The Odyssey. Would you like me to read it to you?" Jemma hoped the words would lull her into a sleep, and the reading time would relax them both.

Skye was distracted from the pins and needles zaps of pain by how comfortable she felt curled across Jemma's torso,  listening to the steady rhythm of her heartbeat.  She let out a slow breath as her muscles settled and relaxed.  She closed her eyes as Jemma stroked her hair. She dropped a kiss to Jemma's collarbone and as she did,  a sloppy smile curled over her lips.  She set her ear back down on Jemma's chest and curled her arm around her middle,  fingers playing lazily at Jemma's side,  where her shirt hem and pants waistband met. "That sounds nice," she hummed. "Your voice is pretty," she nuzzled closer,  as if it was even possible to get closer to her.

Jemma blushed. Even when she knew Skye was exhausted and slightly loopy from lingering scorpion venom in her system, she flushed pink at the compliment. She held Skye more tightly for it and let her leg on the side Skye was on brush against hers to get them more tangled in each other. She got a tiny reaction back, Skye pulled back in discomfort if nothing else, but it made Jemma's eyes wide with excitement.    
  
"Can you feel that?" Jemma tickled Skye's shin with her toe, this time on purpose.

It was reactionary, her leg shifting away, trying to pull away from the sharp tingles that felt like an army of fire ants stinging her legs all at once. Skye's forehead knitted into a mess of creases and a softly exhaled grunt answered Jemma first before she nodded slightly. She wanted to test her legs out, see of she could feel their movement if she shifted but she was reluctant to set of waves of the pins and needles. "They feel heavy," She grimaced at the sensation from Jemma's toe to her shin and then frowned, entirely disliking the idea of Jemma's touch causing discomfort regardless of whether or not she knew it wasn't really Jemma's touch causing it but the agonizingly slow way the venom was leaving her system. Her legs felt clunky aside from the searing, tingly, jolting feelings. It was good, she knew it was good. It meant she was going to be able to walk again, right? Despite this fact,  it was immensely uncomfortable.    
  
It wasn't like having just her one foot numb (and ticklish) while she wiggled her toes. It had a radiating effect from her hips down to her toes. "Feels like my skin's crawling with fire ants that can bite deep enough to hit bone," she murmured. Skye wasn't lamenting it, because it might go away at some point and she would be able to get back on her feet again, but between the fiery pins and needles, the pain in her still healing left arm from the scratches and the various other smattering of injuries, there really weren't a whole lot of ways to feel comfortable.  Well, when she couldn't focus on just being curled up with Jemma and knowing she was safe as a distraction at least, it was difficult to find any comfortable way to just settle. The times she'd been passed out asleep (which her body had really needed for many more reasons than just because the venom had to work its way out) had been helpful in ignoring the general discomfort. 

The general discomfort hadn't been anything Skye had or would complain about anyway, both because she was stubborn and because she was just glad she was alive. This numb, burning, almost itchy sensation was on the forefront of her mind for every muscle twitch or touch, though. It was harder to ignore. Jemma, however, sounded positively excited by the prospect, so Skye kept trying to remind herself that it was a good thing and that, perhaps, soon it would be gone and she would be out of bed and useful again rather than simply a drain on supplies. It was hard to balance her lingering fears about her legs never going back to normal with her hope that maybe she would actually be okay. The part of her brain still haunted by the things she'd done kept trying to creep in and tell her that she didn't deserve to be okay after the things she had done, regardless of their necessity.

Jemma pulled her leg away immediately when she saw the discomfort. Her own face contorted in sympathy for Skye and she rubbed up and down her back a few times to ease her before she went back up to run her fingers through Skye's hair.   
  
"Just rest, it'll be ok. Just wait, in a day you'll be back to normal and up on those feet." Jemma promised. The tingling meant she was getting the feeling back in her legs. Despite Skye's pain, Jemma was very glad and relieved. She opened up her book cover, flipped past the page with her name on it, and started to read.  
  
Skye settled against Jemma again when she felt her hand along her back. She exhaled a long breath and her muscles, at least above her hips, eased and loosened to relax and murmured a quiet, grateful, "Thanks, Jem," before Jemma started reading. Skye was in an out of dozing as Jemma read, nodding off a bit only for a muscle twitch in her calf or foot woke her back up. She focused her attention on the sounds of Jemma's voice and her steady heartbeats to distract from the itch and ache in her legs. Eventually, she did finally fall all the way asleep, unable to fight it any longer and much too comfortable lying against Jemma to want to keep fighting.    



	11. No Quickies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's that time again! 
> 
> As always, thank you for reading! Thanks for the kudos, comments and love! If we don't reply to your comments from last week tonight, we'll do our best to get to them tomorrow!! <3 <3 <3 
> 
> Without further ado!   
> Hang onto your butts and enjoy the ride!   
> #WhereverWednesday!   
> :D   
> <3 <3
> 
> __________________________

One of the more awkward aspects of her inability to properly use her legs, had been the difficulty of needing to use a bathroom. She obviously couldn't just walk into a section of the jungle to relieve herself since she couldn't walk, so she'd had to make use of a wide, round bucket that came salvaged from some sand castle toys. It wasn't too tall of a bucket and it was the bucket that held the other sand castle buckets and toys so it was wide enough to support weight to sit on it. However, getting onto the thing had been quite a challenge. When she woke up in the middle of the night this time, she considered trying to move to it on her own but figured Jemma would feel her moving around and would scold her. 

It was funny, Skye supposed, that all sense of embarrassment about levels of nakedness or dignity had been thrown out the window thanks to this situation, whereas that time she and Jemma had fallen into the sand when Jemma was changing her pants, they'd both turned bright red and stammered all over each other then. It was easier, though quite a bit more painful with the pins and needles, to navigate the midnight bathroom peril with the ability to push herself off the ground with her hands and feet at least.    
  
The bladder interruption was Skye's only waking moment in the nighttime. Jemma had prodded a bit at her legs afterward in order to see if there were any parts of them she still couldn't feel, had Skye wiggle her toes, rotate her feet, try to bend her knees again. She tried to make like it didn't hurt but it had. Afterward, they'd curled up together again and this time Skye made a point of tangling their legs together, deciding she didn't care if the pins and needles flared up every now and then. Her dreams after she fell asleep the second time were a bit of a chaotic mess and involved some re-hashings of some of the more violent things that had happened on the island.    
  
She woke up when she heard a loud screeching sound. Skye found herself bolt upright in the shelter and found it was day time. She was clammy with the nightmare sweats. She took a few slow breaths to calm down and only realized the screeching sounds weren't part of her dream when she heard them distantly outside the shelter accompanied by screams around the camp. Skye's heart lurched painfully in her chest. She scrambled off to the side of the bed to grab her hunting knife. In her panic, she tried to climb to her feet to get out of bed and promptly stumbled down face first on wobbly hands and knees into the sand.    
  
She heard more screeches -  _ compy _ screeches - followed by a few more human screams and a whole lot of commotion outside. Skye clawed her way to the door of the shelter, crawling as she gritted her teeth against the remaining jolts of pins and needles pain in her legs. When she made it to the short wall to the right of the inside of the door, Skye grabbed onto the bamboo of the wall and hauled herself up to her feet, bracing her weight to stay on her feet. Her knees wobbled dangerously back and forth, nearly knocking together as she reached for the tarp of the door. Her mind raced with panic about what was happening outside on the beach, about where Jemma was, about the others. Just as her hand was about to grab the tarp, the material whipped off to the side and a blur came rushing through the doorway.

Jemma rushed into the shelter, terrified that the three compys they had killed were not all that had ventured onto the beach. Skye was an easy target for them at this point and she only hoped they hadn't caught on to her location and inability to move.   
  
The second she came through the tarp she dropped her knife to avoid accidentally grazing Skye with it. A huge, startled inhale puffed up her chest and she grabbed for Skye's arms to prevent her from falling after their collision. Blood from the front of her shirt left a small imprint on Skye's chest and it took Jemma a moment to realize it wasn't Skye's.   
  
"What are you doing up?" It was ridiculous and obvious, but her adrenaline was still high.

Skye's legs were an unsteady wobbling mess. They collided and she dropped her own knife into the sand as Jemma grabbed onto her to keep her on her feet. Skye’s heart raced wildly, her pupils dilated to the point that they almost took over her irises completely. Jemma's torso was covered in blood and she was asking Skye what  _ she _ was doing?!? A weak, stunned, "S-screaming... _ Are you okay _ ??" Her eyes, and hands, began a frantic search for a specific source for the all of that blood. How was Jemma even on her feet, much less capable of  _ running _ , with a wound like that??  

Jemma's eyes widened when she realized what Skye was thinking as she searched for a wound.   
  
"It's not mine." She said breathlessly. One hand left Skye and felt her own stomach, just to make sure. "Sit down," Jemma maneuvered them around the two knives in the sand and she and Skye both sat down with a bit of a thump. "A few compys wandered onto the beach." She said. She knew with all the blood it would require further explanation, but she needed to catch her breath first.

Her achy legs momentarily forgotten, Skye was still inspecting Jemma, with somewhat trembling hands after they sat down, still very much freaked out, and more so when Jemma confirmed that compys were involved. Her eyes were still wide and panicked. She was about to ask if everyone was okay but she spotted the many little holes from a compy bite on Jemma's neck that were seeping blood. "You're bleeding," she reached for the closest cloth she could find, which happened to be a tank top Bobbi had just cleaned for them the night before. Pulling the collar of Jemma's shirt aside, she used one side of the folded shirt to wipe the spot clear to get the compy blood away from it, then she turned the folded shirt over and pressed it firmly to the dotted ring of wounds at the base of Jemma's neck to put pressure on it.

"I am?" Jemma was startled and resisted the urge to lean back so she could look down and try to see. She hadn't even felt it. She had been outside with Bobbi taking inventory of the tail supplies to make sure nobody had taken anything. They were almost ready to bury the suitcase again when the three of them had come out from the treeline and attacked them. Others had scattered, but Jemma and Bobbi had killed them with their knives.   
  
"One jumped on me, I didn't even notice it bit me, I just stabbed at it." Jemma explained, mimicking the motion of an upward jab in front of her to demonstrate and show how all the blood had gotten on her. "There were only three, which is strange." Jemma's mind was going off topic again. She wanted to know why they had come, because it was very important to know whether or not they would be coming back.

Skye kept her right hand pressed tight to the right side of Jemma's neck to hold the cloth down so she could hopefully get them to stop bleeding. Her left hand pushed some of Jemma's hair out of her face and then braced the back of her shoulder to help keep the pressure firm. She frowned, brow furrowed. "There were easily upwards of fifty of them when they attacked us. One of them caught in one of Hunter's snares and made a ton of noise. Kebo killed it and they swarmed us right after." Skye took a shaky breath, both at the memory and to calm herself down. "They targeted him over us. It's the only reason we got away with only a few bites..." she chewed anxiously on her bottom lip. She cleared her throat. "Are the others...is everyone okay?"

"Somehow Bobbi got away with just a scratch. Everyone else is alright, it was just the two of us." Jemma promised. It was alarming to her that the compys seemed to be revenge seekers. She really did hope there hadn't been more lurking in the trees to go back to the pack and bring more of them to avenge their friends. That was probably an overestimation of their intelligence, but Jemma was still afraid.    
  
"I was just scared there were actually more than three and they would get to you since you couldn't- wait, you stood up!" Jemma's whole body seemed to straighten and a small smile graced her features. She had just been attacked by a dinosaur, but the fact that Skye was getting better was so much more important to her.

The last thing on Skye's mind at the moment was her legs.  She was too busy worrying over Jemma. When Jemma mentioned it, Skye actually felt her cheeks flush,  though she was unsure why. "I guess I was..." she glanced down toward her lap.  "I woke up and there were screams, and screeches...I didn't know if you were..." Skye frowned and shook her head,  decidedly not wanting to picture a pack of compys swarming Jemma.

"I'm fine, I promise." Jemma smiled lightly and placed her hand over Skye's at the base of her neck. It was only a small bite and should have stopped bleeding on its own by now. "In fact, I think I was mutually terrified and excited to see the beasts." Jemma was only half joking. She would be lying to say she wasn't enthused by seeing a live compy, in the flesh.

The fingers of Skye's other hand pressed a bit more firmly into the back of Jemma's shoulder.  She shook her head and let out a bit of a chuckle.  "Of course you'd be excited, because science," she sighed and leaned over to kiss her quickly.  She pulled the shirt back carefully to inspect the bite.  It stopped bleeding but Skye still wanted to clean it off. "Let me just grab the first aid kit and then we can get you cleaned up-," Skye moved in an attempt to try and pull herself up to her feet,  but as soon as her butt was off the ground,  Jemma was already pushing her back down by her hips.  Skye opened her mouth to protest, but Jemma was quicker than Skye.

"Nuh-uh." Jemma made a small clicking noise and shook her head. "You stay right where you are. Don't exert yourself." She ordered firmly. Skye was just getting the feeling back in her legs and there was no way in hell- which was probably where they were- that she was going to let her overdo it. She needed rest and Jemma was going to make her get it even if she didn't want to.   
  
"I can get it." Jemma only left Skye's side for a moment to grab the first aid kit and bring it back. All it really needed was a good flush to get any compy saliva out of the wound, and then a bandage to keep out bacteria. She wasn't shy when she crossed her arms and grabbed the hem of her own shirt, straightening them to pull it over her head. Blood had soaked through onto her stomach and chest, and her bra was now a red color. "You can help me get the bite cleaned up since I can't see it, but no more than sitting up."

Skye frowned. She had been largely useless the last couple of days and, even if the bite was minor, it was something she could help with at least. She would have protested and insisted that she needed to move as much as possible to get back onto her feet, but Jemma whipped her shirt right off and Skye was immediately distracted. At first she stared at all the blood, but then she just wound up staring before she could stop herself. They really hadn't had all that much time to themselves. Other than sleeping, most of their moments together tended to get interrupted or were laced with serious things like injuries or taking oceanside baths after kidnappings, rescues and self defense murders.    
  
When thoughts did creep back into her brain while she was distractedly staring, Skye wondered if perhaps Jemma was right that night, which felt like months ago now even though it was not, when Jemma said they didn't know if they had enough time to wait. She wondered what they would have spent the last couple of weeks doing together in their free time if the plane hadn't crashed and they'd made it home safely instead. Skye also wondered if she would feel as intensely for Jemma as she did right now, if their courtship had occurred on the mainland. She wanted to think yes, based on their interactions together in the terminal and on the plane before the crash. Skye wasn't sure she believed in ideas like soulmates, but she had never felt for anyone the way that she felt for Jemma. She supposed she'd been changing the way she thought about a lot of things in the last couple of weeks, though.    
  
Skye blinked and lifted her eyes to Jemma's face, aware that the other woman had said something because she'd heard Jemma’s voice, but hadn't a clue what, exactly she'd said. "Hm, what?" she asked, still a bit distant as she tried to jog her thoughts free.

"You're staring." Jemma chuckled. She was no longer embarrassed. They had seen each other in less before and she was beginning to feel as comfortable with Skye as she was with herself. She didn't like to brag, but Jemma was aware that she was attractive and considered Skye's staring a compliment.   
  
"Not that I mind," she shrugged with a grin. She turned her bloody tshirt inside out and used it to wipe away the blood. She then tossed it near the pile of clothes that needed to be washed. She wasn't about to start throwing clothes away because of stains.

"Oh, right," Skye would have been more embarrassed, probably, if she hadn't spent the last couple of days needing help to even go to the bathroom, so. It seemed silly to be embarrassed about it. Anyway, it wasn't like Jemma wouldn't be aware that Skye was attracted to her. "Sorry?" Except she kind of wasn't and Jemma didn't seem all that upset about it. Skye reached into the first aid kit to grab the supplies needed to clean out the bite wound. "We should go to the waterfall," she said as she soaked a cotton ball with alcohol and started to carefully clean out each of the open wounds left behind from the compy teeth. "Me and you, I mean," she clarified. "And maybe Buzz," she added. Waiting wasn't going to make the trek from the beach through the jungle any more or less dangerous and Skye's brain was already mulling over that stuff about not having time to wait. She kept her eyes focused on the wound on Jemma's neck as she worked on cleaning it and covering it with some of the leftover antibiotic gel before she could cover it over by taping gauze onto it.

"Really?" Jemma was honestly very surprised when Skye offered. She didn't expect her to be willing to take Jemma into the jungle when they knew about all the prehistoric carnivores living in the foliage. It was a nice surprise though and Jemma enjoyed the idea of going on a hike with Skye.   
  
"As soon as your legs are better, that would be wonderful." Jemma replied. She gave Skye's thigh a squeeze and tilted her head a bit so she could tape the gauze on without difficulty.

Skye shrugged as she finished taping up the gauze. She grabbed a water bottle and unfolded the tank top she'd been using earlier to find a clean side of it and soaked it in the water so she could start cleaning some of the dried compy blood off of Jemma. "I told you I'd take you to the other one, but we can't do that now," she said. "It's a shorter trek...with just us, it'll be easier to keep eyes and ears open for trouble...I guess we're no worse off with potential attacks than we are on the beach..." which was highly concerning in itself. "I'm not saying I won't be worried the whole time, but," she shrugged again. "I feel that way whenever anyone goes on, myself included." She wasn't sure why she was rambling about her reasoning. "We might need to pick you out a bigger knife, though," she added with a small smile and a glance to the two knives in the sand. "Just in case."

"Skye," Jemma hushed her rambling by leaning over and smothering Skye's words with her lips. Skye's hands were already on her stomach, so Jemma leaned over her and grinned mischievously into the kiss.   
  
"You're still laying down..." Jemma pointed out during a break in the kiss for a breath. Her hands were on the cushion by both sides of Skye's waist to hold herself up and not smash her while she was recovering, but that didn't mean she couldn't have a little fun.

Skye didn't get the chance to reply to Jemma saying her name before they were kissing and Skye wasn't about to curtail that for the sake of talking just now. Tank top and cleaning forgotten in the distraction, her fingers curled against the soft flesh along the sides of Jemma's waist, just above her hips. Slightly winded from the kissing, and a good deal lightheaded with lust, Skye didn't bother replying. She leaned up enough to surge into another eager round of kissing. At the same time she drew her hands down and pulled Jemma to urge her into her lap. The pins and needles were still there but they weren't early as strong as they had been the night before. "This part of," she spoke in breathless phrase, pulling back just barely far enough to form words between heated kisses. "My prescribed...treatment plan, Doc?" she grinned against Jemma’s  lips and let her fingers plot a course along the outsides of Jemma's thighs, up over her hips and started tracing a slow trail up along the back edge of her sides.

Jemma hummed a little content sound and nibbled at Skye's bottom lip, grin ever present on her face. Never before had she been so giddy about kissing someone and so excited about the possibility of more. Jemma was just fine letting their relationship progress. It didn't feel urgent- well, a little, physically- but it didn't feel like they were rushed.    
  
"It may be counterproductive in getting the feeling back in your legs." Jemma dipped her head to Skye's ear and whispered. One of her hands slid over the top of Skye's leg and her thumb brushed over her inner thigh through her pajama pants. She raised her brow, as if asking Skye if she still wanted to continue.

For once, Skye's heart was skittering all around the confines of her ribcage for a reason that didn't involve death or violence. She would've said it didn't involve fear either, but she was a bit afraid of her intense feelings for Jemma, though she chalked those fears up to her own insecurities and she didn't think them necessarily a bad thing so much as just something she was going to learn to move past. Her weight shifted, a sound akin to a mix between a hum and a swiftly exhaled sigh sounded from the back of her throat at the nibbles.    
  
Leaning her head to the side to press closer against Jemma’s when she whispered in her ear, Skye closed her eyes. She exhaled a shaky sigh, shifting again under Jemma’s touch as it sent sparks of heat between her legs. Her thigh muscles twitched,  reacting both to Jemma’s touch and to the smattering of pins and needles that were still buzzing about her lower limbs. When her eyes opened, her dilated pupils fixed on Jemma's face, but she never had the chance to actually reply, because the tarp at the entrance of the shelter ruffled as someone pushed it aside and popped inside the very same moment Skye's jaw slacked and her lips were opening to begin to speak.

Jemma heard the sound of a shutter clicking and she didn't have time to cover herself. She jumped and turned her head, groaning when she saw Bobbi and the disposable camera in her hands.   
  
"Bobbi!" Jemma exclaimed, pulling blankets up over her chest a moment later. Reluctantly, she got off of Skye and sat next to her. "What are you doing?"    
  
"I found this camera and thought I'd take some candid photos, I didn't think you two would be getting naked." She laughed and gestured to Jemma with her hand. Jemma's face flushed bright red and she snatched the camera when Bobbi handed it to her. "I don't want to keep that picture, the thing's all yours." Bobbi was still laughing.

Skye propped up on her elbows, she wasn't nearly fast enough to cover Jemma, her brain was still catching up, hands still resting along Jemma's leg just below her hips until Jemma moved. Her face was flushed from more than the embarrassment of getting caught, though. She dropped back and covered her face with her hands and let out a groan as Bobbi explained herself between her bouts of laughter. Skye rubbed her face and then moved, pushing herself to sit up and shifting back closer to Jemma, angled a bit in front of her even though she was covered since she was red faced as well Skye shook her head. "You're a cruel, cruel woman, Bobbi," she sighed. "Daring to interrupt a private physical therapy session and then acting like you don't like what you see," she smirked despite the tight coil still tensed and pulling in a well in the pit of her belly. They really needed a way to lock the entrance of the shelter for some privacy. 

"Oh, physical therapy? I must have been mistaken." Bobbi belted out a laugh. She still hadn't left the little shelter and was enjoying how embarrassed she was making the two. "I thought you were about to have sex, but hey, I could be wrong." Bobbi raised her hands in fake surrender and enjoyed how flushed and squirmy Jemma was getting. She was nearly hiding behind Skye with a red face and she couldn't make eye contact with her.   
  
"By all means, continue, who am I to stop a deserted island romp?" Bobbi teased as she backed out of the tarp and it fell shut, leaving them alone once again. A moment passed before Jemma broke the silence by grinding the little wheel, raising the camera, and snapping a photo of Skye's expression.

Skye was still smirking, but she rolled her eyes and watched Bobbi go. She sighed and dropped her shoulders when they were finally alone again. Cheeks and tops of her ears still red, she was just preparing to try and make a joke when she heard the grinding click. She looked over  just in time for the snap of the photo and her ears and cheeks turned a few deeper shades of red. “I think,” She reached for the camera, set it aside and shifted to crawl closer to Jemma, opting against Jemma’s original advice of remaining prone to rest her legs. “We should go back to exploring that desert island romp idea,” She grinned and leaned in to make a return to kissing Jemma from their previous interruption. 

Jemma smiled and inhaled quietly, but just as Skye's lips were about to meet her own the tarp was jerked aside again and Jemma jumped, bumping their foreheads together. She groaned and glared, but Bobbi was just laughing, so much so that her arm was across her stomach and she was slightly leaning over.   
  
"I was kidding, I do need you. Coulson wants to talk." Bobbi finally said. "Sorry to clam jam you." She joked, but Jemma could tell by the amused expression on Bobbi's face that she wasn't sorry at all.

Skye groaned and sat back, rubbing at her forehead. This time she sent a narrow-eyed glare Bobbi's way. Twice in a row and the second one on purpose was legitimately cruel. "Seriously?" she grumbled and pushed her hair out of her face and behind her ear. She looked over at Jemma, who was still mostly covered by the blankets. "Give us a second to get changed without bursting back in, will ya?" Skye was fully aware that Bobbi meant Jemma, but she planned on at least attempting to get up and join them. She could get up to her feet, so she could probably move somewhere, possibly with a little help. It'd be nice to stretch her legs a little bit and get outside the shelter for just a little bit of time.

"You get two minutes. No quickies." Bobbi tossed another joke (maybe not completely a joke) at them before she disappeared outside the tarp. Jemma sighed and dropped the blanket for Skye and headed over to her suitcase. She picked one of her button-downs and had a few buttons done when she saw Skye trying to get up.    
  
"Hey, you stay put." Jemma even pointed at their bed to tell Skye that was where she needed to put her butt and keep it there. "You're not getting up yet, doctor's orders." Jemma wore a half smile when she finished buttoning her shirt and grabbed the group inventory notebook, assuming it would be necessary.

Skye was going to make a joke about how Bobbi kept issuing them sexual challenges, but she was concentrating on pulling herself to her feet. She used the airplane chair and continued to try and climb to her feet. "I'm up to handling a conversation," she insisted though a few grunts. "I'm okay, really," It was harder to handle the bed rest thing when she was able to be conscious and mentally with it instead of out of it and asleep most of the time. She had to try and insist. The more she moved around, the more she'd work the numbness out right? That's how it normally worked with pins and needles, right?

"Skye," Jemma said firmly. Her hands were on her hips and she turned around to look at her. She wasn't angry, but she was frustrated Skye wouldn't allow herself to heal. She came over and took a strong hold of Skye's arm, not enough to hurt her of course, but enough when, paired with an arm around Skye's waist, she had the power to slowly push her back down when Skye thought she would be helping her up.   
  
"You  _ need _ to rest. If we want to go on that hike to the waterfall you need to let yourself heal." Jemma told her. She fussed over her and put the blankets back over her legs to try to relax her. She suddenly had an idea and reached behind her, coming back and placing the object in Skye's lap. "Now you get that chance to read it." Jemma pat the cover and gave Skye's hand a squeeze.

Skye sighed as she landed back on the cushions and Jemma fussed over her. She looked down at the book in her hands, remembering chunks of the story Jemma had been reading to her the day before and also remembering how happy Jemma was when Skye gave the book back to her after salvaging it from the tail. “Now, why would I need to do that when I have my very own Calypso holding me captive on the mythical greek isle of bamboo shelter?” She asked, not sarcastic, just resigned and attempting to be as good natured about it as her frustrations would allow. She didn’t mind the fussing. She didn’t mind being allotted this time to spend with Jemma instead of constantly going into dangerous jungle areas, getting beat up or injured in some other fashion, et cetera, et cetera. She definitely wouldn’t be lamenting life on an island with Jemma and wanting to get away (from the island, yes, but from Jemma? No, definitely not). All the same, she felt a good deal trapped in her current situation. 

"Ah, so you did listen when I read to you." Jemma's tough demeanor melted away because of Skye's adorable and quite funny allusion. She knelt in the sand next to the bed, mostly because if she got into the bed she wouldn't be able to make herself get back up.    
  


Skye gave Jemma a funny look.  "Course I did," she said with a somewhat overly dopey little smile. 

  
"Really, I want you to rest just a bit longer. For me?" Jemma requested. Her lips were soft against Skye's and she made sure not to start anything lest Bobbi come barging back in.

Skye exhaled a sigh after the small kiss. "Fine, " she gave in, though it was with great reluctance. It wasn't like she wasn't still tired, she definitely was, but a lot had happened over the last couple of weeks. Still.  She wanted to protest, but instead she stole another kiss, just as Bobbi pushed the tarp aside and stuck her head back inside.  Skye groaned into the kiss right before it broke.  Damnit.

"I see you've managed to get your top back on, nice work, Simmons." Bobbi did a slow clap and Jemma rolled her eyes.    
  
"What exactly is this about?" She asked. Bobbi's joking expression faded away and led to a more concerned, grim one.    
  
"Our compy friends from earlier. We need to be prepared. Oh and Skye, we could use that drawing ASAP." Bobbi told her.

Skye carded her fingers through her hair to push it out of her face and then behind her ears. “It’s done already,” She said. “Fitz grabbed it from me earlier. He wanted to talk to Mack about some specific logistics about easier ways to climb through the tree entrance, I think?” She shrugged. She really wanted to try and stand up again to go with them. 

"Ok, great. We'll be back. Come on Simmons." Bobbi beckoned for her to follow with a wave of her hand. Jemma did, but not without turning at the waist and pointing to her own eyes with two fingers and then pointing to Skye's as if saying _I'll be watching you._ __  
  
___________________  
  
"I know you're not a paleontologist, just like you aren't a surgeon, but you're the best person to consult." Coulson said cautiously. He was trying not to offend Jemma like they had done previously by objectifying her for her skills. This time, however, Jemma nodded in understanding. She knew she had displayed a wealth of knowledge about dinosaurs and all things prehistoric, so it was only natural they would place her in a position of expertise.  
  
"How likely would you say another compy attack is?" Coulson got to the question that really mattered. He had gathered a smaller group than normal- just himself, Jemma, Bobbi, and May- to go over possibilities and foresee any problems before they occurred.   
  
"We did only kill two of the three. The last one got away." Bobbi reminded Jemma before her brain finished its situational analysis. Jemma took it into account and realized with mild horror that Coulson was right to call the small meeting.   
  
"I would say very likely after what happened with Kebo. They seem to show signs of a vengeful complex." Jemma explained. If they could communicate well enough she actually had no idea what they would do, but she definitely wouldn't rule out the possibility of a full scale attack.   
  
"We need to leave." May had always been quiet, but she was the one to speak up and break the silence that followed Jemma's "professional" opinion. All heads turned to her and May pushed off of the outside wall of the plane and unfolded a page from her back pocket. She smoothed it out over what remained of the wing still attached to the body of the plane, and without instruction, everyone gathered around her.   
  
"We're sitting ducks here. If we're waiting here because we're hoping for a rescue miracle, we need to wake up." May made a point of looking directly at Coulson. The two ideas were clearly creating a rift between them. "If someone does come, they'll see the plane wreckage and begin a search of the island."   
  
"I think May has made an excellent point." Jemma stuck her finger up and added. The others just looked at her for a moment and then back at the map drawn by Skye that May had gotten for their little meeting.  
  
"There's shelter, water, and closer access to food. It's not a bad idea." Bobbi scratched at her neck and squinted at the map, trying to remember the area and its security.   
  
"I think this needs to be discussed in the entire group." Coulson interrupted the planning before anyone got ahead of themselves. "We got what we needed to know from this. The compys are a major factor, but the whole group needs to be involved." He was right on that piece. Jemma knew Skye alone would throw a fit if she knew the conversation she was missing, and she assumed the others' reactions wouldn't be much better.   
  
"Tonight at dinner. We'll all discuss it." May finished the meeting for them and marched off, leaving the others to mingle lightly and avoid the serious topics to save for later until they finally parted ways.  
  
___________  
  
Skye tried to read after Jemma and Bobbi left,  but she just wound up flipping blindly through the pages, absently teaching her fingers over Jemma's perfectly scrawled name.  She eventually sent the book aside in its normal safe place away from the sand. She tried to think of exercises she could do with her legs before Jemma returned. There were some she could do without standing up, but Skye thought getting on her feet and remaining there for a while would get her muscle memory to kick back into gear properly.  Skye just was not the type to be this sidelined by an injury.  She pushed herself harder than that.  It felt wrong to lay there doing nothing.    
  
Skye grabbed one of the first class blankets after tossing the others aside.  She grabbed each end of the blanket and wound. She pulled her left leg up and bent her knee. Hooking the blanket around her toes and just below them,  she straightened her leg out, used the blanket to pull her toes down toward her.  It didn't tickle,  at all.  She did wind up gritting her teeth together,  but she also was careful to take allow breaths in through her nose, held them a long moment then exhaled through her mouth.  Slowly, she moved her leg from stretching it straight up into the air perpendicular to her hip to lean and stretch her leg to the side.  She held it there for a moment and felt her hip click as it shifted to click back into its alignment,  having been slightly off.  She repeated the process a few times before switching to her right leg,  hoping that maybe the stretching would help get blood (and nerves??) flowing more easily through her legs to try and rid herself of more of the pins and needles.  She was so focused on her task,  she didn't hear the tarp at first when Jemma returned. 

Initially, Jemma was confused when she came into their shelter. She had expected Skye to be laying down or possibly standing up, but she hadn't expected stretching, so it had caught her off guard. It wasn't a bad idea though, probably a very good one so she could ease back into movement.    
  
"Good girl." Jemma teased. She tickled the bottom of Skye's foot as she passed by and sat down next to her. 

Skye was about to roll her eyes and smirk at Jemma, but her eyes widened instead because the bottom of her feet were entirely too ticklish. A startled guffaw escaped her throat and her leg wobbled as she bent her knee and brought her foot down to the cushion, pulling the blanket off and setting it aside. She shifted, smirking a little bit at the praise she'd been given. "They're not even numb anymore, y'know," she shifted and moved back a bit on the bed, pushing to sit up. "You can check for yourself," she deliberately poked at the top of her thigh closest to Jemma. It wasn't entirely true.

There were sporadic bits of her legs that still had them, but they weren't anywhere near as bad as they had been the last couple of days. She had a decent range of motion while sitting there and stretching and trying to work the muscles out. She'd been wobbly up on her feet before but that was just because she'd spent so long in bed. That's what Skye was telling herself anyway. She wanted to walk. She wanted to prove to herself that she would be able to take care of herself when the next crisis came. she didn't want Jemma running to find her is something happened when it meant she could be risking getting herself into trouble, like she had this morning.

"Let me just see for myself." There was a sly little grin on Jemma's face as she inched closer and and captured Skye's lips with her own. Her hand slid across Skye's thigh and gave it a squeeze. She moved her hand forward and up a bit so it was on the inside of her thigh just below a region Jemma knew Skye could definitely feel.    
  
"Can you feel this?" She mumbled across Skye's lips. She knew they couldn't really do anything without running the risk of an interruption, but it was still fun to tease.

If it wasn't for that initial kiss, Skye would've jumped a bit because that first squeeze to her thigh did cause a jolt of pins and needles. She was easily distracted picking up somewhere near where they'd left off before both of Bobbi's interruptions. Skye easily leaned into the kiss. She wasn't at all shy about the shift of her hips that followed the shift in Jemma's grip. She felt a flutter in her belly as her heart tripped over itself and skipped a few beats in her chest, her mind wandering back to the night they fell while Jemma was changing and Jemma's knee had landed just above where her hand now sat. "Mmm, yes," Skye hummed as she nibbled lightly at Jemma's bottom lip a moment, "best to keep checking," she murmured, distracted by the heat between her hips and the lightheaded feeling fogging up her brain. "Thorough examination an' all," she grinned against the kiss as she brought her hand up from the bed cushion behind Jemma and curled her fingers into Jemma's hair along the nape of her neck.    
  
The tarp to the shelter crinkled and pushed in. Skye broke the kiss, ready to chase away whoever was trying to intrude only to find there was no one behind it this time. It was just the wind deciding to be as cruel as their other interrupters. She let out a frustrated sigh and turned to bury her face into Jemma's shoulder. Her brain wanted to say they should stop but every other part of her screamed to keep going and just not care about getting caught.

"I think the universe is telling us ' _ not today _ '." Jemma sighed and leaned back. The timing just wasn't right and the last thing Jemma wanted was to be rushed. As much as Jemma didn't like it, there were other things that needed their attention before themselves.   
  
"There's supposed to be a big meeting at dinner." Jemma changed the subject. "It'll be a family meeting about moving." She added some light humor to hopefully ease any worries Skye might have.

"The universe is cruel today," Skye sighed. She moved to lean back and set her head on Jemma’s shoulder. Not having privacy to mess around did not mean they couldn't settle down close together. She bent her legs at the knee and put her feet down on the bed cushion, just wanting to keep from having them go stiff from being straightened and also in some vain attempt to switch gears from the intimate one they'd just been in. She traced the pads of her fingers down the inside of Jemma's forearm until their palms lined up and then entwined their fingers together. She brought Jemma's hand up and kissed the back of it as she listened to her rundown summary of the meeting.   
  
Skye let out a startled laugh and picked her head up, eyebrows arched and and almost gleeful little expression on her face. "Does our marooning then make us The Swiss Family Robinson?" She should have thought of it sooner but with everything going on, it hadn't clicked until Jemma referred to it as a 'family meeting?' Sadly, the flipside of this joke was that the the Robinson family was marooned on their island something like ten years before any ships found them, and only some of them decided to leave the island after that. Skye chose not to think about that lengthy side of the story at the moment. She was willing to make light of it for a moment before their talk would have to turn serious again.

"May and Coulson are definitely the parental figures." Jemma chuckled and kissed the top of Skye's head. She smelled like ocean and salt, but at this point, none of them could say they didn't. It was also true that Coulson and May were on the older side of the ages of the members of their group, and besides Skye, they seemed to handle overall leadership together.

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Skye settled her head back down and chuckled a little. "Think they're sneaking off to do their own canoodling when no one's looking?" she smirked a little. Mack and Yoyo stayed in their own shelter a little bit down the beach for their privacy, and Skye was pretty sure by the sheer amount of arguments that Bobbi and Hunter had that there was something going on there, but she hadn't had time to return all of Bobbi's matchmaking and teasing since she'd been largely out of the game the last handful of days.

Jemma and Skye shared a few more moments of giggly laughter. The air thickened around them as the sound died out and the reminder that there were things to be done was weighing down on her shoulders again.   
  
"We should probably prepare an argument for tonight." Jemma suggested. Only after did she realize she hadn't even asked Skye what she wanted them to do. "For whatever side you want to support." Jemma added, trying to get Skye to share her opinions. Hopefully there would be no disagreements between them.

Skye remained quiet for a few moments. “I don’t really know which option is better,” she said as she tucked some of her hair behind her ear. “Moving to the waterfalls has pros, I mean, they’re pretty obvious, I guess. Water, shelter, Garrett and Ward and their crew won’t know where it is,” she counted them of. “But there are cons, too,” she added after. “We give up on rescue, our backs are to the water here so we only have three directions to watch. I know it’s surrounded but there’s a false sense of security at the waterfall. Yes we had the water, but if someone...or somethings surround us there…” Skye clenched her eyes shut a moment as an involuntary shudder rolled down her spine when the imagine of the spiders pulling Alisha apart jumped into the back of her mind. She cleared her throat and glanced at her bandaged for arm, resisting the urge to scratch at the bandages. “I don’t...really know what the best thing to do is,” she said. Maybe Skye had some leadership skills, or maybe she was just brazen and stupid enough to go running into danger for the sake of others? Whatever the case, she didn’t have all the answers and she genuinely didn’t know what was the better choice. Her major lean toward the waterfall at the moment was based off of a solely biased selfish want to keep Jemma far away from where Ward could (or knew where to) find her. 

"There's another factor, that's why Coulson called me over; it was to confirm." Jemma said. She could see that Skye was still on the fence, but Jemma thought it was a good idea and there was new information Skye didn't have yet. "The whole thing was started by the compy attack. After Kebo-" Jemma gave a short moment of silence since she knew Skye was affected by every death where she was present. "-I think it's very possible- likely, even- that the full pack of compys will come back now for revenge and because they know there's a field of large prey." Jemma finished, trying to gauge Skye's reaction.

Skye kept her eyes down, focused toward her bent legs. It wasn’t just that she was present. She felt responsible. She felt like there was more she could have done in each situation. Whether there truly was or not didn’t matter, Skye still felt responsible. She couldn’t explain why. Her frown deepened and her brow filled with creases. She wasn’t an animal expert, obviously. Skye was far out of her actual element. She could fight, sure but, for the most part, she was doing what she always did - she was taking what knowledge and physical skills she  _ did _ have and faking it til she made it. There was no other way to classify everything she’d done so far. She did what she had to. She reacted with less than seconds of time to given situations and she willingly put herself in terribly dangerous situations because it was something that had to be done and she was there to do it. She couldn’t argue against the idea that the compys were capable of forming a vengeful attack because she was certain in her own mind that they swarmed Kebo first because he’d killed the compy in the snare. Skye was a couple of feet  _ ahead _ of Kebo when he threw it. He was practically next to her, on his way to get his knife when the swarm hit. There were so many of them, they could have easily swamped her too, even though she’d reacted quickly enough to run. 

After spending some time considering the idea, throwing as many good and bad sides of the coin she could think of around her brain, she finally lifted her head to look over at Jemma. “I want you to actually see it,” She told her. “Before anyone moves there.” It was important, not just because she’d wanted to make a gesture to Jemma with taking her to the first waterfall and now couldn’t, but for other reasons too. “I have no idea anything there that could be hazardous to us. We weren’t there long. It was only a couple hours after we ran away from the spider dens…” She shook her head a moment. “A crappy sketch by someone who’s terrible at drawing with estimated dimensions and a crudely marked off map aren’t enough to base this kind of decision on. What if there’s toxic and poisonous plant life we didn’t notice?” Or worse. She hated the idea of presenting it to Jemma like that;  _ ‘Gee I’m doing all I can to keep you safe but come to this waterfall with me where dinosaurs, prehistoric giant vulture turkeys, titanoboas or spiders as big as trucks might kill us on the way and tell me if there’s anything poisonous there.’  _ But the fact remained that she had the knowledge to be able to ascertain this information out of everyone. 

"We should make our own trip out there for before the group decides to go anywhere, I agree." Jemma nodded. There was a swell of fear in her gut that she had yet to share with Skye. It wasn't about going to the waterfall. If Skye thought it was sheltered Jemma believed it. It was staying on the beach that scared her now.   
  
"I'm afraid to stay here." Jemma admitted. It was probably selfish of her to fear for her own life above the group's, but she couldn't help it. For her individually, the beach wasn't the best option. "There's Ward of course. But  _ I _ killed the leader of the three compys." Jemma stressed. One of the three had gotten away and she was afraid it would recognize her.

As she watched Jemma when she said it, Skye’s decision was pretty much solidified right then and there. “Hey,” Skye sat up straighter and shifted, leaning over she kissed the side of Jemma’s head as she mover to slide her arm around Jemma’s shoulders to pull her into her side. “If you want to move to the waterfall, we’ll move to the waterfall. We’ll take a trip there tomorrow, provided you clear me for hiking?” She offered what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “We’ll pack enough to spend the night if you deem it safe based on surrounding plant life. And if that’s where you want to go, that’s where we’ll go.” She leaned over and pressed her forehead to Jemma’s. “I already told you before, Jem, wherever you go, I go with you.” 

Jemma's next breath was a large exhale and she leaned into Skye with a sense of relief that probably should have been impossible on a prehistoric island, especially when caused by a move into the jungle. She had to take another deep breath to prevent the tears welling in her eyes from rolling over and down her cheeks. She didn't know what to say, but she was so happy she was lucky enough to have Skye.    
  
"I love you." Jemma blurted. She was nervous, but currently held no regrets. It was true, she was only concerned about how Skye would react, so she snuggled into her side to avoid looking at her face.

There were only two people who had ever said those words to Skye and genuinely meant them. They certainly didn’t mean them in the way that Jemma meant them. Skye froze for a moment and wasn’t able to reply before Jemma was nuzzled into her. Her arms fell around Jemma out of reflex. She turned her head down and kissed the top of Jemma’s, stalling for a moment as her brain tried to catch up to her wildly erratic heartbeat she was sure Jemma could hear at the moment. Rationally, she knew it was entirely impossible to fall for someone in twenty-some odd days. All the same, she knew (and had said out loud) that she felt very strong, intense feelings for Jemma, ones she was afraid of. She spent a great deal of her life fearing her feelings, fearing letting herself get more than superficially ‘close’ with other people because of the fact that she always felt like she was losing them. In reality it had been her pushing them to stay in a specifically constructed zone far outside of her personal space to prevent them from getting too deep past her defenses. If they didn’t find a way in, she couldn’t be devastated when she lost them. Skye knew it was a terribly unhealthy mindset, but it was the one that worked. It was the one that let her make like things just rolled off her back and she continued on with the flow of everything around her. 

Skye couldn’t go that route with Jemma. She had already let Jemma in farther than almost anyone else she’d ever let past the defenses. Skye was terrified of losing Jemma...so much so that she had done unthinkable things to people who had threatened Jemma’s safety. In all of her moments of imagining them leaving this island, everyone of them already included staying with Jemma. Maybe it was the nature of their situation. Emotions were heightened by the fear, the danger, the need for something more than the fear, danger and setbacks to keep going; the heightened emotions were working to amplify the spark they’d ignited in the terminal so many days ago. Those few weeks felt like long stretches of eternity. Jemma had been the only consistent person that made the days (and nights) bearable. Skye knew how she felt about Jemma. However her brain tried to organize and rationalize it, given the circumstances, it didn’t matter. Her fear of her own feelings also didn’t matter. What mattered is she  _ wanted _ to confess those feelings, rather than keep them hidden, rather than push Jemma away from her. She’d tried that option before and it hadn’t worked. 

Skye wrapped one arm tighter around Jemma’s shoulders and lifted the other to comb her fingers through Jemma’s hair. “I love you too, Jem,” it came out a little quieter than she meant for it to come out, but it was still a monumental thing, for those words to come out of her mouth. She would never utter them without meaning it. She kissed the top of Jemma’s head again and murmured into her hair. “I don’t know when or how yet, but I promise, it’s not gonna end here. Whether we move or not, I’ll find a way to get us off this island.” This was also something Skye wouldn’t dare say without meaning it. She didn’t break promises, and she sure as hell wasn’t about to start either.   
  
_____________  
  
"This is a terrible idea! Haven't you guys seen the things out there?!" Fitz's shrill voice wasn't the only one. They had barely discussed it at all, Coulson had merely brought up the topic, before about half the group started protesting and the other half argued back. The volume was raised and the beach sounded like a child's birthday party after a fight broke out.    
  
" _ HEY _ !" May's normally quiet voice was now booming and it forced all arguments and conversations to immediately die out so the only sounds were of jungle life and the surf crashing onto shore. "We need to have a calm discussion and consider all viewpoints before anything is decided. We aren't going to split again."

Coulson tilted his head slightly at May’s initial outburst, not altogether surprised by it necessarily, but intrigued. It was unexpected. He nodded. “We also don’t know who else might be listening,” He said, which caused some of the group to look toward the treeline. 

Skye sat next to Jemma and kept a careful eye scanning the faces around the fire, some standing, some sitting, all quiet now thanks to May and slightly paranoid thanks to Coulson’s comment. She squeezed Jemma’s hand which she was holding and glanced her way, arched her eyebrow up slightly. 

“Everything that’s out there is going to make its way to us eventually anyway,” Hunter piped up. “We might as well hole up somewhere we can defend.” 

“We can’t defend it if we die trying to get there,” Mike said. He was calm but his voice was pointed as he spoke. He didn’t have anywhere he could leave Ace so that his son wouldn’t hear this conversation, so he was going to do everything he could to project an outward facade of calm. He couldn’t stop thinking about the latest death - a giant snake devouring a man while the water crew was heading  _ to _ the waterfall these people wanted to move to. 

“Obviously there will need to be precautions,” Mack pointed out. “Nothing here is the ‘perfectly one-hundred percent safe’ option,” He reasoned. “We’re just trying to pick the  _ best _ option for the whole group.” 

“And who decides that?” Victoria asked, louder than she should have but not shouting. She looked at Coulson. “You?” She turned her eyes to May. “Or is it you?” She went on. “No, I’m sorry, it must be them,” She nodded to Skye, Jemma and Bobbi. “Maybe it’s the fisherman? For all I know, it could be that damn dragonfly, wherever it’s gone off to,” She shifted on her feet and crossed her arms. “There’s no leader here. We’re all groping in the dark and you want to send us through the jungle, carrying furniture.” 

“This isn’t a dictatorship,” Coulson said. 

“No?” Victoria retorted. 

Coulson frowned at her. “If it was, would we be offering you options and listening to people’s grievances?” 

“This is all a farce,” Victoria waved a hand to indicated the meeting as she spat the words out. 

"Nobody is going to force anyone to go anywhere." Yoyo spoke up. Her calm, powerful demeanor and voice made people listen to her and quiet down as she spoke. "The compys are going to come back here now that they know there's food. There are hundreds of them, we wouldn't stand a chance. And after that the beasts that eat the compys will start coming. We're out in the open here where everything and everyone can see us." She added.    
  
Jemma nodded along as Yoyo spoke and gave Skye's hand a squeeze before she stood up herself. "I know moving into the jungle is a scary idea, but we know where the creatures reside and we can avoid them. With the time we gain from not having to fetch water, we can start doing other things like trying to find a way off this island." Jemma looked down to Skye with a small smile.

Skye squeezed Jemma’s hand back and watched her as she stood and spoke. She gave her a warm reassuring smile back. 

Joey was pacing in the sand. He hadn’t gone back into the jungle since the incident with the spiders. He thought the waterfall was secure but felt anxious about having to go back through the jungle to move there. “This is just a temporary idea, right?” He asked as she paced through the sand nearby where Mack and Yoyo were standing. “We move back when compys think their potential lot of food herd is gone?” He looked between Jemma, Bobbi and Coulson and May a few times. “Right?” 

“Well, no,” Coulson shook his head. “It wouldn’t benefit us to move back here rather than staying near the water.” 

“Oh,” Joey frowned. “Right.” 

Numerous outbursts sprung up again 

“How are we going to move everything there?” Robbie asked.

“It’s going to take multiple trips, which means  _ they’re _ trying to put your lives at risk multiple times over,” Victoria cast a few pointed glances around the camp, lingering on people like Mike and Joey and a few others she knew were on her side. She narrowed her eyes and turned to Coulson and May as if to say,  _ ‘see, I’m not alone.’ _

“Are the dinosaurs going to eat us?” Ace looked up over his shoulder at his dad. 

“No, they’re not, bud,” Mike shook his head. “Because we’re not going through the jungle.” 

Skye moved to stand up this time, trying not to feel a bit pathetic when both Jemma and Trip moved to help her. “Mike,” She said once she was steady on her feet. “Have any of us ever given you a reason to think we wouldn’t keep Ace safe with our lives?” she asked. 

“Oh, here we go with this,” Hand threw her hands up and rolled her eyes. “Prey on the man based off of protecting his son - where were you when Ward held his son at knife point?” She asked pointedly. 

Skye narrowed her eyes and furrowed her brow. “Where was  _ I _ when -- where were  _ you _ when that happened?” she asked. 

“Can’t answer the question?” Victoria asked. 

“Skye’s the reason Ace got away from them,” Trip spoke up. He crossed his own arms. 

“We’re getting off topic,” Coulson cut in, holding up a hand to try and quell the distracting murmurs. 

“Moving to the waterfall has a more pros than cons.” Skye spoke up without waiting for Coulson to finish talking. “Aside from being close to water, being safely surrounded and easier to defend, it takes less than an hour to get inland to it from the entrance spot down the beach. We won’t have to worry about the compys coming after us, the walls are too high for terror birds to get into it, the spider dens are much farther away from it and they’re not likely to venture to it, and, perhaps most importantly, Garrett, Ward and his crew? They don’t know where it is.” 

“Oh!” Victoria suddenly shouted. “So  _ that’s _ the reason, is it? You want to protect your girlfriend from that buffoon? Bit selfish to drag us all into your drama island, isn’t it?” 

“I want to protect  _ all  _ of us from that ‘ _ buffoon’ _ ” Skye glared at Victoria. “He’s a murderer-,” 

“No, Skye,” Victoria smirked at her. “If I remember correctly,  _ you  _ are.” 

"You stop that!" Jemma shouted. She had yet to raise her voice but when Victoria attacked Skye and she could feel the sheer terror and guilt Skye felt toward herself, she snapped. Jemma had never outwardly expressed her anger with anyone on the island, but some of the group needed a reality check.    
  
"You have done absolutely nothing for this group. Maybe you helped build the shelters initially, but after that you haven't had anything to contribute but rabble rousing. You know who that sounds like?" Jemma only let go of Skye's hand so she could stomp over to Victoria and get in her face. "Ward." She said, this time sternly and quietly. Everyone was frozen when Jemma said it, but she wasn't done.   
  
"And Skye is NOT a murderer!" Jemma gestured back to her and the clearly hurt look on her face. "Ward and his friends  _ kidnapped _ me,  _ after _ they threatened the lives of several others in this camp. He was going to  _ rape _ me and Donnie had a  _ machete _ over my head when Skye put him down! All Skye has done here is protect everyone else, every single one of you, before herself. She treks into the jungle, kills the monsters that could come after you, gets you water and food, stopped Ward as best as she could when he rebelled, and, quite frankly, has saved every life here at least once." Jemma huffed. "Fitz grounded the fuselage, Coulson and May are trying to keep order, Trip catches food, Skye, Bobbi, Hunter, Will, Joey, Yoyo and Mack have gone into the jungle searching for things we all need. People have died to protect this group and Skye would be the  _ last _ person to disrespect that by moving us through the jungle if the risks outweighed the benefits." Jemma sucked in a breath, but even as Victoria started backing away from her Jemma followed her with an accusing finger pointed at her chest.    
  
"But what have you done? Complain. You do nothing but whine and I think you're the biggest coward of us all." Jemma snarled. She turned around and faced the rest of the group. "Is this who you're going to listen to?" She thrust her hand out and pointed at Victoria once again. "Or are you going to pay attention to the people who know what they're talking about?"

Skye was just as surprised as...well pretty much everyone else at Jemma’s outburst, barring maybe Fitz, when Jemma went off. Skye and Jemma had already had themselves a good argument or two, including the overly emotional one in the jungle after Jemma caught Buzz, but this was quite a few advanced leagues ahead of that. Silence but for Jemma’s voice and the crackling snaps of the fire filled the air. Skye’s eyes, which had initially dropped to her feet in the wake of Victoria’s comment (which had sucked the wind right out of Skye to begin with), followed Jemma as she moved and made the case. She remained silent, eyes intently watching Jemma, feeling equal parts still guilty and horrified at her own actions and also immensely grateful for her staunchest defender among the inhabitants of this island. Outside of the Brody’s, Skye had never had a defender quite like that before. She mouthed out a silent, ‘ _ Thank you,’  _ to Jemma across the space between them at the moment and tried her absolute best to blink away the emotions threatening to cloud her vision. 

The silence around the camp was thick, interrupted by the faint crash of the waves at the shore and the snaps and cracks of the large fire. It was hard to read some of the faces in the orange glow but Skye could see the fear in Victoria’s eyes, thinly masked by her facade of self righteous outrage. She gaped at Jemma, scoffed a few times and shifted and stomped her feet in the sand, like a confused bull, huffing and puffing, ignorant of the bullfighter’s next move. 

In the end it was Trip who broke the silence. He inhaled a hiss as if injured and let out a long whistle. “Damn, girl,” He flashed Jemma a broad grin. “I knew you had a savage side lurking somewhere!” He said it playfully, giving her a thumbs up with a chuckle billowing up from his throat. No harm was meant by it. It was to break up some of the tension. In fact, he turned to Mack and unfolded his arms and held his hand out toward Mack, curling his fingers repeatedly as he said, “Pay up, bro,” He smirked. 

Mack’s eyebrows arched up his forehead. He quickly unfolded his hands and looked innocently between a riled up Jemma, Trip and Yoyo, who had her own arms crossed and was raising a single brow at Mack in question. “That’s a joke - he’s joking, there were no bets,” He insisted quickly, but shot Trip a look to play it up. 

Coulson cleared his throat a bit louder than was necessary. He put his hands up and out as if trying to quell the anxiety surrounding them. “Jemma’s right,” he said. “We owe a great debt of gratitude to all of those among us who have put their lives in danger in order to keep all of us safe - Skye has always been among those volunteering and acting on instinct to protect every one of us in the worst of our situations at great cost to herself. No one’s contesting that-,” 

“Except Victoria,” Hunter piped up with a smirk. Victoria’s head snapped in his direction and Hunter gave her a wink and mimed a kiss as if to say, ‘ _ you’re welcome, love! _ ’ for issuing the reminder. 

Coulson sighed and rubbed his forehead a moment. He cleared his throat again. “Why don’t we take a vote and see where we stand?” He suggested, looking around the group. 

"I think that's a good idea. It is a  _ democracy _ after all." Bobbi stressed the word to take another jab at Victoria.   
  
"Alright then," Coulson cleared his throat. "Those in favor raise your hand." He called out. Jemma's hand went up first and slowly several waves of votes came in until everyone's hand was up except Victoria, Mike, Akaela, and Joey. Even Ace had his hand up and Mike quickly pushed it down.   
  
"I think that settles it, then." May nodded. She next addressed those who didn't vote yes. "Nobody will force you to come, but I advise that you do." She told them.   
  
"Wait, Skye and I have a proposal." Jemma spoke back up. All eyes were on her yet again as Jemma explained she and Skye's plan. "Skye and I want to take a hike into the jungle to the second waterfall. We can stay there overnight if it's safe as a test run. When we come back everyone should have their personal things packed and ready to move. The bigger communal things like water can wait." She explained.

Skye had to look down and cover her mouth as if she were coughing when Mike pushed Ace’s hand down and Ace started asking him why he did it. The kid was awesome. Even though she still felt a bit on the fence about the waterfall herself, Skye showed no signs of those internal feelings. Jemma felt strongly about the waterfall and Skye was going where Jemma was going so she’d put herself into the task of convincing whomever they could about the move. She couldn’t stop people from opting out even if she wanted to, though she did feel a bit hurt at Joey and Mike’s hands, she wasn’t surprised by Victoria (obviously) or Akela’s. 

Multiple faces looked from Jemma to Skye as Jemma laid out the proposal. Skye gave a nod to confirm what Jemma said. Victoria opened her mouth to speak but didn’t get to. 

“Sure you’re up for that a hike like that?” Hunter asked the question on a number of their minds. They knew about the venom, the seizure, the paralysis. Skye was on her feet now but she’d needed help to get there and be steady. It was going to take a lot more than standing to get them both safely to the waterfall. 

Skye nodded without hesitation. “I’m good,” she said. “I can handle it.” It wasn’t a lie. By the way things were progressing with her healing, she would be back to relative normal mobility by tomorrow. She’d likely be even better by their return the morning after that.

Coulson looked over at May, arching a brow to silently ask her what she thought on the matter. 

“I would listen to the doc,” May expressed, looking to Jemma.   
  
"Her recovery has been exponential and we'll be taking a walk tonight to work her up to it." Jemma confirmed. She finally moved back to Skye's side.    
  
"Are you sure you're up for it?" Fitz stepped forward and asked Jemma. He knew she had done well when she had gone into the jungle, but Ward was lurking in there somewhere and he was still concerned for her.   
  
"I'll be fine Fitz. We all will." Jemma knew instantly that she couldn't promise this, but at this point all they could do was try.


	12. Just Cheese

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warnings:** nsfw content, definitely
> 
> My apologies for not getting to reply to comments for the last two chapters, I've been having a rough couple of weeks at work! I promise we'll get back to you as soon as we can!! We do see your comments and talk to each other about everything you guys bring up!! You're all awesome!! 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and coming along on the journey with us! And thank you, as always for all the kudos, comments and love!! <3 <3 <3  
> :D 
> 
> Hold onto your butts and enjoy!! 
> 
> PS - sorry for the typos! My brain's been a bit too mushy from work to properly spell/grammar check!!
> 
> PPS - Relevant music for later in the chapter:  
> 1.) [Colbie Caillat - Magic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVMYPT4SgDE)  
> 2.) [Boston - Let Me Take You Home Tonight](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-FgKHG5Oes)  
> ;)
> 
> ____________________________

Once everyone had started to disperse, Skye and Jemma stayed behind to talk with Coulson, May, Bobbi, Fitz, Mack, Yoyo and Trip about their hike the following day. Afterward, arms around each other, Skye and Jemma went for that walk that Jemma mentioned down the beach. They walked far along the beach and back, though at a leisurely pace. They didn’t discuss everything that happened at the meeting, though. Instead they talked about how Skye’s legs felt, what they’d take with them for the camp out, whether or not they’d take Buzz with them (hell, yeah), and Skye made Jemma promise she’d keep reading the book to her even though Skye was perfectly capable of reading the book on her own at this point. 

Eventually, as the sun was setting, they made it back to the shelter. Skye stopped to start a fire in the usual spot outside the shelter and then followed Jemma inside. They spent some time packing their bags in preparation for the next day and afterward, settled down into bed together. Skye’s legs ached. She knew it was from lying in bed for so many days in a row after the ordeal, but they weren’t sore enough that she would postpone their overnight trip. Now that they were completely alone again, Skye settled on her side in bed so she was facing Jemma. She reached out to trace her fingers along the curve of Jemma’s face and tucked some stray strands behind her ear. “Thank you for defending me,” She didn’t need to add specifics to that. She didn’t want to call attention to how Victoria’s comments had affected her because she wanted to expression her gratitude for Jemma having her back instead as the focal point. 

"There's no world in which I wouldn't." Jemma's eyes were scrunched shut because of the light ticklish feeling of Skye's fingers on her face, but she was smiling and scooted closer. "You deserve it. So much." She told her.

No she didn’t. She was only doing what she felt she had to do. Skye wasn’t going to say that and start a squabble, though. She shifted closer, feeling immensely relieved that she’d not only been outside the shelter but had been up on her feet moving around with relative ease and stability, considering how terrified she’d been not all that long ago that she was never going to be able to walk again. It was also a relief to be able to shift and twist to wind their lower halves together in a close tangle without the pain of the lingering pins of needles making it an extremely uncomfortable sensation. She smiled, because Jemma didn’t have to say that bit about there being no world in which she wouldn’t defend Skye, because Skye had already known that was true from the first time Jemma had defended her honor against Victoria. It was hard to catalog all the things Skye was experiencing in a novel way because of Jemma. She wasn’t used to someone having her back that way. She wasn’t used to the desire that kept welling within her to tell Jemma again and again that she loved her, though she hadn’t voiced it aloud again since that first time earlier. The urge was still there and that was genuinely new for Skye. She didn’t feel alone. That was the one she had really felt least prepared for. Skye bumped their noses together and stole a few gentle lingering kisses as she wound her arms around Jemma to pull her closer. “Still,” she said, leaning her forehead to Jemma’s. “Thank you.”  

"Anytime." Jemma mumbled sleepily with a slightly crooked smile. She was exhausted from the amount of emotional endurance she was having to build. She knew she would have to steel herself for the anxiety that would come with moving into the jungle, but for now she was satisfied with just laying here with Skye and pretending this was actually a tropical camping vacation instead of a marooning. "Goodnight, Skye." She mumbled and kissed her neck before she nuzzled into her and easily drifted off.

“Sweet dreams, Jem,” Skye murmured before kissing the top of her head and adjusting her grip around Jemma. She combed her fingers through Jemma’s hair and ran her hand along her back until she was sure Jemma was asleep. Another new thing Skye wasn’t used to but already really loved? It was the way Jemma cuddled and nuzzled in close when she fell asleep, wound all around each other. There was an intimacy in it that Skye had not experienced before Jemma, Something she hadn’t even fathomed the existence of in real life, outside of movies or tv shows. There was also a great deal of trust involved. It was comforting for Skye to know that she _wanted_ to reciprocate these things, that she willingly trusted Jemma with...everything. It wasn’t just forced because of their situation, or she wouldn’t have been sharing the deepest (darkest) secrets of her past with her. Everything between them just felt right, easy, like it was supposed to be? Just like most of the days here, it had been a long one, so it didn’t take too long once Jemma was asleep for Skye to drift off.  

__________

"I'm ready when you are." Jemma readjusted the strap across her chest and checked one last time to make sure the hilt of the new knife Skye made her carry was secured to her belt. It had been the last one in the case they confiscated from Garret. It was about six inches long compared to the three or so of her previous blade, which she added to the medical kit so that there were two small knives. She unbuttoned her CDC jacket, which was now a vest. She had cut the shredded sleeves off so it was still usable, just for different weather.   
  
Buzz zipped over from the water trough when Jemma whistled, and he came to land on her shoulder. Jemma reached up and gave him a tiny piece of raw fish from a pocket in her satchel and he buzzed happily. "I've been working with him." Jemma explained.

Skye packed her messenger bag with the big necessities (food, water, tools, etc) in case she needed to drop her backpack and run. The backpack she set up with clothes, their their rolled up bedroll and blankets, and some other necessities. The gun was no longer hidden. It was in  holster she previously couldn’t use since everyone knew about it now. The holster hung down from her belt and had a strap that went around her thigh so it was steady against her leg and ready if she needed to pull it. She’d had to explain the group, like she’d done with Jemma when Jemma first found the gun, that she’d found it in her first salvage the second day on the island and thought it was the Air Marshall’s. The only person who had looked at her funny when she said it was Coulson, which further solidified for Skye that he must have been the air marshal, which she’d originally gathered on the plane after hacking into the marshal messaging system to warn them about dangerous people being on the plane. Coulson had been walking casually around the plane aisle shortly afterward, causing Skye to assume he was the mashal. If he was and if he realized out right that this was not his gun, he didn’t say anything about it. By the time Skye had been well enough to explain the gun, there wasn’t really an outrage about its existence anymore. Too much had happened, the hits just kept coming. Skye was okay with the distraction in this case. She’d claimed the holster was in the gun case. 

Skye’s hunting knife had been moved to her left side. Her messenger bag was slung across her shoulders so it rested against her left side and she pulled the backpack onto her shoulders. She could easily slip out of the backpack in a jam and she was used to running with the bags on anyway. She picked up the machete and looked over at Jemma as Buzz landed and got a reward. Skye couldn’t help it, she grinned. It was cute. Buzz had grown on her, it was more than a gigantic bug that made her feel squeamish. He seemed to like them enough to stick around. But who could blame him when Jemma was feeding him tasty little snacks? Normal people had dogs or furry little critter pets. Jurassic Jemma had a giant dragonfly. It was fitting. “To come when you call or other things too?” she asked. “I’m ready, let’s go,” She added as she moved so they could start walking down the beach. 

"Hold out your arm." Jemma instructed. Skye did as she was told and buzz saw the command and flew to her, perching on her forearm and digging around her fingers with his front legs for the expected treat. Jemma stepped over and placed it in his jaws to munch on and he took flight once more, but didn't leave their vicinity when Jemma was doling out food.    
  
"He's quite intelligent." Jemma informed Skye. It was interesting that the bug could seem to learn so quickly. If and when they got off the island Jemma hoped to take their little friend with them.

Skye chuckled at the feel of Buzz’s legs prodding about her hand until Jemma gave him the treat. She grinned again and watched Buzz as he hovered near them as they walked. She wondered what kinds of things besides the preserved skins and bodies of compys and such that Jemma would bring off the island whenever they finally left. “Think regular dragonflies can be taught like him?” she asked and then another thought struck her. “How different do you think their lifespan is compared to regular dragonflies?” she wondered. 

"Unfortunately, I don't know everything about everything." Jemma chuckled. She knew she had expressed a wealth of knowledge and that made her the go to person for any kind of information, but as much as it would be fun, she wasn't the embodiment of Google.   
  
"So how long do you think the walk will be? Is most of it on the coast?" She asked. She knew Skye wouldn't risk bringing her near the spiders, so they would take the long way around.

Skye shrugged a bit sheepishly. "Wouldn't know if I didn't ask," she grinned. "My normal area of expertise is clearly abundantly useless out here," without electricity and all. She felt a bit tense, but it wasn't abnormal when she knew she was going into the jungle. Her legs, thankfully had fewer jolts of pins and needles than the day before. They came much weaker as well when they did strike, nothing that hitched a step or made her flinch, just dull reminders of the close call with whatever scorpion had scratched her during their fight with Ward's crew.    
  
Skye was hyper aware of the danger of taking Jemma through any part of the jungle, but if they were all going to move to the waterfall, Jemma was going to have to go through at some point. So Skye's focus rested with keeping alert of their surroundings st all times, even when they were just on the beach. "It's about forty-five minutes down the beach," mostly because they would be taking their time in the sand. "Then we turn into the jungle and the path. From there it'll take us about a half an hour to get there." And they definitely weren't going anywhere near the spider dens, since those were much further out past where the waterfall was, though she only remembered that they'd run a long time from the spiders before they'd tripped over their own feet in exhaustion. After that, they'd found the waterfall. Trekking along the beach and cutting through the jungle at the end was a much better path than being exposed in other parts of the jungle too long.   
  
"It's much better than the first waterfall," Skye said. "More fortified definitely. The waterfall itself is taller. It's a bit louder than the first one," which Skye did find a little bit concerning as it would make listening for approaching creatures (or people) a little more difficult. "How are you at climbing trees when you're not being chased by wild turkey dinosaurs?" she asked as she looked over at Jemma with a small smile.

"Oh haha, very funny." Jemma giggled. What was once a traumatic event was now the butt of a joke. Jemma was just glad the idea of these things wasn't as scary, even if she knew it was just a coping skill.    
  
"I was forced to join a sport before my scoliosis was a problem. I chose gymnastics, I think I'll be able to handle it." Jemma shared. Sure she hadn't done any kind of gymnastics since she was very young, but she had been decent as a child and still remembered a lot of the skills.

Skye couldn't help the sappy smile that to over her face at the mental image of little Jemma doing tumbles and gymnastic things. "No kidding?" she arched her eyebrows and grinned. She turned her eyes forward as if considering this information carefully. "Huh, a well rounded Jurassic Jemma of all talents," she chuckled a bit. "Not sure I find that surprising at all," she smiled and glanced at Jemma before her eyes shifted to Buzz, who seemed to play around and do loops and barrel rolls whenever he got too far ahead of them, like he was waiting for them to catch up.

A small snort came from Jemma in response to the silly nickname. Skye had a knack for making her giggle and Jemma loved it. They could be eaten in an hour but they were still managing to have a good time. Never again would Jemma be stopped or put down by stress from everyday problems, she'd mastered that skill at this point.    
  
"I'm not good at everything, you know." Jemma chuckled. She'd told Skye a lot about herself, but she had yet to get to such a level where she shared something embarrassing. She sought to remedy that immediately. "I'm a world renowned biochemist but I can't cook mac and cheese. When we get out of here don't expect any home cooked meals unless you want food poisoning." She admitted. It was a huge embarrassment in the career she was in and she caught crap for it all the time.

Skye loved that sound, Jemma's laughter. Sometimes it came in little snickers or giggles, like she was trying to hold back but not really. A few times, Skye had managed to coax it from her in startled snorts and loud guffaws that seemed to bubble up from her belly. Skye had heard the different laughs of Doctor Jemma Simmons on the initial long hours of their plane ride and she'd decided almost instantly that they were possibly one of the greatest sounds she'd ever heard. If they were going to possibly die in this place, Skye intended to earn as many of those perfect sounds out of Jemma as she possibly could. She was about to say she highly doubted Jemma's assessment of herself when Jemma confessed her lack of cooking skills. It wasn't her inability to make mac and cheese that had caught Skye's attention first; it was the implications of what she said. The idea that once they got off the island there would be a place together for them where home cooked meals could be a regular thing (though not if cooked by Jemma!), and that it was already a foregone conclusion that they would be together in that place, that was the thing that struck Skye.   
  
Something flashed across Skye's face just before she let out a small laugh, a very 'blink and you'll miss it,' kind of deal. It was a battle of duality between relief and contentment that Jemma wanted this, what was between them, in her image of the future, mixed with her own fear and insecurity that she was not the type of person that had a 'home.' She had an apartment. She had places she had lived. The only time she'd had an honest 'home,' by the sentiment of the word, it had been painfully ripped away from her. It was difficult to want something like that so much that she felt it to the core of her being and yet, at the same time, it scared the shit out of her because she was terrified of losing it, of losing Jemma. It was just the quick flash of sentiment and darkness behind her eyes before the snort of laughter took over and her shoulders relaxed a little bit.   
  
"Lucky for you," Skye smiled. The sadness flashed in her eyes, this on the same bittersweetly sad mixture as the time she'd told Jemma her favorite color, since it tied into the Brodys. "I have just enough culinary skills to get us by every now and then without any trips to the hospital for stomach pumping," she teased lightly and turned her eyes ahead under the guise of watching where they were going. 

"That's perfectly alright." Jemma shrugged with a smile. Neither of them were fantastic cooks, but if they could feed themselves here she had no doubt they would be fine back in the real world. "Because I don't think I'll ever complain about takeout or take it for granted ever again." She joked back.

Skye’s head tipped back a bit as she laughed. She exhaled a small sigh as her chuckles died down. “You can say that again,” She gave her stomach a small pat with her free hand. “What kind of takeout do you miss most?” She asked, glancing to their left when she heard something by the treeline, which turned out just to be the wind rustling. They would reach the entrance to the jungle soon enough and their conversation would have to curtail for a bit, but for now, she’d use their alone time during the trek to garner even more information about Jemma. She wanted to know all there was to know. 

"Pizza. No competition there. I lived off of the stuff during grad school." Jemma told her. She was glad they had time now to just talk about the small stuff. It was very refreshing, though as Jemma talked about herself she realized she'd much rather hear from Skye.   
  
"So what about yourself? What do you fancy?" She asked. Jemma knew the first thing she wanted when she got off the island was to order a big pizza for herself and an excess amount of whatever Skye liked.

Skye made a face. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” She looked over at Jemma as if scandalized. “You can’t just say ‘pizza,’ without saying what  _ kind  _ of pizza! There are so many...there are probably crazy cubed equations for the number of possible pizza combinations there could be!” She teased with a little grin. She arched her eyebrows. “On my pizza? I’ll eat any combination topping of pizza you put in front of me,” She said. “And that was true before this place,” She waved a hand to indicate the island. “I’d say pizza’s a close second place, though. I’ve always been a slightly bigger fan of pancakes.” 

Jemma jumped slightly at Skye's exclamation but laughed at herself for the startle and Skye for her enthusiasm about pizza. "Just cheese, I'm plain and boring like that." Jemma giggled.

"Bring a pizza purest doesn't make you plain or boring," Skye smiled over at her but changed the subject off of food, if only to save their stomachs from rumbling. Thankfully they had enough food for a little over two days (as a precaution of course). It wasn't as if they were starving, but missing the comfort foods from home that they stood a chance of never eating again? It led to stomach grumbling, at least on Skye's part.    
  
Sooner than Skye was prepared for (probably because she could easily get lost talking to Jemma almost any time), they reached the entrance point to the jungle. Skye muscles were tense as she stopped then on the beach and turned toward the spot, marked with some specifically places rocks to the left of where the path would be once they pushed through the light brush st th treeline. They stood about thirty yards out from the tree line and Skye exhaled a long breath as she eyed the foliage, looking for anything at all that might seem out of place.    
  
"This is where we go in," Skye said without moving yet other than adjusting and readjusting her tight grip on the machete in her right hand. "The pat's mostly clear. It's a bit uneven, but there aren't any major dips or climbs on the route, just a few fallen trees or large roots to heft over." She felt like she was stalling, but really she was just trying to think of everything she could possibly Jemma the she hadn't already before they went in. "I don't know about the snake," she said quietly, "outside of what Bobbi told us, but the Spider dens are at least four or five kilometers northwest of the waterfall." She couldn't keep strict track while they were running away but she knew they'd run for a long time before the adrenaline tanked and she'd tripped, fell and puked. A check to her watch's recorded history during one of the days she'd been stuck in bed gave her the rough count. It was a decent enough distance and the openings in the canopy that let the sunlight in back there were enough to let Skye know the spiders likely wouldn't come anywhere near it without good reason. Or maybe she just hoped that was the case.    
  
Skye hesitated, adjusted her grip on the machete handle again and looked over at Jemma. "Ready to go in?" she asked.

"Definitely. I'm excited, but I'll be quiet and cautious. I promise." Jemma nodded. She took a quick drink of water from her metal water bottle (she had forgotten it was in her baggage until she packed for the hike) and stuffed it back into her bag. She came back out with her notebook and the black pen, which she tucked behind her ear. For Skye it was a hike to where they would stay for the night, but for Jemma it was a trail full of potential first time discoveries.

Part of Skye was relieved that Jemma was excited, but the larger part was terrified of what could happen to them even on this short stretch through the jungle. The giant snake was most concerning because Skye hadn't encountered it herself and she wasn't all that sure what to look or listen for to know it was coming. Still, she gave Jemma what she hoped was a reassuring smile and nodded. She took a deep breath and looked back at the tree line a moment. She turned toward Jemma and locked her gaze. 

"If I tell you to run, you head back this way and don't stop or look back until you reach the beach." It wasn't a request. After a moment of holding her gaze, Skye turned back to the treeline and started up th sand toward it. "Stay close. If you hear or see anything that should be cause for concern, let me know," Not that this needed to be said, but Skye's nerves were a bit on edge for obvious reasons. She led the way through the initial brush and held it aside for Jemma to follow. The path opened up a couple of feet after that, cleared away by the cutting they'd done on they way out. She pointed out markings, set on either side of the trail to let Jemma know which ones to stay between going through and coming out of the trail. Her eyes traveled constantly and she kept quiet except for any instances where Jemma spoke to her, and when she did respond, the volume of her voice was much lower than normal. She strained her ears against the normal noises of the jungle, listening for oddities as they went.

"I will." Jemma answered to each of Skye's demands of her. It was only ten minutes, however, until Skye would have a near heart attack. Jemma made a sudden surprised noise, a squeak, when she saw the scuttling legs of an arthropleura across the path between her and Skye. 

Skye whirled when she heard the sound, pulling the machete up before she’d even full spun around, eyes wide and darting everywhere for signs of danger...only to see the arthropleura scuttling by. Skye exhaled an anxious sigh as her shoulders fell and her free hand covered her head a second from the scare. “Shit,” she murmured, shuddering a moment at the giant bug. The last time she’d run into one of them (or a ton of them), had been right before the spider dens. 

"Sorry!" Jemma exclaimed. She knew she had just broken the promise she had given, but she couldn't really help it. She was so enthralled by the flat six foot creature that she quickly moved to get in front of it and frantically opened her book to sketch it as rapidly as possible. It kept changing directions and trying to move away and Jemma was moving in circles to keep up.    
  
"It's just so interesting..." Jemma mumbled. When she finished sketching it she stuffed the notebook into her bag and got down on her knees in its path, grabbing at the sides of its shelled body on either side of what could be described as its head. She grunted slightly and struggled to lift it to see the face and belly. She only got a glance before the creature pulled back and out of her grip and then over her completely. Jemma couldn't help the loud laugh that came out of her throat when the heavy bug tickled her with all of its feet as it tried to get away.    
  
"These creatures' modern day family members are notoriously strong, I wonder if these are too." Jemma didn't even warn Skye before she stepped up onto the retreating animal and struggled to get her balance on it with her arms out to the side. She managed to ride the arthropleura like a surfboard for about five yards before she finally wobbled and stepped off. It quickly scuttled away like nothing had happened at all. Jemma was grinning at the ridiculousness of it all until she looked up and saw that she was facing a very dark portion of the jungle with canopy so thick it blocked out the sun completely. She just stared at it, open mouthed, wondering what kind of beasts lived inside.

Multiple reactions struggled to fight to the surface as Skye watched Jemma.  _ Goddamn, you’re adorable _ . Was the first as Jemma scrambled to draw her pictures. Skye struggled to keep up with the quick racing pace as it kept changing directions. The corners of her mouth tugged upward, but the loud laugh made Skye’s gaze dart all around them, searching for any sign that something heard them might come investigate. She cringed when she watched the bug crawl over Jemma, remembering how much it had freaked her out when they’d skittered across her. Of course, at the time, Skye had had no idea if the thing was going to possible eat or poison her when they’d scuttled across her. Skye tried her best to relax a little bit, without letting her guard down as she kept looking and listening. “Jemma-,” She stepped closer, eyes widening when Jemma stepped up  _ on top _ of the thing and started riding it! She put her hands out, on open palm, one hand wrapped around the machete handle, prepared to drop the machete and catch her if she needed to. 

Even though the actual spider dens were a few miles away still, Skye reached immediately for Jemma’s arm and pulled her in the opposite direction of the dark canopy. They’d already strayed off the path and Skye didn’t want to chance Jemma seeing something and running after it in the thicker jungle. “The path’s back this way,” She said, her tone a little bit shorter and her grip a little bit tighter than she meant for it to be. She swallowed reflexively against the invisible thickness in her throat and tugged Jemma back toward the cleared path. She didn’t let go of Jemma’s arm once they were there but her grip loosened a bit. She checked their surroundings and then started them moving again. “I know you’re excited, Jem,” Skye said, her tone much more gentle. “I’m not trying to rain on your parade, but…” She tried to keep her breath even and steady, tried as best as she could to relax her muscles. She didn’t want this to be a bad hike, a bad trip. There was a balance, somewhere, because her nerves and fear and Jemma’s sense of adventure and excitement and Skye was struggling to meet somewhere in the middle of all four. 

Jemma flinched slightly at Skye's initial grip on her arm and the very clear but light scolding she got after. She had already gone back on what she had said at the beginning of the hike and Jemma probably resembled a guilty puppy. She knew the dangers of the jungle and she knew Skye knew them even better than she did, so she was apt to listen to whatever Skye told her. She took a deep breath and tried to collect herself so she wouldn't freak out the next time they saw a creature. It was probably best they didn't.   
  
"Sorry." She breathed. She could see how difficult it was for Skye to bring her here and she didn't want to worry her any more than necessary. "I got a little carried away, next time I'll try to control myself." She smiled so Skye knew Jemma wasn't at all hurt.

Skye’s grip on Jemma’s arm fell away before the apology. Her eyes darted around them, unable to stay solely still on Jemma since she didn’t want anything to sneak up on them. “I want you to be able to explore and look at things,” She said gently. “It’s just…” There were limits, right? It wasn’t unreasonable and she wasn’t trying to be overbearing. She just wanted to get them there alive and wanted to keep them that way too. “Sorry,” she said equally in turn. It was difficult for both of them, she knew, finding an equilibrium for this particular kind of situation. They had to find it, though. “We’ll be there soon and there will be a lot of things for you to go super science on,” She promised with a small smile. 

"I will turn my reckless energy into a fantastic field journal." Jemma played into Skye's joke, and also her hand. She didn't want Skye to shy away from touching her just because she'd accidentally gripped her too hard, so Jemma locked their pinkies together and swung their linked arms slightly. They almost could have been on a normal hiking date if it weren't for the giant dragonfly zipping around their heads.

The giant dragonfly, the weapons, Skye’s lingering tension. She curled her finger tighter around Jemma’s pinky and felt the corners of her lips turn upward as she swung their arms. It was nice. There were still things to look and listen out for (and Skye did), but it was nice, peaceful even. “Those were the ones the knocked me on my ass,” She said, deciding to leave out that it happened right before the spiders. 

"Of course, how could I not recognize them after your very accurate drawing?" Jemma joked sarcastically, referring to the arthropleura- or at least the basic shape of one- that Skye had made in the sand. She gave Skye's pinky another squeeze and bumped their shoulders together playfully.

The tops of Skye's ears turned a few bright shades of red and a bashful smile stretched across her mouth as they walked.  She chuckled and shook her head and fell into a somewhat easier step with Jemma.  She deli worry so she could keep watch and listen as they made it the rest of the way.  She didn't let go of Jemma's hand, though. She moved to hold Jemma's hand properly,  in a loose grip so they could drop it easily if something happened to necessitate it, but thankfully,  they didn't run into any of the dangerous animals or bugs for the last half of the trip,  but they did slow or stop for Jemma to look at or sketch a couple of things along the way.     
  
When they finally stopped out front of the large tree lined entrance section of the waterfall,  the sound of the water was evident even without out being able to see it. Skye wasn't great at drawing,  but she'd done her absolute best to draw an accurate depiction of this place since they'd really needed it. "This is the place, " she said as she looked at Jemma. 

"I never thought the sound of water could be so beautiful." Jemma sighed. She hadn't even seen it yet, but she was ready to. They'd been living on just enough water and having complete access to it for a night would let them finally hydrate.    
  
"How do you get in? It looks pretty secure." Jemma moved a little closer, but the trees were so thick and close to each other that there was barely a place to stick her hand through. So far it was looking promising.

Skye looked over at Jemma and smiled as she watched her. She hadn’t really had a chance to truly take in the beauty of the place when she was here. Her mind had been more than a bit shattered at the time and she had been running on fumes and in shock from what happened to Alisha. She hadn’t given much thought to the sounds of the waterfall outside of the fact that they’d followed the sounds to get to the trees and Skye had gone climbing over the tree. Bobbi, Mack and the others had marveled at everything while Skye had gone to fill her bottles. Stepping closer, Skye lipped the machete into the holster at the back of her left hip since she would need both her hands to climb. 

“This is why I asked about your climbing skills earlier,” Skye smiled at Jemma. She stood back and eyed up the tree to jog her memory of her previous climb. “I asked Fitz if he could find something to make pulleys for us.” she pointed to some of the high branches to the right over the entrance they were going to climb to. “It’ll be easier to get our stuff inside if we have something to hoist it rather than climbing with it.” She cast another glance around the area, hating that she had to climb up and have Jemma follow her  since it left them temporarily vulnerable. 

“Follow me - don’t move to the next hand or foothold without making sure the one you’re on is solid,” Skye paused and turned to steal a few quick kisses and then moved to the tree trunk and started to climb, careful to linger long enough at each spot so that Jemma would be able to see where the next hand and foothold one be as she scaled up to the space between the two trees that formed a sort of platform. It was a little over twenty feet up, so it was no small climb. Skye glanced back at Jemma every so often to make sure she was alright. When she made it to the top, she backed up to give Jemma some space and then leaned over to hold her hands out to Jemma to help her up the last stretch of the trunk and onto the platform. “Good?” She asked without letting go when they were both standing securely on the platform. 

"I think I have an idea." Jemma nodded to tell Skye she was fine and was already moving on to other ideas. "Mack still has that emergency ax from the plane, we can find the widest space and turn it into a small doorway. We'd make a door to block it though." Jemma pondered. Pulleys would be difficult, and people would be needing to go in and out during the move and once they were settled to find food. The only problem was it made a weakness in the defenses, but she was certain Fitz could find a way to make a door.   
  
It wasn't until after she finished her thought that Jemma finally looked past Skye's shoulder and saw the protected area. The first thing she thought of were fantasy movies, it was that amazing. A waterfall from a high face of rock fell into a small pond like area that led into a stream that exited underground on the other side of the clearing. The trees above were thick enough to stop a good amount of sunlight so that the plants were only moss and shorter than knee high ferns. It would also stop them from being constantly sunburned. It was relatively flat and on first glance, well sheltered. It was perfect and her jaw hung open slightly as she took it all in. 

Skye was going to answer, about the pulley just being used for moving. It would take some time to hack through the thick tree trunk to make something like a door, even if the strongest of their crew did it in shifts. But then Jemma’s jaw fell open and Skye shifted so she could see the whole space. Talking about logistics could wait. She stood next to Jemma and took a better look around the area, with a clearer mind, than she had the last time she was here. She reached for Jemma, traced her fingers down the inside of Jemma’s arm until she could entwine their fingers together and squeezed her hand. She stayed quiet for a long few moments, taking everything in, though mostly looking over to watch Jemma’s face. Buzz had followed them up the tree. He hovered near their heads for a moment before he dove down and headed right for the pond. 

Skye chuckled softly and then looked over at Jemma. “Wanna climb down so you can explore?” she arched her eyebrows slightly upward. 

"Like you have to ask," Jemma chuckled. She gave Skye's hand a final squeeze before she let go so she could remove her messenger bag and toss it to the ground. Half because she was excited and half because she wanted to show off a bit to Skye, Jemma went ahead this time. She found a thick, steady branch to wall out onto with her arms out to the sides. There was another branch about four feet down and three feet over, so Jemma knelt on the branch she was on, got a good grip on it, and slid off so she was hanging by her arms. She turned her head and flashed Skye a quick smile so she would know this was intentional.    
  
Jemma pulled her legs up and swung slightly. Her legs extended once again and she touched the second branch with her toe. With a good enough swing, Jemma let go of the branch and wobbled on the new one, but she was upright. She sat down on the second and now, close enough to the ground, slid off. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she landed in a roll and popped back up, a grin on her face.    
  
"The best place to read books as a child was the tops of trees." Jemma explained with a grin.

Skye’s eyebrows arched slightly when Jemma moved to make her way down first. They arched higher with every move Jemma made and it was difficult to stand still and just wait for it all to happen as she worried about Jemma hurting herself on the way down. By the time Jemma reached the ground and called up that little anecdote about book reading, there was a sappy smile playing on Skye’s lips, her eyebrows were still hiked up her head and she shook her head slightly. “I hope you’re not expecting me to be that graceful on my way down!” She called back with a chuckle as she pulled her backpack off and tossed it down well out of the way so she wouldn’t hit Jemma. She kept the messenger bag on and tightened the strap before she started to make her way down. Skye didn’t have quite her normal dexterity, so she made her way down with less flare and slower movements than Jemma until she set her feet on the ground at the base without losing her legs out from under her. 

"You still made it, your way works too." Jemma reassured her with a smile. She had moved closer in case Skye needed a hand to get down, but both of them had managed on their own. Now they had to gather up their bags and bring them closer to the pond for a rest.    
  
"It's incredible." Jemma breathed as they put their stuff down a few feet away from where land became water. The rushing of the waterfall wasn't faint, but it wasn't so loud Jemma had to yell over it for Skye to be able to hear her. She knelt in the mud at the edge of the water, now having no qualms with getting dirty, and uncapped her water bottle to dip under the surface.

Skye pulled the machete free from its holster and set it down next to the bags in the dry grass outside the mud. She pulled her messenger back off and sat down next to the bags. Pulling her knees up, she very loosely rested her arms around the edges of her knees and smiled as she watched Jemma for a few minutes. She grabbed the bag with the food and pulled out the smaller travel bag she’d used from one of the sets of luggage that held their lunch - a bit of jerky and dried fish, some dried fruit, two fresh kiwis, four figs, one bag of pretzels from the plane, a bag of roasted peanuts and the meat from a coconut.  She wondered what the chances were that Jemma might go for a swim with her, but wasn’t sure she wanted to bring it up since she’d been anxious to go even knee deep into the ocean when they were cleaning off the other day. She didn’t want to spoil the moment. 

“I think Buzz approves of the place,” Skye smirked and nodded toward the dragonfly, who was doing all kinds of loops and barrel rolls and dive bombing what Skye assumed were mosquitoes or other bugs further down along the pond where there was a small section of reeds and plants. 

"Look at him go!" Jemma pointed to the surface of the water on the other side of the pond. Buzz swooped in from above and snatched minnows with his legs, gobbling them up whole in less than a second. "I wonder if there are fish in the pond big enough for us to eat but not big enough to eat us." It was a questioning comment and a joke at once, though her joke was also half serious.

Skye chuckled as she watched Buzz dive bomb another snack. She wanted to think the little (big) bug guy was happy with their trip, but she might have just be assigning the emotions to him because she was happy that the trip happened, that it was even possible for this trip to happen. She grimaced at the joke and then sighed. “...I suppose there’s really only one way to find out.” And that was kind of a bummer. “Maybe we can make one of Trip’s traps while we’re here, see if we can catch anything.” She meant small food anything, not ‘this thing is so big it can eat you,’ anything. 

"I don't know the design." Jemma shook her head. Unless Skye had somehow found the time to observe Trip's net making, they would have to leave that to him if they moved in. It was then that she noticed the small bag of snack food from the tail. "You brought pretzels?!" Jemma was probably way more excited than she should have been by the tiny snack. She was amazed Skye retained that information about her from one of their many little conversations.

Skye’s mouth curved into a crooked grin, her face lit up a bit at the sheer excitement of Jemma’s reaction. “What’s a waterfall picnic and camp out without a snack bag of pretzels?” Skye asked as if packing their lunch without the snack bag would have been inconceivable. It kind of had been for Skye. She had one in their bag for breakfast too but Jemma didn’t need to know that right now. Skye picked up the pretzel bag and held it out toward Jemma. “Do you want them now or want to save them til the end?” She asked with a smile. She remembered the tidbits of information. She really did want to know everything there was to know about Jemma and that meant paying attention to everything, like the fact that Jemma had a weakness for pretzels and hated fuzzy socks. 

"Let's have them now, we deserve a treat." Jemma nodded. With a childish enthusiasm, she opened the bag of pretzels and popped the tiny thing into her mouth. It was the first crunchy, snack type food she'd had in awhile and Jemma gave Skye a silent nod to thank her and express how good she thought they were, offering the bag to her. 

Skye smiled in return but shook her head and held up the bag of  peanuts she'd just opened. She dumped a couple into her hand and tossed then into her mouth before holding the open end of the bag toward Jemma. Skye like pretzels just fine, but she didn't have a weakness for them, so she wanted Jemma to be able to go to town and have them all if it made her happy. They definitely deserved the small moment of creature comfort and happiness. "It's cooler here," she said between bites of food and washing them down with small sips of water. "Not just because of the shade," because of the water too, sh figured. She supposed the structure would prevent some of the cooler wind at night from chilling them as much as it did on the beach sometimes. "Temperature wise, I mean," she said. "Why do you think so far?" she asked as she looked over at Jemma, just glad for the relative quiet around them. There were sounds of course; sounds of the waterfalls and Buzz and the jungle of course, but there weren't arguments or people barging in on them. It was just the two of them, just a quiet moment sitting together over their little lunch picnic. 

Jemma waved away the peanuts just like Skye did the pretzels and they both settled into their own snacks. Jemma made sure to chew slowly and appreciate the snack as she looked around. Access to fresh water, proximity to food, shelter... the place seemed much more ideal than the beach.   
  
"I think it's safer here. And I am definitely tired of having sand in places sand doesn't belong." Jemma chuckled and popped another pretzel into her mouth.

Skye was slowly chewing her way through a mixture of some peanuts and a few pieces of the dried fruit. They had jerky and cooked fish and shellfish from Trip too, but this was enough to take her time through right now. It wasn't just the food she wanted to savor, though. She wanted this easy moment to last. She smiled over at Jemma as she swallowed and then leaned over far enough to kiss the top of Jemma's shoulder. "If we can figure out whether or not there are any crazy so-big-they-could-eat-us water beasts in there or not, we could take a swim over to the bottom of the waterfall," she grinned as she picked her head back up. "Get the sand out of there and possible feel something close to an actual shower..." her own words made her sigh. A hot shower and falling asleep in a cushy bed in an air conditioned room...now that would sure be something right now.

Jemma stared out at the ripply and ever bouncing surface of the pond as Skye spoke. It was so tempting to jump right in, to break that perfect glimmering glare the light that passed through the trees made on the surface, to swim to the waterfall and not come out. Even after washing off in the ocean she never felt like the muck had truly washed off of her, since it left a layer of salt and sand in place of mud and dirt. She didn't know how to tell if there were any creatures in the water though.    
  
"Are you ok if I waste a bit of food to see if it's safe to get into the water?" Jemma picked up a piece of shellfish and held it up, gesturing a pretend toss to indicate to Skye what her thought was.

Skye arched her eyebrows slightly.  She glanced from the food in Jemma's hand and over to the placid water. Skye and the others had filled up water bottles there without getting bit or attacked, but that didn't mean anything.  They hadn't gone into the water,  had just drank from it and filled their bottles.  She looked over at Jemma again and shrugged,  "I packed us three full days worth of food, just in case. So, go for it, " she nodded.  Her right eyebrow arched upward.  "Think it'll matter that it's cooked?" she wondered as she turned back to the water. She set her food to the side in the bag so it wouldn't spill and moved to stand. Leaning over,  she grabbed the machete by its handle and moved to the rocky edge of the water to see how deep past the surface was visible from the vantage point. She wanted to be ready in case something dangerous did surface with the test. 

Jemma slung her arm back and threw the piece of amateur seafood as close to the middle of the pond as she could. It plunked into the water and then bobbed at the top, pushed around by small waves caused by the waterfall crashing into the surface. They stared at it, silently anticipating. After a few minutes bubbles appeared at the surface around the bait. Jemma leaned forward and squinted, but the monster that came to claim the shellfish was no more than what looked like a catfish.   
  
"That was anticlimactic." Jemma chuckled.

Skye was tense the entire time, from just before Jemma threw the piece of food up until the fish claimed the food. Her shoulders relaxed and she chuckled a bit, but her grip was still wrapped around the handle of the machete. "I'd be alright with everything else we encounter on this island being anticlimactic," she let out a short chuckle and glanced over her shoulder at Jemma. "Should we give it a few more tries?" she asked. "Just in case?" She hated the idea of wasting the food but it seemed like a necessary precaution. They were testing the safety of the area after all, they would need to know of any dangerous sea creatures in the small pond.

"That's not a bad idea." Jemma nodded. They had enough spare food that they probably wouldn't need on their one night trip, so testing to make sure they wouldn't get eaten was a good use of their resources. They took turns tossing various foods into the water, but all that came up were the same medium sized fish, and nothing came to devour the first fishes, so it appeared they were safe.    
  
"What do you say we try to go in?" Jemma suggested again. The clearing was calm and quiet other than the soft roar of the waterfall and a few bird sounds from above. The whole place was serene and Jemma had to hold back and wait to express that she was already convinced this was the place.

Skye felt...resistant? No, that wasn't quite the right word. She felt hesitant - not about going into the water, about moving their camp. She understood the pull that drove the urge for it. She also knew it was something Jemma needed them to do. So it wasn't a question for Skye; whatever Jemma decided about this place, Skye was going to back her up and convince whoever else needed convincing. She was a bit surprised that Jemma was eager to get into the water, after her previous hesitation at the beach when they washed off. Skye had expected more hesitation because of everything that happened in the tail end of the plane.    
  
Not wanting to bust up the moment by asking about it, Skye smiled over at Jemma and nodded. "Hell yeah, let's do it," she grinned and stepped back to set the machete down. She stepped on the heel of each boot and tugged her feet free, peeled her socks off and dropped them into her boot. Crossing her arms, Skye grabbed the hem of her shirt and straightened her arms to pull the material up and over her head in one fluid motion. She dropped the material to the ground and worked on her belt buckle, then the button and zipper on her jeans until she could tug them free, stopping only when she had no more sticks of clothing to drop on her pile. Skye didn't give it much thought that this was the least amount of clothing she had worn around Jemma where injuries, trauma and bathing weren't involved. She didn't see a reason to feel uncomfortable about it, it was just the two of them, so she didn't feel the need to be bashful.    
  
Skye did, however, hesitate for just a split second at the water's edge. It was just a brief hesitation, after all the beast/creature related surprises, but then she washed into the cool water. If there was anything still lurking that they hadn't discovered, Skye wanted to be the first one in the water rather than Jemma. She couldn't help the overprotective compulsion when it came to Jemma, it was just there and Skye didn't try to fight it. Once she was out far enough, Skye bent her knees to sink under and pushed back to float backward toward the waterfall but turned to watch Jemma at the shoreline, not at all sorry about her wandering gaze as she tread water past the small drop off that deepened the large pool of water. There was a small crooked smile twisted across her lips, relieved that they had this time for themselves, that there was a calmness in the air and (thankfully) water, that they could almost be the versions of themselves that didn't have to struggle to stay alive every minute. Buzz came by, flying in wide circles around each of them as if inspecting just what the heck the humans were doing near and in the water.

Jemma's eyes were locked on Sjye's body while she undressed. She couldn't help it, and what was the harm. If Skye didn't want her to look she wouldn't have stripped down to nothing in front of her, so Jemma took the opportunity to just look and admire her: face, muscles, scars and all. She was absolutely stunning and if Jemma didn't already know she would make it awkward by saying it, she would.    
  
Jemma couldn't tear her eyes away until Skye was in the water up to her shoulders and she finally snapped out of her trance. It was her turn, so she put down the rest of her things and unzipped her CDC jacket-turned-vest, slinging it to the ground to start her own pile of clothes. She managed to peel off the sweaty shirt that didn't make Jemma feel all that attractive when she was wearing it. It felt good for the air and the warm (but not burning) sunlight to hit her skin. She inhaled deeply and continued with her shoes and pants. She kicked off the converse once they were untied and shimmied out of her jeans, only hesitating when she was down to her undergarments. Even when they had bathed in the ocean and Skye had been nude, Jemma had not, so this would be a first time thing. She smiled out at Skye to convince herself she wasn't nervous before she unclipped the clasp on her back and rolled her shoulders forward to remove her bra. Underwear came next and Jemma felt exposed, but also oddly comfortable. It was just her and Skye here, completely alone.

Skye’s gaze was unapologetic, but (she hoped) not unwelcomed. She didn't care if Jemma stayed in her under things or not for the swim, she wasn't expectant of anything, though her eyes did map put Jemma’s form around all the sections revealed as layers peeled away. Clothed or not, Jemma was gorgeous, and even using that word to describe her felt like a vast understatement. Skye’s eyes wandered up the length of her body when she was down to her under things and stopped, locking on her face when Jemma hesitated. The corners of her mouth pushed upward into a warm smile she hoped was reassuring. She wanted to call out to Jemma that it was okay if she wanted to keep the clothes on, to reassure her, but she wasn't sure if that would make the situation awkward or not.    
  
Buzz dove down and circled around her head, either inspecting her to to make sure she was okay or wondering where the rest of her was since he couldn't see it. Skye laughed, "Get outta here, go catch some more snacks," she moved her hand and squeezed a fist of water by the surface to shoot a jet of it near Buzz without hitting him. He buzzed his way by her hair and then took off to hover near Jemma.    
  
When Skye turned her attention back, Jemma was smiling at her. Skye couldn't help the fond smile that lit up her face. Her heart started doing that skittering thing about her rib cage that she'd already learned to associate specifically with Jemma, as Jemma worked her way out of her under things. Skye felt relieved that Jemma felt comfortable enough with the intimacy of the moment, not that she necessarily thought she wouldn't be, but the general confirmation eased away her minute amount of lingering bits of nerves that were still floating around Skye's mind.  Skye didn't feel anxious, then, she didn't feel insecure or like she didn't deserve the gift of affection Jemma had bestowed upon her in this relationship; Skye just felt content to be there together in this small chunk of time and space reserved only for the two of them.    
  
Skye stared, unabashed and reverent, still grinning, watching as Jemma started to make her way out into the water. "In about ten paces, there's a bit of a drop off," she called out so Jemma wouldn't be surprised. She decided to reserve any of her the more intimate comments she wanted to make until Jemma was closer, so it didn't feel like she was catcalling at her.

Jemma crossed her arms over her chest when the water reached her shoulders, but only because it was so cold. It was refreshing to drink, but it took a bit for Jemma's body to adjust to the new temperature before she could keep going and catch up with Skye. She felt around with her toes for the dropoff like Skye said, but she still nearly tripped on it and the water went up to her chin before her limbs listened to her and started pumping water underneath them to keep herself afloat.    
  
"It's cold." Jemma told her. She was awkward when she was nervous, and she figured skinny dipping on a sort of first date in the middle of a prehistoric jungle deserved its fair amount of anxiety.

Skye made her way closer back toward where Jemma was walking in. She'd dropped down just a foot or two before the drop off to just get into the cold water to get used to it. After the sweaty hike, she thought it felt good, but that could have also been because it was cooling off the heated flush that kept trying to fill through her chest, neck and face with every pace, tread and swim stroke closer Jemma came to her. "Give it a minute, it'll get better," She reached out to trace her fingers along the outside of Jemma's closest arm, resisting the urge to reach for her hips to pull her closer only because she didn't want to startle Jemma by grabbing her suddenly below the water line.    
  
"Two important things to note right now," Skye grinned and fist gave her chin a jut down toward a corner of the water off to the right of the waterfall where there was a patch of sunlight beating down through the canopy, "One, we should head down that way to get warmer and two," she pumped her legs to tread closer and let her hand sink down to Jemma's  hips to pull her in closer. She closed the watery gap between them, unable to resist the urge to steal a few lingering kisses. "You are so beautiful, I wish there were adequate words in any language to do you justice," she smiled.

Jemma made a small sound of surprise into Skye's mouth, but the moment she realized that it was Skye's hand on her waist, she allowed herself to fully melt under her fingertips because of the compliment. Nobody had ever courted her in this way before. She had had sexual encounters in the past and brief relationships, but none of their compliments felt as truly sincere as Skye's did. Jemma knew she meant it and it made her bubbly and bashful all at once. Her cheeks were flushed red but she didn't ignore the urge to lean into Skye and meld their mouths together until they needed air. Jemma's hands were on Skye's bare shoulders. She was treading water, but trusting Skye and her free arm to make sure they didn't start drifting in a random direction. Their chests brushed together and it sent a jolting shiver down Jemma's spine, this time not from the cold. Their legs kept bumping into each other as they tread water in such close proximity and Jemma suddenly found she was no longer afraid of the water when she was with Skye in this capacity.

Skye did start them drifting, but not at random, just toward the area where the sun was beating down. It was an extremely slow process mostly because she was distracted by their kissing. She didn’t feel cold at all. She might have thought the water was boiling with the heat she felt building in her chest and in her core. She didn’t find it too difficult to keep them afloat despite the bumping legs and she relished every patch of skin they brushed or pressed together, memorized the extra tiny hint of salty taste to the kiss thanks to a combination of the roasted peanuts and the pretzels. There was a happy hum that passed up through her vocal chords and into Jemma’s mouth as she wrapped her arm around Jemma’s waist to pull them closer together again. Their mouths fit together in a perfect meld, all the right corners, crooks and curves fit like the perfect click of puzzle pieces, moved in harmonic rhythm against each other, pulling, nibbling, sucking. It fit and Skye had never felt that click of puzzle pieces as they fell perfectly in place before. Even though her lungs burned and she needed air, she was reluctant to break away and, the moment their kiss did break, she felt the loss of connection immediately despite the fact that they were still pressed together in places. Her gaze a bit hazed over with both lust and reverence, a crooked smile wound over her lips. She leaned closer, breathless, like she was preparing to kiss Jemma again but, instead, whispered, “...Race you to the waterfall?” And arched her eyebrows. Through it all, despite the want to immerse herself completely in Jemma, Skye was careful to watch Jemma when he eyes were open) for any signs that she was uncomfortable or that she was feeling panicked or beginning to panic at all about being in the water. So far, she seemed to be handling it pretty well, which Skye felt greatly relieved about. 

"You're such a tease." Jemma stuck out her tongue playfully. While Skye was close, she surged forward and nipped at Skye's bottom lip. She ran her tongue over the slight line and was just about to initiate a deeper kiss when she pulled away suddenly and gave herself a head start by pushing off of Skye's shoulders slightly.    
  
"You snooze you lose!" Jemma called back, voice jostling with laughter as she started the swim to the base of the waterfall ahead of Skye.

Skye lt out a surprised gasp as Jemma tricked her for a head start. “Cheater!” She called after Jemma, immediately moving to start swimming, though she laughed as her head turned to the side for quick inhales of air. Skye was a fast runner. She was a decent swimmer as well but not as fast as she was a runner. She caught up to Jemma but didn’t beat her to the bottom of the waterfall, instead she practically tied her. “Cheater!” She admonished again. She playfully splashed a light slap of water at Jemma when she was moving in for a kiss. “Cheaters don’t get kisses!” she teased but there was a laugh bubbling out of her throat and she was sure they both knew that Skye didn’t actually have that kind of willpower. 

"Me, cheat?" Jemma feigned innocence with a hand on her chest and a fake look of disbelief on her face. "I'm no cheater!" She proclaimed. "I'm just resourceful!" The butt of the joke finally came and Jemma ignored Skye's claim, opting instead to swim closer and give her a quick peck on the lips. In a flash she pulled away again and skimmed her hand along the surface of the water to spray Skye in the face with hundreds of tiny droplets.

Skye was distracted by the quick kiss. She laughed and got a mouthful of splashed water as she closed her eyes against the splash. She sputtered the water out and splashed back right before she pushed closer and hooked an arm around Jemma’s waist to pull her over for a proper kiss instead of a quick kiss. “Resourceful cheater,” she teased in a murmur against Jemma’s lips, trying her best to fight off a grin in favor of kissing her instead. If it had been anyone else, Skye would have dunked the person underwater, but she wasn’t going to dare any such cruel thing with Jemma, for obvious reasons. 

"Quite resourceful." Jemma mumbled into Skye's mouth. Her hands moved like she was going to grip at her waist, but her fingers were slightly more curled than normal and she only gave Skye a light graze of warning before it turned into a full on tickle attack. Jemma was giggly and having fun and would enjoy this normal kind of moment for as long as she could. 

Skye’s eyes popped open wide in surprise. She immediately tried to curl into herself while trying to evade Jemma’s tickle attack. “Nooooo!” She started giggling uncontrollably and because of that and the squirming, sucked in a bit of water and had to sputter it out again. There were unintelligible words that fought their way out through her snickers before she managed to push and squirm out of Jemma’s reach, and wasn’t shy at all about causing a vast amount of splashing in the process. 

"Alright, alright!" Jemma's laugh was loud and contagious and after she deemed Skye through with punishment for calling her a cheater, she pulled her hands up and backed away in surrender, not wanting any more of the water blinding her vision.   
  
Apparently the splashing and Skye's adorable shrieks had distracted her from the important noise, because when Jemma paddled back a bit to give Skye space, a downward force that felt like a heavy smack to the top of the head with a solid pillow startled her. The water completely blocked her vision and she couldn't hear anything other than the falls crashing into her and the water around her. Her breaths were filled with falling water and Jemma could feel her adrenaline spike as she was brought back to that night in the plane. She could help it this time though, so she took a deep breath and allowed the water to push her under, about five feet under the surface where the downward current stopped, so she could swim away.

Skye tried to catch her breath as Jemma moved away. She closed her eyes and dropped under water, tipping her head backward as she bobbed back above the surface to push her wet hair back out of her face. “Not funny,” She gasped, still catching her breath, but when she opened her eyes Jemma was...nowhere. Skye sobered immediately. Her eyes widened. “Jem?!” She shouted her name and turned again. She didn’t see Jemma anywhere on the shore. She wasn’t on the rocks behind the waterfall. There were no bubble or disturbances in the water. “JEMMA!?” She looked down into the water as her heart raced so fast Skye thought she might pass out. Fearing something had tried to eat her, a quick mash of, “No, no, no, no, no,” came bursting from her lips. Of course -  _ of course _ \- something terrible had to happen. Skye had let her guard down and now something happened to Jemma. Skye sucked in a deep breath and sunk under water, opening her eyes once she was under, she tried to see through blurred vision under the water, frantically searching for any signs of Jemma. For a moment in time she hadn’t had to actually think of that moment in the plane while she had been frantically sawing at the seat belt while Jemma was convulsing and drowning right in front of her and now those thoughts were flooding right back through her brain on endless loop, feeding her panic into extreme overdrive. 

For a moment, it was quiet and peaceful underwater. Then some of it went up Jemma's nose and she shook her head to try to clear her vision. It was dark under the water and she had trouble telling which way was up after being beaten down by the waterfall. Her mind brought her back to the tail of the plane and Jemma immediately kicked wildly, but realized she had gone down instead of up. Her lungs began to burn with the need for oxygen and Jemma finally saw a shadow. It was Skye's form blocking out the little bit of light that made it down from above. Jemma saw her limbs and she reached out, kicking with her legs and paddling with one hand until she was close enough to reach for Skye's hand in the dark. Her first try she barely missed and grazed her skin, but she caught a firm hold of her a second later. 

Skye was looking over her shoulder when something grazed her. A burst of air left her mouth in a startled shout and she gulped down a mouthful of water as she spun back. Her instinct was to kick upward but, as she spun, she spotted the floating swirl of light brown in the water, like a wavy oil slick. Through the swirl of color, she realized it wasn’t a monstrous sea creature - it was Jemma! Skye’s lungs seared painful from the gulp of water and the air she’d lost when she was startled. She swung her hand as Jemma reached out for her a second time and caught her by the forearm much in the way she’d caught Alisha when the spider had slung its webbing around her feet. Skye’s fingers clamped around the flesh and muscle of Jemma’s forearm and she turned her head upward and simultaneously kicked with all her might and pulled with her free arm. When she broke the surface, she didn’t let go. She pulled to bring Jemma to the surface, coughing and sputtering out the water she’d gulped down and half swallowed. “Y’alright?” Skye blurted through gasps of air. She pulled Jemma to her and wrapped her free arm around her waist, pumping her legs enough to keep them both afloat and moving them toward the placid area of water where the sun was shining down, away from the cascading waterfall. “Are y’alright?” Skye’s words came in bursts between her breathless gasps. Her eyes were wide and wild with fear. She had no idea what happened but she couldn’t only inspect so much of Jemma while in the water. Had something bit her? She pushed them toward the shoreline, unsure if they were fleeing a creature of some kind. 

Jemma sucked in a monstrous, wheezing breath that was quite audible as Skye coughed up water. She didn't know how she had managed to hold her breath for so long this time, but she was huffing now and it took her a good seven breaths before she could finally reply to Skye.    
  
"Waterfall, 'm fine." Jemma breathed, having to cough some herself so the water that had gone through her nose could clear and the burning in her sinuses could subside. "Backed into it." Jemma waved her hand in its direction and leaned into Skye, a large amount of relief forcing her muscles to relax.

Skye exhaled a few choppy breaths and tightened her grip on around her waist. She let go of her arm and reached up to cradle a hand along the side and back of Jemma’s head as Jemma leaned into her. Skye kept them afloat and turned to kiss the side of Jemma’s head. “R’you sure?” she asked through a few more choppy breaths. “I’m sorry,” She added in a murmur. She shouldn’t have let the playing go so far when there still stood a chance of Jemma being freaked out about the water and now their messing around had caused both of them a panic attack. She told herself that everything was okay and she needed to calm down, to settle her racing heart.  

"I'm alright. Promise." Jemma's breathing was still heavy, mostly because she was still trying to fix her oxygen deficiency. "I think I'm finished in the water though." She sighed. She hated to spoil the fun with her fear of drowning, but it was well founded and she was reminded how very possible it was yet again only a moment ago. She began to kick her legs with Skye to get them to the shore of the pond.

Skye sure as hell wasn't going to argue about getting out of the water, least of all with Jemma. She'd been impressed that Jemma had wanted to go in to begin with, all things considered. She nodded and moved them along both of them kicking, Skye used pulled her hand free to help pull them through the water but kept the other wrapped around Jemma's waist. When they reached the drop off, Skye picked a leg up and planted a for solidly on it to hold them steady so Jemma could climb out first, figuring she would want to be out of the as quickly as possible whether in the shallows or not. Once Jemma was up on her feet in the shallower water, Skye pulled herself up and wrapped her arm back around Jemma's middle after kissing her shoulder.    
  
When they were close to the shore, Skye stepped ahead, wrung out some of the water from her hair and shook the excess off her hands and arms before she reached for her backpack with their bedding and such. She had packed a couple of the beach towels that had been in the community pile of pilfered items in the bag and was glad now that she had. One of the towels in particular was very large. It was stamped with the logo of a resort and had clearly been stolen from the place by someone who had been on the plane. Skye shook the towel out and stepped over to Jemma as she reached dry land. Pulling the Towel around her shoulders, it fell to almost knee level and was long enough for Skye to reach out with the two ends in each of her hands to pulled Jemma over to wrap it around both of them at once while also being able to hold Jemma closely pressed to her. She had another towel she could have given Jemma sure, but this had the advantage of drying them off and warming each other back up. It also meant she could dip her head and capture Jemma’s mouth in another kiss, which she definitely wanted to do, though she waited, trying to let Jemma fully catch her breath again first, so she settled for covering Jemma’s face, jaw, neck and shoulder in a series of quick, feather light kisses instead while she tried to push the memories of Jemma drowning from the forefront of her mind.

"Thank you. Again." Jemma mumbled. After yet another drowning situation, Jemma was a bit shaken up and her muscles were tired from the frantic swim. She leaned into the front of Skye, no longer nervous or caring at all that they were both completely naked. If anything it was more comforting, being able to rest her head on Skye's shoulder and collarbone and feel her warm skin in close contact with her under the warm protection of the towel.

Skye wrapped her arms and the towel tighter around Jemma and turned to kiss the side of her head. "You know I wouldn't let anything happen to you," she set them swaying just the tiniest bit as she murmured it onto Jemma's wet hair. "Even though you're totally a cheater," she added after half a beat's pause. She grinned as she said it and kissed the top of her earlobe. She was serious about the first part, though the latter was obviously just a joke to try and bring them back to the laid back feeling they'd had before the scare.

"Oh, shush, you." Jemma mumbled. As a quick punishment (but not really) for the accusation, Jemma bit at Skye's neck near her pulse point and sucked on it, wanting to for once enjoy one of Skye's many bruises. Her arms moved from hugging her to rest at her waist, and her right slowly creeped up Skye's stomach, scratching lightly.    
  
"Don't worry about putting your clothes back on..." Jemma whispered seductively into Skye's ear before she nibbled at it. They were finally completely, one hundred percent alone. Nobody was going to walk in or interrupt them now, and they had plenty of their things to make it comfortable. Maybe now was finally the time.

Skye lost the ability to speak when Jemma’s mouth hit just that right spot. Her knees  _ actually _ buckled just slightly as she exhaled a sharp breath and leaned into Jemma. Her eyes slipped closed and she almost let go of the ends of the towel in favor of letting her hands explore. She managed to hold onto it as she slipped her arms down the middle of Jemma’s back and pulled her closer. Her breath hitched at the same time that the muscles in her stomach jumped and relaxed under the Jemma’s touch. Pupils blown wide, Skye wasn’t about to call a stop to this. It wasn’t like the moment in the shelter, when Skye knew she couldn’t let it happen that way. There was nothing to hold them back here. It wasn’t an attempt to collide together in a desperate attempt to abate fears, or to beat time because they thought they were going to die. Now was definitely the time. “I see what this is…” Skye was already winded, and somewhat lightheaded (both in the best ways possible). “You don’t have to try and get  _ under _ my shirt,” Skye let go of one corner of the towel and leaned back so she could rest her hand along the side of Jemma’s face. “If I’m not wearing one,” She flashed a crooked grin before she leaned in and brought their mouths crashing together eagerly, her heart back to skittering all about her ribcage as her skin flushed from the increase in blood pressure Jemma had cause her in mere seconds. 

"You know what they say about great minds," Jemma giggled at the return of their original inside joke and kissed Skye with equal fervor. Their mouths were moving in a synchronized dance together and as their tongues began to meet, Jemma thought Skye tasted like the sweetness of fruit with a hint of saltiness. It was intoxicating and Jemma knew she could go on kissing Skye all day if they had the stamina. She had half a mind to find out.  
  
Skye gave up holding the towel. She let it fall to the grass below their feet. The tips of her fingers traced the length of the scar down her back as if it were a seam. She flattened her palm along the middle of the curve of Jemma's back and drew her closer, shifting her weight on her feet so their legs were interlocked one between the other in order to press them flush together at the hips. Her lips only left Jemma's for the briefest gulps of air. She was easily intoxicated by...everything, really; hot flesh ground together further igniting the burning desire for more, the soft undulating jut of one or the other's diaphragm pushing their torsos closer at each attempt to regain their stolen breath, the unsteady wild stallion of her pulse as it galloped loud in her eardrums but not quite loud enough to drown out every hum Jemma made, the darting probe of their fencing tongues, the push and pull of lips and teeth, the occasional smash of a nose to a cheekbone, the huffed air expelled by laughter causing Cheshire sized grins into their kisses that made their teeth click every now and then.   
  
Skye would have gladly stayed right in that spot kissing Jemma until their lips were swollen and their legs simply gave out right from under them. The lure, however, of doing this the right way (whatever one considered the right way?), was strong. Skye was all for the feverish feelings for Jemma brewing below her belly, between her legs and dancing all around the confines of her ribcage, she really was, but, the urge to lay down with Jemma and take her time exploring every patch of flesh and every sound each touch caused was much stronger.   
  
This wasn't a quick, heated screw in the supply closet to scratch an itch. An itch did need to be scratched, sure, but it wasn't a quick messy screw to get it done. Skye didn't want it to be that and she didn't have to ask to know that Jemma didn't want that either. So it wa with great restraint, and a lung burning need for air that Skye broke the kiss and touched their foreheads together, the hand on Jemma's back grazed along the firm skin of Jemma's lower back, curved absently and cupped around the softer flesh of her rear and used the leverage to pull Jemma's lower half closer since she was lensing her upper half back slightly, shifting her leg as Skye felt the heat of Jemma’s legs against her thigh, felt her heart drumming wildly again in her chest. "Bed rolls in m'bag," she got out breathlessly between bursts of air, laying out the explanation for her unspoken timeout call. It would only take a moment to pull the best out, unroll them and collapse into them to finish this. It was either that or they laid out the towel and collapsed to the ground on it. Skye would do either, but the urge to spoil them and let their first go of it happen in their closest thing to a decent bed on the island.  
  
Jemma had similar interests as Skye, but it wasn't easy to fund a way to pull away with Skye's hands where they were and their lips still locked. They went in cycles of kissing and feeling and when they ran out of breath they parted for half of a second to breathe, but held each other closer. Jemma's legs wanted them to pause and lay down, sore from the hike and the swim, but the rest of her was eager to know what all of Skye felt like. She allowed herself to indulge once more for another breath.   
  
When their lips parted barely half of an inch and they both inhaled, Jemma pulled back a bit more. She kept her hands on Skye's torso and leaned into her touch, but she had to resist the urge to rush. She wanted this to be perfect, so they needed to invest a small bit of their time to getting comfortable. She didn't have the words, but she nodded, bumping their foreheads together, and loosened her grip on Skye's waist. 

Skye forced herself to step back. She traced her fingers along Jemma's arm until she caught her hand and brought it up to kiss the back of it before she turned away and stepped over to her backpack. she crouched and dug the two rolled up beds. Later, she planned on setting them up inside the mouth of one of the caves with a fire outside an she would pay out a pad of palms and leaves to put the bed rolls on, but for now, she merely pulled the ties on the homemade twine wrapped around them and unrolled them in the closest patch of sunlight that broke through the canopy. She leaned over and snagged a corner of the towel. She knelt on the bottom corner of the bed, pulled the towel over and shook it out off to the side before draping it over the bed.    
  
Skye sat back on her heels and looked over at Jemma, eyes wandering the length of her.  she waved a hand to motion to the bed. "It's like a picnic on steroids," she joked with a sloppy, crooked grin on her face. She refused to let herself think about their injuries at the moment; th fading bruise on Jemma's thigh, the cuts, the scrapes, the marks all in various shades of recovery. She thought, instead about how she was counting every mole or freckle she could find on Jemma from head to toe, or the fact that even in their desert island forms (beat up, unkempt hair growing I places it was normally removed, covered sometimes in dirt, sand, mud, sweat, salt water, etc, in clothes that were worn too many sweaty days in a row - any combo of th above at any given time), Jemma was still easily the most beautiful person Skye had ever seen or known.    
  
Skye knew this wasn't just because Jemma was attractive (which, she was absolutely gorgeous) so much a combo of being genuinely aesthetically beautiful and also being a genuinely beautiful person past all the superficial layers. Either way, Jemma was just...so damn beautiful the Skye couldn't help her staring. Without getting up, Skye held her hand out to Jemma and put the other to her hear. "Shhh, you hear that" she new the question was alarming so she only waited less than the time it would take to inhale a gasp of air and grinned as she said. "There's no one here to interrupt us."    


"You better not jinx it." Jemma poked Skye in the chest and it probably sounded like a joke, but Jemma absolutely meant it. She did not want to be interrupted this time. She hadn't wanted to be interrupted before, but now the need was even more urgent as the pulsing, tingling area between her legs demanded attention. She drank in the sight of Skye's every curve, muscle outline, and scar. It all made her even more beautiful. Each injury was a show of her tremendous strength and Jemma was enchanted by her and her willpower.    
  
Jemma was pulled in by a magnetic force and her hands found Skye's waist, but slid forward again to rest both of her palms against Skye's lower abdomen. She gently pushed her back onto the bedroll and guided her down to her back. Jemma placed her hands on the cushion at each side of Skye's head to hold herself up. She overlapped their legs and bent her elbows some to crush their mouths together in a heated rush to get back to where they were. She pressed up with her leg, which was not so accidentally between Skye's. She could feel the heat and dampness against her thigh and it elicited a small sigh from Jemma's lips.

Skye had a not so great past. There were things in it that shaped her specific reactions to particular situations. Were she back on the mainland with almost anyone else, Skye likely wouldn’t have given a partner, male or female, the chance to put her on her back in bed. It would have set her too on edge and would have broken her concentration. It wasn’t like that with Jemma. Skye didn’t feel wary of Jemma’s eyes on her. She didn’t feel hesitant as Jemma’s hands traveled from her waist. The hitch in her breath that happened when Jemma’s palms pressed to her abs wasn’t because of hesitation or anxiety. It resulted from the coil of pleasure below her belly that wound tighter, amplified every touch. She was eager to settle back under Jemma’s weight. The difference between those other situations and the added anxiety of not having control of the situation boiled down to a single word: trust.   

Skye trusted Jemma and was more than a little eager to follow her lead instead of trying to be the one to set the pace. She gave in, but it didn’t mean she was idle. Her eyes locked to Jemma’s. Her hands framed Jemma’s face, fingertips traced her jaw and held on as their mouths crashed together again. A sound that was a tangled mixture of a moan and a gasp rippled up her throat and passed from her mouth into Jemma’s as Jemma’s leg pressed into her core. Millions of fiery sparks of electricity raced from the spot, radiating outward from her corer to the tips of her toes and fingers and racing through her veins with the steady galloping pulse made her shiver as her hips responded of their own accord, shifting and grinding closer, tighter, wanting to find purchase against the friction, eager to send the sparks burning through her again. Her hands dropped, first a bit uncoordinated, down to Jemma’s collarbones. They paused in place half a second before they slipped down again, heels of her hands first, palming her way over Jemma’s breasts, pressing against the raise of nipple, hand cupping and squeezing at varying pressure. Her left hand dragged down her ribs and wrapped around to the back of Jemma’s hip to pull her closer as her hips rose up to rock against her again. It was hard to concentrate with so many of her senses firing off all at once. There was so many places Skye wanted to touch, kiss, to map out and listen to Jemma’s reactions, but she couldn’t bring herself to break their feverish kiss yet, it was too intoxicating to give it up just yet. 

Jemma's breath hitched in her throat and she lightly bit Skye's lip in mild surprise. She had been so focused on getting Skye ready that she had forgotten about herself, but Skye had sparked the fire between her legs with her hands and the shifting of her hips, and it was more of a blaze than a flame. It was all-consuming and Jemma wanted them to mold into a single person, but she settled for the next best thing. She leaned over Skye a little further and a frustrated groan worked its way up her throat as she tried to time her own hip movements to counter Skye's and rub against the leg she was straddling.   
  
Jemma dipped her head to kiss and nibble at Skye's jaw and traced the contour of it teasingly with the tip of her tongue. She moved along the back of her jaw to her neck to her collarbones, all while running her fingers ever so lightly up and down Skye's sternum between her breasts, ever so lightly tickling her and not quite giving her what she wanted. 

It was impossible to concentrate on any one single sensation at any moment, whether it was a result of touching Jemma or Jemma touching her, which was entirely maddening, but in all the best ways possible. Their hips found rhythm after a few sloppy seesaw attempts and a satisfied sigh escaped Skye when Jemma's lips left hers.    
  
There was a spot at the very back of Skye’s jaw, just below the back of her earlobe that, when the edge of Jemma's tongue lapped at it followed by the edges of her teeth barely scraping against it, completely short-circuited Skye's brain. She completely forgot, for just a second, where the hell she was and in that second it didn't even matter because every nerve ending in her body felt like it was a sparking to fire. Her eyes rolled up and closed, her hands moving about Jemma's chest and torso stalled and slacked at the same time that her jaw fell open in a loud gasp as her head angled off to the side to give Jemma more room.  Jemma’s tracing of her torso caused a high arch in her back and a frustrated groan to catch in her throat as her body strained and stretched, bucked and pulled, begging not only for the friction but for every possible connection of every millimeter of flesh between them to connect.    
  
Skye’s hand left Jemma's hip. Her leg hooked around the back of Jemma's thigh, angling for purchase, feeling the hot, slick trail she left behind against Jemma's thigh on each roll of her hips. Her arm wound up around Jemma's shoulder, her fingers burrowed deep into the wet tangles of light brown hair, simultaneously trying to hold her in place while holding on for dear life. Her heart went bounding so forcefully around her ribcage, Skye was sure Jemma had to be able to hear it or the waterfall like a set of wildly beat drums. Skye didn't often let anyone access this particular spot in intimate moments. She had always urged others away from it in the past, hunching her shoulder as if too ticklish to handle a kiss or love bite in that spot. It was a failsafe. It meant she could keep control of herself. Skye rarely let her guard down enough to lose control and she certainly never let herself fully lose control in sexual situations. Except now. Skye hadn't even thought to block Jemma's access any part of her, hasn't considered it an option that she wanted to take.    
  
"Jem," It was the only word she could force out, her mouth hovering somewhere behind Jemma's ear, into her hair, between quick shallow inhales and exhales. Part of her, however small, was holding so tightly to Jemma because she hadn't been prepared for quite how much control of herself she was willingly putting in Jemma’s hands. The urge to roll them over and assert control of the moment was strong, but Skye fought against it. She trusted Jemma and she wanted to surrender to that trust. There would be time later for Skye to take control.

Jemma mumbled something incomprehensible in response to Skye's voice, but it was too muffled with her mouth busy against Skye's skin for it to be understood. There was an unstated meaning behind it though, and Jemma hoped Skye knew that she would only go as far as Skye was comfortable. She wasn't clueless enough to miss Skye's slight discomfort. She could see Skye working through something, so she planned to be gentle and go at a pace that didn't overwhelm her, at least in a bad way. Her fingers had paved a trail for her lips that she followed, but not without leaving Skye satisfied with her visit to that sensitive spot behind her jaw. She pressed a few more soft, delicate kisses and tilted her head a bit more to use the room Skye gave her. She took it as permission and gave the spot a small bite, lightly scraping her teeth against skin before she sucked at it, still occasionally nipping in the process. Once she was satisfied with the small mark beginning to show, she changed directions and slowly, oh so slowly, pressed feather light kisses down the path she had traced with her fingers earlier.

Skye was definitely comfortable. Alright, that wasn’t entirely true. She felt a bit like she was on fire and she couldn’t figure out how she was going to find enough fuel to toss to the flames so they’d swell to inferno. Her breath came in ragged pants and there were fireworks behind her closed eyes as Jemma paid attention to the back of her jaw. A few different shivers of pleasure shook their way down her spine and she didn’t bother biting back any of the sounds that rippled from her throat, urging Jemma on.  Her chest heaved with every sharp pull of her diaphragm each time she tried to get in a quick gulp of air. Her back almost ached as she arched, pressing upward reflexively into every attention Jemma paid her chest. Her teeth sunk into her own bottom lip and her fingers curled in Jemma’s hair, urging for more contact as she expelled a frustrated groan as she opened her eyes, unable to see at first as they tried to adjust to the light. She lifted her head, pupils blown wide, aching for more than the ghost light (deliberate!) teasing as she ground her hips harder against Jemma’s leg, unable to do much else right then but curl her fingers in Jemma’s hair and slide the fingers of her other hand along a small reachable patch of Jemma’s side and back. Her options were to ground herself, flip them over and take control...or surrender. “Evil,” she murmured, though there was a slightly crooked grin on her face. “Who knew?” She surrendered to whatever Jemma had in mind. 

Jemma responded to Skye's complaint with a warm, giggly laugh and moved back up to give Skye a proper kiss on the mouth to reassure her. Her right hand moved from its place on the bedroll to Skye's waist, and ran down to her hip and to the back of her thigh so she could pull their intertwined legs together with a bit more firmness. Jemma couldn't help but please herself as well, so she rocked her hips against Skye's leg and gave a wicked grin because of how slick they both were in their centers and on each other. There had been a lot of lead up to this and Jemma planned on drawing it out.    
  
"You have no idea." Jemma whispered in a low tone. She nibbled at Skye's earlobe before she returned her attention to her chest. Her kisses were sloppier and had more force behind them, but she kissed the swell of Skye's breast just to the side of her raised nipple with a smirk on her face.

Skye was more than eager to return that kiss, fighting to keep from grinning into it. She tried her best to hold Jemma there but her breath hitched when she felt Jemma’s hand on her thigh, pulling her closer. She pulled her fingers free from Jemma’s hair, pushed a few strands of it out of her face and traced her cheek as she watched her face, felt the rolling jut of Jemma’s hips when she worked herself over. The small lopsided grin fell away and the haze of lust returned  as Skye exhaled a ragged breath when Jemma’s teeth hit her ear again.

“D-do your worst…” she challenged breathlessly. She arched again, into the touch, growled angrily at the ache in her chest the teasing called, despite her challenge the moment before. She remained in motion, the friction of their sliding against each other the only bit of relief she could achieve at the moment as the coil between her hips wound and wound without release. Skye dragged her nails lightly down Jemma’s side. When it hit her hip, she wedged it between them and dragged the edges of her nails lightly against the flat patch of flesh just below Jemma’s bellybutton in retaliation. 

Jemma groaned, heart hammering against the back of her ribs and heat pooling between her legs. She had been avoiding her own urges by distracting herself with Skye, but it was getting more difficult with Skye returning her teasing like that. She grumbled something about making a deal and her mouth finally reached the sweet spot. She flicked her tongue over Skye's hardened nipple and grazed it with her teeth, restraining herself for a few more moments before she fully allowed herself to indulge. The hand on Skye's thigh slid up her side and her thumb brushed over the center of Skye's other breast as she lightly sucked on the hardened nipple at her lips.

A triumphant crooked grin twisted over Skye’s lips when she the sound she’d caused Jemma to make. Her fingers flexed across the same flat of skin but a moment later, the smirk was wiped clear off her face, her jaw dropped slack and a gasp strangled in her vocal chords with a load moan at the attention to her chest. Her back arched, pushing closer to Jemma’s touch, breasts aching with the strain, pulse throbbing and overheating her core. Skye’s free hand wound in Jemma’s hair again, digging in, holding on for the ride. She gave up any minor attempts she had put forth on controlling the buck of her hips and let herself rut against Jemma’s leg. She dropped her head back and, though she tried to get out some words of encouragement to urge Jemma on, or to beg for more or to remind Jemma that she loved her, nothing intelligible came out through the gasps and moans. Of all the times Skye was sure she was about to die on the island, this one was definitely her favorite, hands down. 

Jemma's brain went haywire when Skye started making those noises. She sucked harder and ran her hand along Skye's side, slipping it around her waist and stopping at the small of her back, pulling Skye up into her. Even that wasn't enough contact and Jemma rolled her hips against Skye's thigh, trying to get more. A sense of urgency fell over her as her heartbeat in her ears, so she moved on to Skye's other breast with her mouth, connecting the two with a trail of wet, sloppy kisses. There was a distinct excited soreness between her legs and a shiver ran up her spine. She copied Skye's tease and traced her fingers from Skye's back around and over her pelvis to the soft skin above her legs and below her waist.   
  
She paused and stopped what she was doing, to check and make sure Skye was comfortable with proceeding after the hesitation she'd shown before, and also to see just how crazy Jemma was driving her with anticipation. There was a cunning little smirk on her face when she saw the state of sexual frustration Skye was in. 

Skye bent her knee a bit to shift the leg Jemma rutted against and press it tighter into her. There was no way after that movement and the sloppy kisses that Jemma was going to be able to keep up all the teasing. At least that's what Skye assumed, right up until Jemma stopped what she was doing completely. Skye's eyes were open wide and she was looking directly at Jemma's face, but for a long few seconds they weren't quite focused through the haze. She struggled to catch her breath, a wild look in her eyes and a confused crease in her brow.    
  
"Wha...?" Skye pushed up on her elbows slightly and dropped her question halfway through when she saw that smirk on Jemma's face. "Oh, so you think..." she caught the side of Jemma's face with her right hand and kissed her, but only a few quick kisses, not nearly the length or caliber of connection she knew either of them wanted. "Breaking the rules is funny, do ya?" She leaned in and stopped just short of bringing their mouths together again. She used the distracting non kiss tease to throw her weight, dropping her arm to wrap it around Jemma as she rolled them on the bed cushions until she pinned her on her back. Smirk curled up her lips and she dipped her head, barely given any pressure as she kissed and nipped along the underside of her jaw. She did, however, in the shift, wedge the leg between Jemma's so it was pressed tight against her core, rolled her hips and moved her leg in time with it to put pressure in just the right spots, but at a purposefully slow pace. Payback.

A loud, joyous laugh broke out of Jemma's lungs when Skye flipped them over, but it died in her throat and was replaced with an understanding, frustrated groan when Skye began her teasing. It was time for karma and Jemma was paying up. She was no longer reserved or embarrassed to rub and rock her hips against Skye's leg and she was warmer in certain places and less quiet as she voiced her frustration. She tilted her head up and to the side, but the pressure Skye applied wasn't increasing, so she sought to keep playing the back and forth game.    
  
To make a more drastic move, as one hand rested at the nape of Skye's neck, the other slid down her stomach and the back of her hand was soon on her own thigh, fingers slipping between herself and Skye's core. Even if Skye couldn't see it, there was a wicked grin on her face and she curled her fingers slightly into soft curls, just barely touching.

Skye wasn’t going to relent on her payback, nope. She propped her weight on her left hand and was justin the process of tracing her fingers down the front of Jemma’s throat, along her collarbone heading toward the center of her chest when Jemma’s fingers hit that spot. Her hand stalled just over Jemma’s heart and she leaned too much of her weight on her definitely not at all fully healed left arm. “ _ Fuck _ -,” Skye’s forehead fell and pressed against Jemma’s jaw as her arm wobbled under her and she pitched forward, half her weight on Jemma and half her weight on her crumpled left arm. The groan that left her this time wasn’t one of pleasure as she landed on the sore forearm, covered in those scratches from the spider attack, the one Alisha had left behind. Skye inhaled a hiss of pain but didn’t move right away, sure that doing so would hurt, both because of her arm and because it would mean pulling away from Jemma even temporarily. 

"I'm sorry!" Jemma squeaked and suddenly changed gears. She was instantly flooded with guilt and concern and her hands went to Skye's waist to help get her weight back off of her arm. "I'm so sorry!" She repeated, sitting up slightly and wrapping one around around Skye's waist to support her while gently touching her wrist with the other.   
  
"Are you alright?" She kissed at Skye's temple in a gentle, compassionate way instead of a sexual way and very gently encircled Skye's wrist with her fingers and brought it up. There was a bit of blood spotted on some of the bandages and Jemma knew some bleeding was normal and accidents happened, but she had been a part of it and wanted to make sure Skye was okay. 

Even while they were on their own in this place, they still managed to wind up with interruptions! Skye sighed as they shifted about. She put her right arm down and pushed up as they shifted and they wound up mostly on their sides. “Yeah, sorry,” she murmured as Jemma brought her arm up. “Just put too much weight on it,” She set her head down against Jemma’s shoulder and collarbone, pressing a few random kisses there and moved her right hand, tracing her way from the hollow of her collarbones, down the middle of her chest, her sternum, down her side and to the edge of her hip. It was a momentary hiccup and Skye wasn’t about to let it derail them,” She traced a line from Jemma’s hip inward toward her navel, flattened her palm out there and turned her fingers downward, slowly tracing down the flat space below her belly and into patch of curls, keeping her touch light, her fingers moving with deliberate light grazes. 

Jemma's fussing stopped and she swallowed her words when Skye's fingers began to wander. Her pulse skyrocketed to the point that she could feel it in her ears. She took this as an all clear and was content to let Skye bring them back to where they were. Even in the middle of an uninhabited place on an uninhabited island they managed to have an interruption, but this time it could be avoided.   
  
"Careful." Jemma mumbled her message for Skye to stay off her arm, but it served as a dual warning for her to think twice about the teasing.

Skye grinned against Jemma’s collar when the warning came. She shifted and leaned her weight, this time, on her elbow, just above Jemma’s shoulder. She kissed her way to Jemma’s pulse point along her neck, scraped her teeth lightly against it before soothing it over with her tongue and suckling against the rapid pulse beneath her lips. Her fingers continued to move, dragging with just a bit of extra pressure along the high, inside of Jemma's thigh, tracing almost back to her core, before moving to glide and just barely scrape along the inside of the opposite thigh, taking her time before they traced up to her hip, back to the flat plane below her navel and back into the curls of hair. She pressed her fingers firmer this time, curling them down to cup her sex, rolled her wrist and pressed her heel down firmly against her, ran her fingers over and through the slick folds of skin beneath them, listening for and feeling out Jemma's reactions to every specific touch and pressure.

Jemma made a pathetic little whine and didn't even have the focus to be embarrassed about it. A shiver tickled her spine and her hips shifted in an attempt to increase the pressure between herself and Skye's hand. She was starting to think she'd had enough of their little teasing game, but she could tell Skye was enjoying it, so she would have to smoke her out with some of her own. She rolled a bit so she was closer to being on her side, but hadn't left Skye's reach between her legs.    
  
"Don't underestimate me," Jemma whispered, though it may have been hard to believe after how submissive she had been about to be. The hand on the same side Skye was kissing at her neck wound up tangled in her hair, the other traced over the muscles of her abdomen and the curves of her pelvis. Her hand stayed at the front of Skye's pelvis, palm flat against it, but a single finger extended to reach between damp folds and just barely rub against Skye's clit. She curled her middle finger and brushed across the sensitive bundle of nerves at her fingertip.

“Wouldn’t dream of-,” Skye was in the middle of murmuring it against Jemma’s neck when Jemma’s finger went to work. Her muscles jumped and twitched under the touch, relaxing in their wake. Her words cut off and her teeth sunk a bit against Jemma’s pulse and her hips rolled, shifting against her touch, trying to increase the pressure. Her She picked her head up after pressing a couple of kisses against the spot her teeth had dug against. She grinned, distracted and a bit punchdrunk down at Jemma before she ducked her head to smash their mouths together for a heated kiss. Her own muscles pulsed and pulled against Jemma’s touch. She traced the seam between Jemma’s wet folds of flesh, pressed the heel of her hand firm, rolling her wrist back and forth to work between the top of the folds, slowly working until the heel of her hand was pressing over and across her clit with each pass. She slipped the pads of her fingers through her folds, sliding them just past the first knuckle and pressing, tracing, along the spongy flesh just inside, not pressing all the way in just yet, breaking their kisses only for quick gulps of air, not at all ashamed of the pleased sounds working out of her throat. 

"Skye," Jemma gasped. Her back arched and hips shifted downward to meet Skye's hand, but she didn't relent and Jemma was starting to get tired of this teasing. It felt like they had been together forever, but this intimacy had already been so stalled between them, whether by circumstances or other people. Jemma never thought they would be their own barrier, with the both of them too stubborn to make a true first move. Well they had waited long enough in Jemma's opinion and she was willing to trade a bit of her dignity in exchange for a complete connection with the woman she was lying with.    
  
Without words, Jemma let Skye know the game was over. She lifted her head to meet Skye's mouth and with the distraction of their haphazard, passionate kisses Jemma regained the upper hand. When she had raised herself sufficiently, Jemma firmly (yet softly at the same time) pushed against Skye's shoulder with her free hand to guide her back onto her back. Without ever breaking their lip lock, Jemma propped herself up on her elbow and leaned over Skye to continue kissing her. She avoided getting on top of her after the discomfort it had caused her earlier, so she stayed to the side, but that didn't mean she didn't maintain contact. She was pressed into Skye's side, one arm still holding herself up and the other still just slightly between Skye's legs. She could feel Skye's pulse racing beneath her fingertips and a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips.    
  
Jemma wanted to kiss every inch of Skye and get to know her fully in an emotional and physical way, but she restrained herself and made herself go slowly, be gentle. There had clearly been a sense of fear in Skye's eyes earlier and Jemma had no doubt she had experienced a trauma. As much as it angered and saddened her to think about, she ignored it so she could focus all her energy instead to making it right, fixing the experience in Skye's head by replacing it with another.    
  
"I love you." Jemma pulled away only so Skye would hear her say it clearly, so it wasn't a mumbled phrase lost in the breeze. What they were doing was more than physical. With the magic word still hanging in the air as a reassurance, Jemma interlaced their legs and lifted her own knee to part Skye's legs to provide herself room to work, if Skye allowed it. She made sure to pause and look over her face for any signs of discomfort, any movement of facial muscles that meant she wasn't ready.

Skye wasn't uncomfortable (outside of the normal throbbing in her core aching for relief). She hadn't been celibate by any stretch of the word before the island and she wasn't now. It was the control. The traumatic situations she'd lived through that gave her this underlying anxiety left the anxiety and fear at bay when she was the one in control. So, under normal situations like this, Skye usually made herself the dominant one to take control, regardless of who she was with, man, woman, whichever. This was different. It was a necessary physical release that they both needed, sure, but it wasn't just that, it was more. It ran on a deeper level. There was an connection between them that went deeper than any Skye had allowed with another partner.    
  
She wasn't scared of Jemma and she didn't feel uncomfortable opening up to her. She had never before wanted to cede control of herself to another person. It was a vulnerability she hadn't had the luxury of giving both herself and any other partner she'd had previously. Her eyes came into focus on Jemma's face when she spoke and Skye felt the wild thunder of her heart as it jammed into her thoat. She reached up to touch the side of Jemma’s face but couldn't quite make her voice work in that moment so she picked her head up as her finger slipped into the hair st the nape of her neck and pulled Jemma to her to bring their mouths back together. Her legs moved in easy, fluid motion at the urging of Jemma's knee to push them apart, both granting permission and mentally pleading for everything Jemma was willing to offer.

"So much," Jemma added. She loved Skye more than she'd ever loved another person before, and she was honored to be given the opportunity to explore her body and each of her reactions to Jemma's touch. Her lungs burned and demanded air, but Jemma ignored it and continued to kiss Skye until their lips were swollen and their bodies were tired. She wound them tightly together and was determined to not let them separate for anything until it felt like they were a single entity: full, encompassing contact; equally racing pulses; hot, heavy breaths; and mutual sounds of pleasure.    
  
___________________________   
  
Birds sang over their heads in the canopy and bugs skimmed across the surface of the water. Buzz bathed lazily in a patch of sunlight on a rock, occasionally flexing his wings. The waterfall continued its soft roar and the swishing sound of the creek water moving past rocks floated through the clearing. The plants were still and heavy, not swaying since there was no wind. The air was muggy and humid, dampening their skin before it even had time to sweat, but Jemma thought it was a wonderful day to sketch. She was working on a basic, yet less crude drawing of the area so they could bring back at least something to prove they were the least bit productive.    
  
Jemma hummed a little song as she worked and leaned back into Skye's chest. She was sitting between Skye's legs, resting back against her with the blanket across their waists. She felt more at peace than she had in a long time and it was refreshing to just relax with Skye and draw the scene she was looking at, which happened to be quite marvelous when it wasn't spitting out creatures that tried to kill them.

It was an odd feeling, in Skye's opinion, to feel a sense of calm levity on this island, but not an unwelcome one. The blanket around their waists was a proud little item  in Skye’s opinion as well as she'd spent a good amount of time while he was stuck immobile in the shelter sewing some of the first class blankets together with the travel blanket to make them a sufficiently sized normal blanket that fit around them both with excess on either side. Not, of course, that it meant they didn't still fall asleep curled around each other. It was just a tiny piece of extra creature comfort to indulge in.    
  
Skye's hands moved, drawing but not the way Jemma was at the moment. She traced random patterns along Jemma's shoulders, arms, sides, her stomach. Light touches accented by random gentle kisses to the back and side of her neck, the spot behind her ear, her earlobe, jaw, shoulder, etc. Every so often, as she listened mostly to the sound of Jemma's humming above the ambient noise, she settled her chin against Jemma's shoulder after a kiss and took a gander at the drawing in progress. It was much more detailed and a vast improvement on Skye's terrible drawing.    
  
It was peaceful, relaxing and, dare she think it - it was perfect, really. Perfect, right up until she spotted a red splotch on the page below the bottom of Jemma's hand and reality came back to her. "Jem," Her fingers moved gingerly along Jemma's forearm toward her wrist to stall her drawing. "You're bleeding," she frowned and gently picked Jemma hand up at the wrist, pulling it back from the paper as she turned her hand over to get a look at Jemma’s palm, where she was most definitely bleeding through her bandages.

"Hm?" Jemma tilted her head back some to try to get a look at Skye's face. She had been focussed on the waterfall ahead of her and had missed whatever Skye told her, but she figured it out pretty quickly when Skye turned her palm up. With so much adrenaline in her system over the past few days, both bad and good, she hadn't had time to ever check on her cut or even inspect it fully. The thought hadn't even occurred to her that she should be drawing for extended periods of time.   
  
"I'm sure it's fine." Jemma shrugged, but she placed the notebook off to the side of them and leaned back into Skye a bit more so she could see as Jemma unwrapped her own hand. At first, her palm was so covered in blood smeared by the bandage that she couldn't see the cut at all, but after a few rounds of rinsing into the grass on the other side of them, the injury came into view. Her hand was shaking slightly and Jemma knew she saw at least one thin, white tendon exposed before the blood gushed back into the empty space from the left side of the cut. She hadn't even realized the damage, but she should have known to take a closer look after getting a blade pulled from a closed fist.    
  
"See? No problem." Jemma gave a small, not very convincing laugh with her lie. Honestly, she didn't know how she'd been drawing the whole day unless her pain tolerance was through the roof at this point.    


As soon as Skye saw the way Jemma's hand was shaking, the panic began to race through her. How had she missed how deep this injury was?? They had cleaned and bandaged it together the night after the jungle! Her jaw dropped open when she saw bits of the innards of Jemma's hand that most definitely should not have been exposed. "Jem..." she gasped her name out. A moment later, still definitely in panic mode, she snapped into fix-it mode. "Hold on, I'll grab the kit," she quickly kissed the side of Jemma head and leaned back and to the side of the bed far enough to grab the bag that had their first aid kit in it. It only had a bare minimum of necessities in it, but if there was a time that warranted using it, it was this instance.    
  
When she sat back up against Jemma, she set the bag next to them and fumbled through its contents before pulling the bag out with their first aid supplies. "Tell me how bad it really is," Skye said as she opened the bag to dig through its useful contents, not at all believing it was no big deal like Jemma was trying to pretend it was with that fake little laugh.   


"I'm not sure." Jemma shook her head. The doctor of her wanted to inspect it and make sure she got a thorough treatment, but the human part of her was afraid to even look at it. She had probably been in denial about it since it happened.    
  
"From anyone's eyes it looks bad. But I've been using it just fine." Jemma's brows were furrowed as she thought. The inside of her hand was exposed, but somehow she had been using it like nothing had happened. The only explanation she could come up with was her shock that night putting her into a state of denial, and then the panic when Skye had her seizure only solidified it. She just hadn't had time, but now they did and if Jemma was being honest, it was starting to hurt.    
  
So she could give Skye an answer, Jemma did a little test with her dexterity. She rotated her thumb with minimal to no issue. She curled her pointer finger and then her middle finger, cringing from the sting of stretching it, but her ring finger was a different story. A pain shot all the way up her forearm and her finger didn't even make it halfway before it just stopped and no amount of willpower could get it to close. A tendon was severed and Jemma knew surgery wasn't an option here. The only thing they could do was keep it from getting infected. She hadn't wanted to trap anything inside, but if it wasn't infected now, she needed to reconsider.    
  
"It's going to keep reopening if I don't do anything." Jemma sighed. She already knew what she needed to do. "I need the alcohol. And a fire."

Skye’s attention shifted back and forth between every action Jemma took trying to move her hand and watching Jemma’s face as she made various movements with her hand. She grimaced and held her hand below Jemma’s arm, not sure if she should touch her arm or hand while she was trying to move it. She frowned when Jemma said it would just keep opening. That was probably true in light of how deep it was in her palm. 

Skye’s head snapped up at the mention of the fire. She stared at Jemma a moment, gaping a little bit. “I...but...we can sew it. I have stuff we can use to - if you’re going to burn it, we might as well sew it, right? That would make it heal better wouldn’t it?” Skye knew how much burning it hurt. She knew the stitches hurt too but she knew how much burning wounds hurt and this was no small compy-tooth sized burn that would need to be made. 

"Skye," Jemma shook her head. She twisted so she could pace her good hand on Skye's cheek. She tilted her head at the proper angle for a quick, soft kiss. She was grateful Skye was so concerned for her and wanted to go with the least painful option, but Jemma had made up her mind. "It's on my palm. What we have is no suture thread and I have to use my hands, the stitches will break." Jemma explained. She didn't like it any more than Skye but it would be the most logical option. "Burning it will cauterize the blood vessels that are cut and even help with sterilization. It's the best option." She concluded. "I need a fire." She said it softly, waiting to see if Skye was going to give in and help her.

Skye was still frowning, even after the kiss and assurances from Jemma that this was the best option. Of course she would do it. She would do anything for Jemma, something she thought was (hopefully) pretty obvious by this point. She didn’t  _ want _ to do it. She didn’t like the idea at all. She wanted to argue the necessity of it being fire some more but she knew she couldn’t. So, with great reluctance, Skye nodded. “Okay,” She murmured quietly, giving in. She couldn’t stop frowning, though, as she kissed Jemma’s temple and shoulder and then moved to pull away from her, careful not to jostle her. She grabbed a small piece of shirt from the pile of extra clothes that had been cut to make rags and bandages and handed it to Jemma to press on her hand and put the alcohol bottle next to her leg too. 

Moving from the blankets and the bed cushion, Skye pulled on her sports bra and zipped it up the middle. She tugged on her underwear, a plain, black cotton pair of boy shorts and then was up on her feet. She grabbed the machete and gathered some dead branches and dead vines hanging from the trees. She grabbed what she could of dry brush and leaves and carried bit by bit back to a spot nearby the bed cushion but far enough away that it wouldn’t chance catching at all. It was a small fire, lit with the use of the flint strike from Skye’s paracord compass bracelet,, but it was big enough to have a decent set of flames. She frowned as she looked over at Jemma. “What do you want me to heat for it?” She asked.  

Jemma was in the middle of trying to hook her own bra in the back (and probably getting blood on it when she made the mistake of trying to use two hands) when Skye spoke to her. She sighed and gave up on the bra, choosing instead to wrangle herself into a tshirt and underwear with her good hand. She'd already bled through the rag Skye gave her by the time she made it over to the fire. She hated to think about it, but she would need to cauterize the specific blood vessel before the whole wound. Jemma thought about a couple different tools to complete the job, but there was really only one that would work in one attempt.    
  
"Here, we'll have to use this." Jemma had dug into her pile of clothes and handed Skye her sheathed knife, the larger one Skye had made her pick out for the trip. It definitely wasn't going to be a picnic. She cringed just thinking about it.

Skye was trying to prepare herself for what was about to happen. She hadn’t even realized Jemma had been struggling with her clothes to think to go and help her because she was so focused on talking herself into the fact that this needed to happen with the cauterizing. She took the knife, chewing anxiously on her bottom lip and pulled it from it sheath. Setting the sheath aside, she held the knife by the handle and put it to the flames of the fire. Every fifteen seconds or so, she turned it over to try and heat it up as evenly as possible. She reached out with her free hand, touched Jemma’s cheek, tucked some hair out of her face and ran her fingers through her hair. “...You’re sure this is the best way?” She asked, wanting so badly for Jemma to change her mind so neither of them had to go through it. She planned on asking Jemma exactly how it had to be done so she could try and do it without Jemma actually looking, whatever she could to distract her from the actual moment it would happen in the hopes it would somehow reduce the pain of it. 

"I'm sure." Jemma nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat. She sat down beside Skye and held her hand palm up in her lap and started to get a better idea about how extensive the damage was. She tested her pinky finger and tears gathered in the corners of her eyes as she got the same painful results as her ring finger. When she went to close her hand in a fist, she could curl them a little further, but when her thumb, pointer, and middle fingers were closed tightly, her outer digits were limply curled. She tried to open her hand wide and couldn't get the two affected fingers past resting position. They were weak and the control she had over them was minimal. She doubted it would get better.    
  
"I'd say thirty percent mobility, fifty at best when it heals." Jemma tried to stay impersonal, but she couldn't help but wonder what this meant for her. She could only use three fingers on her right hand with any semblance of strength. "In any other situation I could have corrective surgery, but here-" Jemma choked on the end of her sentence.

Skye was careful to watch Jemma’s face. She glanced at Jemma’s hand when she tried to curl it into a fist and grimaced in sympathy of the pain. She was quick, however, to cut right in when the emotion go to Jemma. She carefully settled the knife to continue heating in the fire. “Shh, shh, shh, hey, don’t-,” Skye cleared her own throat as she stroked a hand over Jemma’s hair and pulled her into her side and the crook of her shoulder, guiding her by the back of her head. She ran her hand along Jemma’s arm. “They’ll take care of it when we get back home,” She assured, holding onto Jemma long enough to know she was going to stay tucked against Skye’s side. Skye didn’t want her far away for this and even sitting inches apart felt too far. She carefully reached for Jemma’s hand with hers and gingerly unfurled her fingers to straighten her hand out. She let go but only to get one of their bottles of water and the closest cloth rag piece she could find that was clean. 

Skye turned her head and kissed Jemma’s forehead, rocked just slightly with her, moved so she could hold Jemma’s hand with both of hers but rest her head against the top of Jemma’s to try and keep her in place against her shoulder and side. She used the water to rinse Jemma’s hand and then put some of the alcohol on the rag. “I’m sorry,” She apologized before she held the bottom of Jemma’s hand to brace it and firmly pressed the rag down until the cut with her other hand to sandwich Jemma’s hand between them, trying her best to make sure the alcohol seeped from the cloth into the cut. She kissed Jemma’s forehead a few more times and apologized after each one. After she’d counted to twenty - as long as she could stand herself, she pulled the cloth back and wiped when she could clear of Jemma’s hand, holding it as still as she could. “Tell me what parts need to be sealed the most,” She said after a very quick sniffle. “This one right here,” She pointed to the spot she thought the most blood was rushing from whenever the pressure was released from Jemma’s hand. She needed to know if there was anywhere else important before she would put the knife down over the whole wound. Skye tried to stay as calm as possible, forced herself not to sniffle or freak out, forced her voice as steady as she could make it all in an effort to keep Jemma as calm as possible. 

"I think that's the only blood vessel affected." Jemma mumbled. She curled into Skye's side and swallowed back her sadness and fear. She didn't let herself cry, at least not yet. The alcohol stung and so did the wound, but not being able to move a few fingers was nothing compared to some of the other wounds the both of them had received, physical and mental. She would just have to bear it and listen to Skye say it was okay until she believed it.    
  
"It's ready. I'm ready." Jemma nodded her head and stared at the red-hot blade in the fire. It wouldn't be long before it was on her skin, but Jemma also hoped the process was fast. "Hit the blood vessel and then go straight across my palm." Jemma used her other hand to show Skye the movement she meant, dread and fear very evident in her eyes, voice, and shaking hands.

Skye nodded to let Jemma know that she understood. She grabbed the knife from the fire. “Just...put your face in my shoulder, close your eyes and...do whatever you have to,” She kept pressed to Jemma but wrapped her right arm across both of Jemma’s and then pressed her forearm along the bottom of Jemma’s. She held her hand around the knuckle area, pushing her fingers together so she couldn’t be able to curl them when the pain hit and burn the uninjured parts of her hands. She blew out a lingering flame from the tip of the knife. “Jemma, I want you to know that you’re amazing and I love you and I promise, when we get back home, this will be one of the first things we have them fix, you’re gonna be alright,” She did her best to obscure Jemma’s possible vision of her hand while also immobilizing what she could of her fingers and wrist, pinning their arms to her side. “I love you, I’m sorry. We’ll go on three,” She counted to one and then pressed the knife first to the blood vessel and then laid it straight across Jemma’s palm over the wound, mimicking Jemma’s mimed motion. 

Jemma shrieked into Skye's shoulder. She had known Skye wasn't actually going to do it on three, but it still caught her by surprise and the pain of it hit her like a freight train. She'd never experienced anything like this in her life and Jemma froze, she tried not to move, but her muscles contracted slightly anyway, her hand gripping at Skye's holding her still. She yelled again when Skye had to press the blade across her whole palm, but this time it was accompanied by a sob. Her screams were muffled and sounded more like agonized groans against Skye's neck.

Skye’s muscles were rigid and extremely focused. She didn’t let Jemma’s arm jerk away or move in a way that would further injure her. The wound sizzled and even popped as the hot knife seared the blood vessel and the wound closed. There was actual smoke rising from the red hot knife scorching the much, much cooler flesh. The only things remotely worse than the sounds of the searing and burning, the sounds from Jemma’s reaction to the pain, was the putrid, rotten stench of burning fat and flesh - a mixture of a metallic hot copper, fat and muscle burning like the scent of a steak on a grill. Skye’s grip never slackened even as the tears hit her cheeks when she blinked them away to clear her vision to work, or when her stomach churned and rolled as the scent of burning flesh filled her nostrils. 

Jemma's face was wet with streaking tears that wound up on Skye's shoulder by the time Skye finally pulled the knife away from her skin. The moment she didn't have to worry about messing up the process, Jemma's entire body shook with a sob and she nuzzled into Skye's neck and closed her good fingers tightly around Skye's. She wasn't cut out to deal with this kind of pain. She felt her hand and skin scorching and welding the wound shut and it continued to sizzle and burn for minutes even after the blade was gone. "Bloody hell," she sobbed into Skye's shoulder. It was both a phrase of profanity and a literal name-calling of the island.

Skye worked as quickly as she could. When she pulled the knife away, she gave Jemma her free hand to hold onto. She held Jemma’s burnt hand from the bottom, to keep it open still. Bringing the hand Jemma was clinging to up, Skye kissed the back of her hand and then let go, only so she could wrap her arm around Jemma. She cradled the back of her head and kissed her forehead and the side of her head. “C’mon,” she sniffled and moved to stand, firmly wrapping her arm around Jemma’s back and side to support as much of her weight as possible. “C’mon, come with me to the water,” She murmured, hazarding a single sniffle as she kept trying to control her own emotion. The pond was the coldest water they had and Skye wanted to get Jemma’s hand into it to try and give her some kind of relief from the pain, anything at all that would make it less awful than what just happened. Skye was never going to get the sight, sound and smell of that moment out of her brain, much like many terrible things she’d experienced on this island. ‘Bloody hell,’ was right. 

Jemma exhaled shaky, shallow breaths but allowed Skye to lead her over to the water's edge. She didn't need to be told twice and sank back down to her knees. She made the mistake of quickly plunging her hand into the water and made another yelp. She held her own wrist to force the limb to stay underwater against its will. Her jaw clenched so tightly her teeth ground together and she took loud, labored breaths between them. She leaned into Skye for support and tried to stop the second wave of oncoming tears. The burn was over, but even putting her hand in the water brought all the pain back. She didn't have the courage to look at it yet or she was sure she would burst into tears again.

Skye flinched when Jemma yelped. She reached out with one hand to sink it under the water and wrapped her hand partly around Jemma’s good hand and partly around her wrist to help her hold it under water. “I’m sorry,” She murmured it every so often, unable to stop herself. She stroked her hand over Jemma’s hair and down between her shoulders, along her back, trying to soothe her in any way she could. She turned her head and kissed the side and top of Jemma’s head repeatedly. Her apologies were interspersed with repeated, “I love you,”s. She swayed slightly with Jemma, trying to think of some way to distract them both. She knew they had to wrap Jemma’s hand but Skye was afraid to get another look at the aftermath of the cauterizing. She had trouble controlling her own stray tears but she did her best. 

"Thank you." Jemma finally uttered. She changed positions from kneeling and fell to the side toward Skye, sitting and leaning against her with her legs tucked underneath herself. "Someone had to do it, so thank you." Her voice was getting clearer and when Jemma saw the tears on Skye's face she wanted to make sure she was okay too. It had been hard for her to give Skye stitches, so she couldn't imagine how difficult it was to do this.    
  
When Jemma finally couldn't bear the water any longer, she let go and waited until Skye let go and then slowly lifted her hand from the water and turned it over so she could assess how well it had worked. It was no longer bleeding and there was no longer a cut, but her skin had melted and come together, leaving behind a flat plane of dark red, irritated skin, blisters, and even a few blackened places. The important thing was that now it could start to heal. That was what she told herself anyway, but she was still silently crying as they made their way back to their bed.

Skye really, genuinely hated that Jemma was thanking her for doing it, for hurting her. Yeah, she understood it was necessary. Yeah, she knew it was necessary to make the wound stop bleeding at random. Thar didn't mean Skye had to enjoy it at all. The wound was a few days old. Thinking about Jemma having this open wound festering for a number of days and neither of them had - no, Skye hadn't - noticed that they hadn't taken proper care of it made Slye even angrier at herself, regardless of what they had been going through with the venom issues. "I love you," Skye told her quietly.    
  
When Jemma pulled her hand free from the water, Skye couldn't make herself look at Jemma's palm. She helped Jemma up again and they walked back to the bed. Skye was forced to look at Jemma's palm then. She carefully cleaned the wound again and then dug out some pieces of aloe plant and covered every bit of the wound - every blister, every blackened char, every marled, seared inch of the wound. It was the only other thing Skye could think of to help with the pain since the burn cream was back in the other first aid kit so they wouldn't have access until the morning. After laying a thick layer of aloe on the wound, Skye opened up a single thick gauze pad from the medical kit. She folded it in half into a rectangular shape and pressed it gently into the wound. she used medical tape to secure the bandage and then she pulled an extra shirt, a tank top, from her bag.    
  
Skye used her own hunting knife to cut the shirt, taking off the shoulders and then making one long bandage out of the body piece. She started in Jemma's palm, taping the end of it there and then carefully wrapping it around Jemma's hand, leaving her fingers and thumb free to move. She wrapped Jemma’s hand all the way to and around her wrist she put a slit down the middle of the last bit of the bandage and used the two strands to tie around the last ring of bandaging to keep it firmly in place. She let go of Jemma’s injured hand when she was done and reached out to touch her face. She couldn't make herself say anything else right then, too upset at what they'd had to do and filled with concern over Jemma that she knew Jemma would try and talk her out of worrying.

"I love you too." Jemma promised. Her injured hand was limp in her lap, but she wiped away the last of her own tears with her left and then rested it on top of Skye's. She could see that this had hurt her just as much, but in a different way. She also knew that there was nothing she could say that would make Skye feel less guilty about it, so instead she tried to show her how much she appreciated it with a soft, slow kiss.    
  
When they parted Jemma pressed their foreheads together and they just stayed there, neither of them moving a muscle, for several minutes until Jemma finally felt the scorching pain start to subside. She bumped their noses together affectionately and leaned back, looking around and taking stock of their environment.   
  
"We should set up for night, it won't be long now." Jemma said. A task was what they needed, and it wasn't like it wasn't something they needed to do anyway. She thought that maybe it would help Skye get her mind in other places.

Skye lingered there, with their foreheads pressed and tried her best to shift her emotions and put her game face back in play. Jemma was the one in pain from what they just did, real, genuine, horrific pain. Skye mentally chided herself for having the reaction she had when she wasn't the one in that physical pain. She nodded. "Yeah," she cleared her throat and was determined as she stood to try and make sure she did most of the work. She moved to stand and garbed at the pile of clothes and then stopped and looked at Jemma. "Do you want to change into other clothes?" she asked, figuring, now that she was thinking about it instead of thinking about having to burn Jemma's hand, that she might need help.

Jemma thought about it for a moment, but shook her head. The tshirt and underwear she was wearing would be fine when no one else was around except Skye. It wouldn't be worth trying to wrangle herself into a pair of pants, jeans or pajamas. It wouldn't be as cold at night as it was on the beach and they had blankets and a fire, so she was fine as is.    
  
"We should stay in the caves by the waterfall, see how it is to stay there at night if that's where everyone will live." Jemma suggested. She kept her injured hand against her chest and only used her left to gather up her clothes and her notebook and pen to shove them sloppily into her bag to move them.

Skye nodded. she stuffed her own clothes into her backpack. She grabbed a bottle of water and doused the small fire and the still warm knife. She sheathed the knife once it was cool enough and brought it back to add into the pack with the first aid kit. She tucked everything she could into the backpack and then zipped it up then helped Jemma pack the rest in her bag and zipped that shut. She nodded. "We should, but we should stay in the one that's farthest away from the waterfall out of them," she said ad she helped Jemma get the backpack over her good shoulder. "Just so it doesn't drown out any of the other noises," she explained her reasoning. She slipped on here's sender bag and the backpack and then helped Jemma up by her good arm. She knelt down and folded the bed cushions in half then rolled it up, to keep from it getting any dirt or grass on the main part, then tucked it under her arm and reached for Jemma’s good hand with her own She could come back for her machete and a couple odds and ends when she came back to start gathering palms and other leaves to lay on the stone below their cushions for an extra layer between them and the stone of the cave, added comfort    
  
Even if it didn't get as cold as the beach, some air would filter down from the wind and near the waterfall it would be cooler as well. Once they had a space, Skye set her bags down and set the rolled up bed down. "Do you want to refill our bottles while I gather padding for under the bed and wood for a fire?" she asked. "If there are enough small river rocks at the pond, we can make a ring for the fire too," those were tasks that Jemma could do with one hand while Skye was cutting things down. Once they were settled they could dig into their dinner bag, try to distract themselves from everything by filling their bellies.

"I can do that." Jemma confirmed. She dug the few water bottles they had out of their bag and tucked them under her right arm. She lingered for a few moments, but eventually they parted at the mouth of the cave when Skye went to get the machete and Jemma headed toward the pond. Buzz came zooming by and Jemma laughed. She'd completely forgotten he'd been with them and was quite impressed he was still coming back now that he had been set free. He fished for minnows and small fish to eat while Jemma dipped their water bottles below the surface of the water, just hoping neither of them swallowed a minnow later.    
  
She found several larger, round rocks at the edge and just inside the pond. She cradled them in her left arm while carrying the water bottles back under her right. She dropped her load near the mouth of the cave and glanced over her shoulder to make sure Skye was alright and once her concerns were alleviated, she started arranging the stones in a circle and then went back out to pick up any dead wood she could find for kindling.

Skye wanted to scold Jemma from across the clearing for doing more than the water and the stones, but she knew it was just the protective side of her trying to override everything, to make sure Jemma didn't hurt herself further. She also remembered how useless she had felt when Jemma barely let her sit up by herself because of the situation with the venom. Admittedly, that was probably more valid than Skye wanting Jemma not to do anything because of her hand. Maybe. The tug of war was strong in Skye. she worked quickly, pulling only what she could find of dead wood, vines and leaves for the fire and carting it back to the cave. She lit the fire first and then hung back by the cave to steal a few kisses from Jemma and then she went climbing in the trees to cut down a large gathering of leaves that were...probably the largest leaves she'd ever seen, easily four foot by three foot each.    
  
Skye had chopped down about eighteen of them. When she made it back to the cave she stayed just outside of it, by the fire, using a wet cut cloth rag to wipe down the gigantic leaves to make sure there was no sap, bird poop or bug related nasties on the leaves before they would be laid under the bedding. she held one up in front of her while on her knees, arms outstretched as it blocked the whole front of her and turned toward Jemma. "So when we've used up all our clothed for bandages, how do you suspect these will hold up for clothes?" Since she'd already been in the trees with them and had been handling them for about a half an hour, she figured if they were like poison ivy or oak she would know already, right?

A loud, hearty laugh echoed in the cave and Jemma stood up and stood on the opposite side of the gigantic leaf from Skye. It was a funny idea, and Jemma chose to only take it as a joke, because actually considering it would mean they had been on the bloody island for way too long.    
  
"To getting out of here before that happens." Jemma walked around the leaf and held up a water bottle like she was about to do cheers. She took a sip and then handed it to Skye, who probably needed a drink after all the manual labor.

Skye couldn't help but grin a bit in relief when she heard that loud peel of laughter. She hoped they'd find a way home before something like that happened but at least they'd have a leafy fallback! She let the leaf fall in the pile, the last of them so they were all clean now. She took the bottle gratefully. "I'll drink to that," she took a few large gulps from the water - thankfully without swallowing any minnows - and sighed. She looked at the bottle and then over at Jemma. She'd pay good money for a shot of tequila instead of water, though she wasn't knocking the fact that they had clean water at all that was drinkable and hadn't left them with dysentery or...whatever.    
  
"After I lay this out do you want to snack on our packed dinner and see if we can catch some fish" she arched her eyebrows. She mostly meant that she would try to catch them, on account of Jemma's hand. "Trip made me a couple of handlines. We could dig for worms or use some minnows for bait," it gave them something relatively relaxing to do while eating before they laid down again. Skye had a few ideas of ways she could distract Jemma from the pain in her hand before they went to sleep.

Just as Skye said it, Jemma's stomach grumbled and a shy smile graced her features. Their little lunch on arrival had not been enough calories for all the energy they'd put out today and the idea of food was all but unwelcome. "I think my stomach says yes to that." Jemma grinned and grabbed another water bottle for herself.

Once they settled at the water's edge, Jemma took up the job of snatching minnows from the bank (or at least trying to). She mussed with her left hand, but Buzz caught on and started snatching them out of the water and bringing them to her like a cat would with dead mice. She pat his head and ran a finger down his back before he went off for more.   
  
"I skipped three grades." Jemma blurted out. Now that things were calm again, she felt the urge to talk, but only about themselves and not about their current predicament. She chuckled at the memory. She had been very small and young and at that point in her life, and going to school with the older kids had been the scariest thing that could possibly happen.

Of all the crazy-sized anythings on this island, Skye felt like she was becoming a bit attached to Buzz, despite the fact that he was a bug. She wasn't surprised that he chose to stick around the area,  with all the food options and water for him, but she was surprised that he kept racing back to either of them (predominantly Jemma, but Skye couldn't blame the dude there). She was entirely impressed that Buzz was smart enough to figure out what Jemma was trying to do with the minnows. Buzz was downright adorable, really.    
  
Skye was just casting out one of the hand lines after attaching a couple of minnows to it when Jemma blurted out the tidbit of info. She blinked and glanced over, her face a mixture of amusement at the sudden information and amazement at Jemma’s brain power. She let out a low whistle. "Geez, stop being so amazing," she said with a crooked grin to let Jemma know she was kidding. She leaned over and kissed Jemma's shoulder. "I never finished high school," she confessed when she sat back up. "Eventually, I got my GED," She added. "Many, many moons after the normal graduation age."  _ When the agency made me do it _ , she thought to herself. She looked back over at Jemma. "What was it like, being smarter than the older kids?" She couldn't imagine it was easy, but she also was imagining tenacious little Jemma, putting people in their place when they messed with her and she couldn't help smiling at the mental image it produced. she made a silent vow to ensure she found a way to look at photo albums of Jemma as a kid, no matter who she had to bribe to see them.

"It was interesting." Jemma concluded. Her education as a younger child had been very complicated and a lot of the kids were either jealous of her or teased her, but she managed to get through with perfect grades and even had a few friends. "I made friends with the toughest kid on the playground, so to speak, so nobody messed with me." Jemma smiled. She often wondered how her old friend was doing, but it felt like too much time had passed to say hello again.   
  
Jemma wanted to ask why Skye had dropped out of school, but she had a few guesses and wanted to keep the conversation light, so she held her tongue. "Did you play any sports?" Jemma asked.

Skye was entirely grateful that Jemma didn't go in for the kill to ask her why. It meant she didn't have to tell Jemma right now about the group home she'd been abused in, or the abuser she'd attacked to protect one of the younger girls in that hell hole, which then booted her to juvenile detention and the down spiral that led from there. They were things she would eventually tell Jemma, when there weren't constant terrible things happening to them on this island. When they were home and all the cards needed to be laid bare. For now, Skye’s eyes scrunched as she tipped her head back slightly and laughed. "Genius," she grinned, stole a kiss and leaned back to rest her weight on the heel of her hand to lean their sides together.    
  
She shook her head to answer Jemma's question. "Not really, just once...sort of, I guess. When I was with the Brodys, they wanted me to pick a sport to try. I think they wanted to try and socialize me," she shrugged nonchalantly. "I picked softball, and complained the whole time that they wouldn't let us play with a normal sized baseball," she smirked. "I was small for our age group, but I hit like I was trying to strip the cover off the ball and I was fast. I stole a lot of bases...and took any and every excuse I could to slide." Her cheeks flushed a few shades of pink as she looked toward the water to watch the plastic homemade bob Trip had put on the line, smiling a little at the memories. "It was just the one season."

"Softball." Jemma barked out a laugh and wondered if Skye knew the reputation softball had when it came to sexuality. "I'm surprised you weren't a girlscout with all your abilities here." Jemma chuckled. Maybe she was right and Skye had previously learned wildlife survival.

Skye smiled when Jemma laughed, as she did almost every time she heard the sound (when it was genuine of course). Her cheeks flushed a bit more at talk of her wilderness survival skills. She cleared her throat as the mental tug of war waged within her, and not for the first time, wanting to tell Jemma everything about her fight and survival skills, about the gun, about...just, everything but she knew she shouldn’t. Or, perhaps, she just kept telling herself that she  _ shouldn’t _ or  _ couldn’t _ tell Jemma the truth because she’d been programmed so long that she wasn’t allowed to tell anyone the truth. “It’s funny that you mention that,” she said, carefully. “There’re actually a couple of reasons-,” before Skye could keep going, the handline that was resting loosely in the hand she wasn’t leaning her weight on jerked hard. Skye had to jolt up quickly so she could grip the rope with both of her hands instead of one. It was a hard battle. Skye’s words were forgotten as she braced her feet on some of the rocks and worked on pulling the handline rope in without losing whatever they’d caught. 

When there was only a couple feet of rope left, Skye wound the rope around her right hand and forearm hand tightly so it wouldn’t slip and then continued pulling as the fish struggled. She reached into the water once the fish was near the surface and after a bit of fighting, and a good deal of surprised laughter, she managed to get her left hand in and under the fish’s gill. She pulled it out of the water, with a good deal of splashing while Buzz hovered around them. Climbing form her knees to her feet, Skye pulled the fish away from the pond - it was somewhere around 26 or 27 inches long and felt like it was at the very least five pounds. She set it in the grass once she was far enough away from the water and stood on the rope to minimize the fish’s flopping around while she unwound the rope from her hand. 

Skye couldn’t help but beam a bright grin over at Jemma. “Looks like we’re due for a catfish fry tonight!” She practically cheered. Look, she’d packed them decent portions of food but the fact was, they were running on minimal intake since they’d crash landed on this island. Of course both of them had willingly shared their food windfalls with as many of the others as possible. Right now, however, there were only Skye, Jemma and Buzz and they couldn’t very well kill this catfish without eating their fill of the meat without being wasteful, right? And that would be a pity. So if this fish was six or so pounds, it was probably at least a couple of pounds of edible meat for each of them, plus extra food for Buzz, for his part in procuring minnows for them. Skye was overjoyed at the fact that this minor victory was something she could do to take away one of the many painful aspects of life here; hunger. She couldn’t keep the giant smile off of her face even if she’d tried right then. 

"Trip would be so proud." Jemma giggled and looked Skye and the fish up and down. She couldn't say she wasn't quite proud too, since her girlfriend- that's what they were, weren't they?- had just caught them a good amount of meat. Fruit was still food, but the only time they had really filled their stomachs was when they killed the terror bird. She had almost forgotten what a full belly felt like and was quite eager to rediscover.    
  
"The only question-" Jemma started out, raising her brows when the thought occurred to her. "-is do you know how to gut it?"

Skye’s bright grin faded only slightly. “I do!” She pumped a victorious fist in the air and then faltered. “And by that I mean...I watched Trip do it once?” She added. “I think we can...It’s pretty straightforward right?” She crouched down and rolled the still flopping fished onto its back to expose its wide belly. She couldn’t help it, she licked her lips as she thought about the fact that they were definitely going to have a fish fry. “The guts are in the middle and the meat filets are on the sides outside the ribs, right?” She pointed along the flat of the belly of the fish and then glanced at Jemma. Jemma might not know  _ everything _ but she knew the anatomy for things...right? Maybe. Did that fall into her science field? She could do it. She’d let Trip give her an entire lesson. Skye could manage it. It was a big fish. They could get the meat and take out the bones and all that. Yeah they could totally do it. Hopefully. 

Jemma laughed again as Skye looked to her like an all knowing science goddess. She shook her head and shrugged. "I studied human anatomy, I don't know what the inside of a fish looks like!" She laughed. That was a bit of a lie, she could figure it out if she looked, but it was much more fun to watch Skye try to do it.

Skye narrowed her eyes at Jemma, unsure if she was messing with her or not, but still smiling regardless. She nodded toward her sheathed hunting knife near their other gear. “Grab my knife for me?” She asked as she eyed up the fish, glad it had stopped gaping its mouth opening and close and  was no longer wriggling around. Skye stepped over to the edge of the pond and reached into the water, she came up with a couple of smooth river rocks and sorted through them for one with a good flat edge. When she returned to used the stone to sharpen the hunting knife. Then she went to work. With her tongue poking just slightly out the right corner of her mouth (for concentration purposes!) she eyed up the catfish and manned a plan of action. Trip had done this to three fish when she’d watched and he’d done it a couple of ways, so Skye picked one that seemed least messy. 

She traced lines from the back of the fish’s head on either side of the spine fin all the way back to the tail. She cut lines down the width of each side of the fish from top to bottom behind its head. Then she slowly, with a light pull of the sharp knife, cut down one side along the outside of the fish’s ribs until she hit the bottom of it. She wedged the knife down to poke through the bottom and then cut downward all the way to the tail. She came out with a filet of one whole side of the fish, which she laid skin side down on the grass since they weren’t going to eat the skin. She ran her fingers along it to pick out any bones she could find and then cut the filet off the other side. They weren’t perfectly pretty filets since this wasn’t an everyday skill of Skye’s, but they were goddamn beautiful if she said so herself. They were, at best guess, almost three pounds of meat each. Skye didn’t bother cutting the skin off since it cooking it with it on would help keep the meat together and she didn’t trim the inner fat off of the fish because 1) they needed that in their current food state and 2) it would make the fish tastier as it melted with the fire. She hoped so anyway. Thankfully she had some lemon and lime in their packed food that she could cut up to squeeze on the fish before cooking so they could give it a tiny bit of flavor too. 

Skye used one of the water bottles to wash the fish off and cleaned off her knife and hands too. She cut up some lemon and lime and squeezed it out on the filets and then she found some branches to prop up over the fire to hang the fish on so they could cook over the flames but not necessarily directly in the flames. They cleaned up the mess and let Buzz go to town on chunks of the leftovers that Skye didn’t bury in the dirt. While they waited for the fish to cook they cleaned up their equipment and refilled the water bottles they’d been drinking from. Skye watched the fish and sharpened the rest of their knives on the stone while Jemma divvied out the fruit and jerky from their dinner pack. Skye cut some of one of the leaves from under the bed cover and cut it in half to give them makeshift plates. It was...a feast, plain and simple. It was delicious and despite how hungry she was on a daily basis anymore, she  _ almost _ couldn’t finish her fish...but she forced herself to keep going because she didn’t want to waste it and...man it was just delicious. When they were done, they laid in the grass by the fire for at least a half hour, both too full to move and not wanting to get crumbs and fish bits on the bed roll. 

“...This is the best campout I’ve ever had…” Skye said it almost as a groan, a hand patting and rubbing her belly to try and ease the stuffed feeling. Was her stomach protruding out a bit? It might had been. “I hope we can climb our way to the river feeding this thing...we can help Trip fish for the whole camp…” She knew overfishing the pond would be bad but they could get to the river feeding the waterfall and fish that for a bit, fill everyone’s bellies once they were here. It was a simple but nice dream. 

"I missed everything you just said." Jemma admitted. She had her left hand behind her head and her right resting at her side. She had started daydreaming while gazing up at the canopy and hadn't realized Skye was talking to her until she had already finished. She found herself actually enjoying all the island had to offer, as crazy as that was. It had its advantages.    
  
"I'm too stuffed to function." Jemma smiled lazily at Skye, squinting because she was tired and trying to keep her eyes open and because a beam of light snuck through the trees and was striking her in the face. She could almost forget about her throbbing, stinging hand for a moment as she just looked at Skye's face.

Skye turned her head to look over at Jemma but moved no other part of herself at right then. She chuckled and then groaned, which made her chuckle again, and then groan again. “Stop being funny...it hurts.” She whined but grinned. She lifted her right hand from her stomach since it was the closest side toward Jemma and reached over to run her fingers along Jemma’s forearm and then through her hair. “You can go ahead and keep being gorgeous, though. I’ll allow it,” She grinned a little more at her own quip and leaned over just enough to kiss the closest part of Jemma to her at the moment, which happened to be the end of her elbow. 

"You're silly." Jemma giggled and then felt the same sore feeling in her gut Skye had been complaining about. It was better than looking at each other and seeing their gradual weight loss. They could stand to overeat. After Skye kissed her arm, Jemma lifted it and set it back down so her fingers could comb through Skye's hair and lightly trace across her facial muscles. She could honestly say this was one of the happiest moments of her life. Their situation was terrible, sure, but it made her time with Skye even more important to her and every moment was a blessing, so to have such a nice meal and time to relax was incomprehensibly nice.

Skye smiled and leaned into the touch a moment before she turned her head to kiss Jemma’s hand. She tucked some of Jemma’s hair behind her ear, traced her earlobe and then the curve of her jaw, all without saying anything. Despite feeling stuffed, she felt comfortably relaxed. They might have injuries. They might be stuck on this island for the time being. They might have to fight more animals or shitty humans in the coming days. They might lose more weight from their food situation. Whatever happened, right now they were just here, together and that was the most important thing. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Skye kissed Jemma’s hand and with a grunt of exertion, moved to push herself to sit up with the heels of her hands planted on either side of her. “Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be back in a sec,” She leaned over and stole a proper kiss from Jemma and then forced herself to her feet to walk to the head of the bedroll, where she knelt down and started rummaging through her messenger bag’s inner compartments, looking for a very specific item.

"What are you doing?" Jemma's initial reaction to Skye telling her to stay put and then getting up was fear that she was going to leave to go somewhere without her. It was alleviated, however, when she went into the cave instead of away from it and her fear was replaced with curiosity. She watched Skye's hands carefully as she dug through her things and even pushed herself up with her good arm to lean on her elbow. 

“You’ll see!” Skye turned so her back would block what she was doing as she found her phone. This one was her personal phone, not the phone she had given to Fitz with other electronics to tinker with. She kept it charged regularly with the solar chargers, just in case they did get off the island, just in case she could possibly get it connected to satellite or a radio connection from a nearby boat if they were out at sea. Because she had ways to charge it, she didn’t feel bad about what she was about to do. She covered the excess light with her hand as she brought up the phone’s music player, went right to a specific playlist and cued up a song, hitting play then pause without turning the volume up. Once the song was cued, she turned the volume up without hitting play. 

As she stood, she wheeled around and hid the phone behind her back in her left hand. She made her way back out of the cave and stood next to Jemma. A broad grin was stretched all the way across her face, lopsided and mischievous. She leaned over slightly and held her right hand out. “Dance with me?” She asked, still not hitting the play button on the phone behind her back. It was perfect timing. There was still a bit of light coming through the canopy even though the sun was on its way down. The fire was already there to light up the darkness as it fell upon them. They had full bellies. They were relaxed. It was the perfect time for one small, little three or so minute interlude of an  _ almost _ normal camping date. So Skye just smiled and held her hand out expectantly to help Jemma up for a dance even though there was no music yet but the sounds of the jungle around them. 

"A dance." Jemma restated with that scientific twinkle of curiosity in her eyes. She didn't know what Skye was up to, but she was willing to indulge and pull herself out of her food coma to find out. "I would love to." She laughed and reached up with her left hand so Skye could help pull her up. Once she was on her feet, she kept her hold on Skye's hand and leaned in close.

Skye grinned (a somewhat punchdrunk/overly moony expression on her face), her muscles flexed taut as she pulled Jemma up easily by just the one hand. She pressed the play button and stooped down quickly to lay the phone speaker-side up in the grass next to them. As the slow, light, melodic tones of Colbie Caillat's  _ Magic _ filled the air around them, Skye drew Jemma closer, first by her left hand and then s she wrapped her arm around Jemma until her hand was against the small of her back. She pull Jemma even closer, until they we flush up against each other with just a slight shift between them to keep their feet and legs interlocked so they weren't stepping over each other's toes. Skye couldn't wipe the fond smile off of her face as she set them swaying, shifting and moving in a relaxed slow circle as her thumb stroked light paternity over Jemma's back. She pulled Jemma's left hand up so she could kiss the back of it and a few of her knuckles and then  brought their loosely clasped hands down to rest against her chest over her heart (which was currently doing that wild skittering thing around her ribcage that she had easily come to recognize as its default reaction to Jemma’s general proximity).    
  
Now, to be clear, Skye was exactly the opposite of a hopeless romantic. As a general rule, happily ever after, Disney reality-scrubbed fairytale-esque endings weren't real. Soulmates? A delusional fantasy. After what happened with the Brodys and the handful of years following it, Skye has solidly resigned herself to the fact that, whether she was worthy or not (she didn't really think she was, all things considered), there just wasn't someone on this planet who was destined to love her - truly love her, in an all-encompassing, unconditional, drown-your-thundering-heart-in-sunshine-and-butterflies-at-the-mere-thought-of-you  kind of way. She had sought out physical connections with partners that built up to hit, heavy and fast crescendos and never lasted, because she knew they couldn't, because she was afraid to let them, because she was afraid to lose anyone else. Despite her what she saw as her realistic belief on this matter, there was still part of Skye that wanted to understand this feeling/emotion that cropped up in flowery, poetic and sweet love songs, such as the one playing from her phone. she has listened to and enjoyed these songs of course, had occasionally let herself hope that one day she would comprehend them on an intimate level.    
  
And then Skye met Jemma in the terminal with the broken air conditioning in the a random country foreign to both of them. Instantly, Skye had felt drawn to her, had sat down on her damn suitcase next to her since there were no chairs, even, having noticed her almost immediately upon arriving at the gate for their flight. They had been throw into this situation wrought with turmoil, tests of physical, mental and emotional endurance and fear...and Skye couldn't actually remember ever feeling so light, sated and happy in all her life than this little moment right now between them. If all the terrible things they went through so far were the price to pay to find her way to her honest to goodness real life actual soul mate, to the comprehensive understanding of all the sappy love songs she'd listened to like the one on right now, then Skye would choose to do it over and over again, every time, hands down no question.

When Jemma heard the music, a song she was familiar with herself, her heart practically melted right there. It felt like it had been years since she'd heard music, even if it had only been a few weeks. Skye had saved and was using precious battery life to do this for her and the sweet, honest intimacy of the moment was all encompassing and Jemma couldn't help the happy sigh that passed through her lips. She rested her head on Skye's shoulder and molded into her touch as they swayed with the sweet, slow notes. If she was asked, she wouldn't be able to give any other answer when it came to the happiest moment of her life. It felt like she was seeing everything differently, even the island, when she was with Skye like this. Jemma had been isolated intellectually nearly her whole life. Never before had she had a connection so raw, so real, that she felt like she could consider her and someone else a single person, a single soul. To the scientific part of her mind, it was irrational, but it was how she felt. Brain chemicals be damned, there was something special here. Jemma wanted to tell Skye how much she loved her, but it could wait until after the song so they could just enjoy this quiet moment, communicating in silence.

It was perfect, really. That was the only way to describe it. Perfect, comfortable - whole. Skye had never experienced the entirety of a moment like this before. She had never felt fully comfortable with a partner in a, for lack of a better term, sentimental way before, where it was possible to ignore the shattered shreds of her heart that had been so damaged by her past life. All roads, however rocky, had led her here, to this exact moment, in this exact place, with Jemma. Changing any single thing that happened to hr might mean she never wound up here and that, to Skye, was simply unacceptable. It was, possibly, the first time Skye had ever been able to reconcile the idea that she wouldn't go back and change things in her past, because she couldn't fathom even the idea of taking even the chance that the ripple effects could mean that she would never meet Jemma.    
  
Skye kept the comfortable silence in place between them. She kissed Jemma's forehead then rested her jaw and the side of her chin against it and just held on. When the slow song ended, there were a few seconds of silence on the phone, the length of five or six heartbeats and the gears shifted and the next song, a fast song, began: Belinda Carlisle's  _ Heaven Is A Place On Earth _ . A chuckled rippled from Skye's throat and she shifted her weight to take half a step back and then, carefully, spun Jemma put away from her and then pulled her back in before she started bopping and bouncing slightly to the faste, happy beat of the song.    
  
"I don't know if you're aware of this or not," she said as she spun Jemma away in the head again and, when she pulled her back in spun in a circle with her, holding her around the waist as she kept their time with each heavy rhythmic snare hit. "But, you should consider yourself part of a very exclusive group of  _ absolutely no one else _ ...who have been privy to any part of my official Desert Island Playlist..." she beamed a massive toothy grin at Jemma, causing the corners of her eyes to wrinkle as they scrunched.

"So what you're saying..." Jemma started with a grin as Skye spun her around again. The ground and grass was soft on the pads of their bare feet and Jemma had never felt lighter in her life, like she could fly. "Is that not only did you pack an extensive first aid kit and survival supplies, but you brought your own soundtrack too?" Jemma chuckled. She teased her, but she was also very grateful for Skye's paranoid side, just as much as she was for Skye's emotional, romantic side.

Skye feigned a gasp. "Never leave home without your must-have soundtrack!" She pulled Jemma back to her, this time holding her close around the waist with one arm and reaching out to cup the right side of Jemma's face with her left hand. "Babe, what kind of monster do you think I am?" she teased it a fake scoff then flashed her a brilliant grin for a brief second before she ducked her head and pulled Jemma in for a long, feverish kiss.  Skye could let go of the heavy emotional stuff for their brief moments of levity. They were important, to hold them together through the rest of the shit they'd have to go through in this place. This was one of those moments and Skye was going to make it last as long as she could.

Jemma brought her hands up to the top of Skye's chest and neck to get closer and kiss her back. Her bandaged hand stayed resting lightly on Skye's chest, palm flat against her heart, feeling it beat through the sting in her hand. The other slid to the back of Skye's neck to hold her closer. The affectionate term Skye called her did not go unnoticed by Jemma. It made them feel normal, in a good way. Jemma remembered all the girls at school thinking it was sexy in movies when Americans called their girlfriends "babe" or "baby", and Jemma never understood the appeal, at least not until now. It stemmed from Skye's love for her and it made Jemma's heart thumped loudly and rapidly in her chest, because she loved Skye too.

Skye fought to keep from grinning against the kiss since it meant almost having to break it and she just didn't want to do that yet. Instead, while leaving the phone still playing (it had just moved onto Van Morrison's Brown Eyed Girl, which made Skye wasn't to grin even more with its appropriateness) in the grass, Skye kept her arm wrapped around Jemma to keep her from falling and shuffled with her back toward the cave entrance for the nearby bed cushion. She made sure not to let them trip over anything and was extra careful of Jemma's injured hand as she urged her down into the bed and settled over top of her, straddled over her hips, weight rating mostly on her knees and her right arm as her hands framed Jemma's shoulders,  palms down on the cushion.    
  
There was no hesitation or anxiety for Skye then, taking the lead and acting with deliberate intention. It was a bit more feverish this time, she shifted her weight to sit most of it back on her heels to free her hands. She dragged her hands down Jemma's sides, slipped them under her shirt where they met in the middle of her belly and talked up the center of her torso,  taking the material of Jemma's shirt with them. Just above the center of her breasts,  Skye's hands broke apart and skimmed over her nipples. Her palms caressed the soft flesh and flexed,  massaging against them,  lingering long moments before Skye broke their kiss both for air and to help Jemma out of her shirt. She paused there,  staring breathlessly down into Jemma's eyes,  equal parts ravenous lust and replete adoration reflecting from her own eyes,  as if stopping just to make sure Jemma was alright with everything she was doing.  Her hands hung down,  fingers barely pressed to flesh,  tracing just below the line of her collarbone,  her body bent over,  hovering just inches above Jemma's,  their cheats and stomachs occasion meeting as they gulped for air, Skye waited for any indication that she should stop,  counting the wild beats of Jemma's heart whenever she pressed firm enough to feel them through her chest.  

Jemma found herself both delighted and aroused by Skye's shift in intent and purpose. She could feel her heart thudding against the walls of her ribcage along with the shivers up her spine and warm tingling between her legs, but she had also been enjoying their previous activities and, with a great deal of hesitation, pulled herself out of the haze she and Skye were falling into.   
  
"Hey," Jemma whispered up at her, bringing a hand up and cradling Skye's cheek. She used the good fingers on her burnt hand to push strands of hair out of Skye's face and she smiled up at her. For a moment she thought twice about stopping her, but there were things that needed to be addressed. "I love you, I know I do, but maybe not right now?" Jemma suggested. She could tell Skye was confused and she feared her backing away, so she sat up and wrapped an arm around Skye's waist, holding her there on her lap and kissing her soundly. "I want this to be more than sexual... I don't want to let this, us, be end-of-the-world syndrome." She explained.

Skye reflexively leaned into Jemma's touch.  She likely would have pulled back,  mostly to lay down with her,  rather than on top of her.  She didn't get a chance to say anything because before she could,  Jemma had already sat up to kiss her.  Skye’s hands settled against Jemma's collarbones as she returned the kiss. By the time the kiss broke,  she had slipped her hands down Jemma's sides and wrapped her arms loosely around her middle. She leaned her forehead against Jemma's,  remembering the night not all that long ago that she'd stopped their momentum for nearly the same reason.     
  
Skye's eyes averted downward,  quiet for a long while, trying to find the right words to assure Jemma that this was much more to her than merely a physical thing between them. She inhaled a somewhat shaky breath and tried to force that words  out properly.  "I love you,  Jemma, " Though a bit reluctant to do so because of her own insecurities,  she forced her eyes back to Jemma's. "I've never said that to anyone,  after the Brodys, and...I've never meant it the way I do when I say it to you," she spoke quietly,  anxious about sharing this information.  "This is not some insignificant, stress induced, strictly physical thing for me..." Not even in the slightest.

Jemma couldn't help it. A large exhale, not quite a large sigh, escaped her lips and hit Skye's cheeks. She had no reason to doubt Skye, but it was still a relief to hear it. Whatever connection that was between them was real. Jemma suddenly had that warm feeling in her chest again, the one they had when they were dancing, and her happiness combined with her fullness made her eyes start to droop.    
  
"Lay with me." Jemma breathed, leaning back down into the blankets and tugging on Skye's arm. Once Skye was laying in the blankets with her, Jemma rolled onto her side and draped her injured arm over Skye's waist to avoid it getting smashed at night. She let her head rest with her ear on Skye's collarbone, counting out her pulse. Skye was real, and here with her, for better or worse.    
  
"I wonder how we would have fallen in love." Jemma pondered. "If the plane hadn't crashed." She added. Would they have called each other and set up an awkward first date back in LA? Or maybe they had already been in love in the terminal. Jemma wouldn’t be surprised now, the idea of love at first sight was no longer so foreign. 

Skye pulled the covers around them as they settled. The fingers of one of her hands combed through Jemma's hair while the .others traced light patterns along Jemma's back.  She exhaled a huff of air as she considered this with genuine quiet thought for a moment as the music played from the grass.  Reluctantly, but with that same mischievous lilt to her to before she went to grab her phone originally, she said, "Let me up for a sec. I just want to add to the fire for the night and grab the phone to turn it off..." she kissed the top of Jemma's head and when she moved,  before she moved to her feet, some a couple of quick kisses.   
  
Skye went to the fire to add the extra wood she'd cut earlier onto it so it would burn while they slept later, making quick work of it. "I think, " she said,  the grin reflecting in her tone as she walked to the phone and crouched to pick it up, "It would have went something liiiike...both of us, making eyes at each other one night at a strategically lit crowded club," She collected some of their things like the machete and water bottles and tapped around her phone to switch the song up.    
  
"I'd brave sending you a drink,  another of whatever it was you were already having,  of course. After another shot or two for courage,  I'd have come by to introduce myself just as they were calling my name for my karaoke selection. I'd blush and excuse myself and while you were enjoying that drink and ogling me on my walk to the stage thinking,  'Damn the luck! ' at our seeming interruption..."    


Skye put their belongings by their bags near the foot of the bed. She hit play on the phone and the opening instrumental chords of Boston's  _ Let Me Take You Home Tonight _ filled the air.l as Skye set the phone, speaker up on the end of the bed.    
  
"I would make it to the stage," she turned and saunters a few feet away with her back to Jemma.  "With mic in my hand," She turned to face Jemma and brought her closed fist up toward her mouth to mine out the imaginary microphone in her hand. "Make direct eye contact with you across the sea of bodies and say, " she made a show of clearing her throat.  "This one's for you, Beautiful," She players a crooked grin on her face and have Jemma a wink before she suddenly started singing along to the lyrics of the song,  just about exactly on key to it, pointing at Jemma whenever the was an appropriate 'you,' in the lyrics.   
  
_ Now I'm not like this, I'm really kinda shy  _ __  
_ But I get this feeling, whenever you walk by _ __  
_ I don't wanna doubt you, I wanna make you high _ __  
_ If you could set your way to me, come on and let me try _ __  
__  
_ Let me take you home tonight _ __  
_ Mama now it's alright _ __  
_ Let me take you home tonight _ __  
_ I'll show you sweet delight  _   
  
Skye slowly made her way back toward the bed, tapping out the beat absently with her for as she sung,  an overly flirtatious grin on her face as she hammed it up for the act.    
  
_ You must understand this, I've watched you for so long _ __  
_ That I feel I've known you,  I know it can't be wrong _ __  
_ If we just get together,  I wanna make you see _ __  
_ I'm dreaming of your sweet love tonight,  so mama let it be _ __  
__  
_ Let me take you home tonight _ __  
_ Mama now it's alright _ __  
_ Let me take you home tonight _ __  
_ I'll show you sweet delight  _ __  
__  
_ I don't wanna make excuses, I don't wanna lie _ __  
_ I just got get loose _ __  
_ With you tonight _ __  
__  
Skye made it back to the bed cushion and knelt down in the spot she had previously occupied, finally cranking and laughing when the music bridge took over.  "Obviously," she leaned over close to Jemma but just shy of losing Jemma ad the song continued to play for them.  "There's not a  __ chance you'd be able to resist my charm after such a bold display..." she grinned and wagged her eyebrows up and down a few times.    


Jemma was laughing so hard she could barely breath by the time Skye finished and was back at her side. Her hand was at her chest along with the blankets and tears were in the corners of her eyes, trapped there by the wrinkles because of her broad smile.   
  
"You had that all fired up and ready to go." Jemma joked, but she actually found herself feeling flattered and amused that Skye had clearly thought about this before. That, or she was just very good at improvisation, but Jemma liked to think it was the first one. "Come here, silly." Jemma pretended to grab the invisible microphone from Skye's hand and toss it to the side so she could push her fingers between Skye's and lock their hands together. "You're right. Irresistible." She mumbled, her lips already pressed against Skye's. 

If there was only one sound Skye was ever able to hear again,  she thought she wanted it to either be the sound of Jemma laughing or just the sound of her voice in general.  She shrugged innocently.  "I maybe had a lot of time to think while the good Doctor refused to let me out of bed," she teased, grinning as her eyes shined with Jemma's infectious laughter. It was probably a mixture of having thought a bit about the scenario before and a bit of improvising, really. She snickered when Jemma threw her imaginary microphone and squeezed her hand once their fingers were locked together.  She leaned into the kiss with a chuckle against her mouth and moved to lay back down with Jemma, settling her free hand along Jemma's jaw and the side of her neck. 

Jemma stuck her tongue out at Skye for her teasing, but snuggled into her side anyway. She had no idea how she was simultaneously unlucky and lucky enough to for her plane to crash on a dinosaur infested island, but also get Skye. She supposed the universe had some balance in that aspect.  
  
"Thank you, Skye." Jemma said quietly. She'd said it a lot over the past month, but she still didn't think she could ever say it enough. It was a thank you for saving her, for helping her with her hand, and for just being there. 

Skye reached for her phone and turned the song to something slow, then turned the volume lower and set it above the head of the bed. She could charge it again with the solar pack later. She pulled the covers around them to properly tuck them in and then wound her arms around Jemma. Skye kissed the top of her head then rested her chin against it. "I love you, Jem," she said in lieu of saying 'you're welcome,' speaking quietly as her fingers moved through Jemma's hair. It was her way of dishing out a combo - thanking Jemma for saving her in turn and also letting her know that thanks was unnecessary, they were in this together and there wasn't a chance Skye was going to have it any other way.


	13. Pyro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warnings:** Violence, gore and death 
> 
> So, so sorry for being so behind on the comment replies! Please don't hate us! We love you! We see you! You are awesome and make us so happy that you guys are totally into all of this as much as we are!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3<3<3  
> Thank you for reading! Thank you for the kudos, comments and love!!!  
> Forewarning about upcoming updates: you guys have actually caught up to us! This is our last buffer chapter so I just want to give a quick forewarning that we _may_ have to employ a midseason hiatus for a week or so after this to try and get a little bit further ahead so we can keep churning out the updates on time afterward!! (we've had a pretty good consistency streak right???) 
> 
> Forgive me for typos, I only got through minor skimming for typos/spellchecking because of how late it was when we realized it was Wendesday! Please feel free to point out any glaringly awful ones in the comments and I'll do my best to correct them! 
> 
> Putting aside that potential insanity...hold onto your butts and enjoy this ch's wild ride!!!!  
> #whereverwednesday!  
> <3 <3 <3
> 
> ____________________

As usual, morning came faster than either of them wanted it to. The sun was up and shining into the mouth of the cave, birds, bugs, and other creatures were tweeting and squawking and making various noises, and Jemma was drawing. Or at least, Jemma was trying to draw. Even though the fingers she used to hold a pen weren't affected as badly by the cut, the burn made it difficult to move at all. She had been up for over an hour, already dressed (after a bit of a struggle), and sitting cross-legged near the bed cushions, watching the rise and fall of Skye's chest as she slept and trying to get the details of Skye's facial features on the page with her left hand. She had about five sketches of increasing qualities and she would give herself a few more attempts before she made herself wake Skye up to get ready to go.

Buzz came over to investigate what Jemma and Skye were up to, passing by Skye's ear and causing a patch of hair to fall in Skye's face. She inhaled a deep breath and shifted on her side but didn't open her eyes until she was conscious enough to realize that her arms were empty and there was no body weight against her. Skye started to sit up as her eyes jumped open only to stall and lean back on her elbow when she spotted Jemma just as Buzz perched on her head. She sighed, relieved and reached up to rub the gunk out of her eyes as she yawned. "What's goin on?" she asked, voice thick with sleep. She pushed her hair out of her face and pushed to sit up. Then she saw the pen and book in Jemma's uninjured hand, and then saw the other sketches of her own face. Her eyebrows arched as she ducked her head, flushing slightly as she picked one up to look at it. "I didn't know you were ambidextrous?" she said, trying her best not to frown about the memories of burning Jemma's wound shut that rolled through her still waking brain.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty." Jemma chuckled. During and just after sleep were some of the only times Skye's face was completely relaxed, and she was adorable when she was still groggy. Jemma looked back and forth between her drawing and Skye's face one more time before she finished for the time being and closed the notebook, pen hooked on the spiral.    
  
"I used to be. My hand used to ache during graduate school from note taking so I learned to write with my left and split the work evenly." Jemma explained, but as she flipped back to her first attempts she nearly cringed. "It's been a while though." She smiled.

Skye pursed her lips together and then smiled a bit as she nodded. Her cheeks were still flushed from the pictures and the Sleeping Beauty comment. "I feel like I shouldn't be surprised by your impressive feats anymore," she teased with a small grin and then leaned over to give her a quick kiss. Skye didn't want to start this day. It meant returning to camp, which meant going back through the jungle. It also meant that she would have to deal with the suspicious looks from some of the others at camp, the ones that didn't trust her and that knew now that she had a gun. It meant going back to daily work loads through made every muscle ache. Most of all, it meant giving up her peaceful solitude with Jemma. "There is one logistical problem with this place," She said as she stretched her legs and back. "Designated restroom facilities," she scrunched her nose slightly. At the beach it was simple enough to hide down the way just inside the tree line to do one's business. It would be more complicated in their little oasis.

Jemma frowned at the change of subject to something much less appealing. It was a good question though, and an important one, because Jemma could feel her own slight need to use the restroom now that Skye had brought it up.    
  
"We could use branches and build a wall near the edge, away from the caves, just to block off view. We can dig holes." Jemma suggested. It was just one solution, but it was something that could be worked out once they got to the new location. She'd rather someone see her pee than get eaten by the compys on the beach.

Skye arched her eyebrows, but dropped the subject with a nod. "Fair enough," she nodded. She thought it would be more complicated than people watching them. Digging holes would only do so much to rid them of the waste, and keep in the too close to camp, aside from the smell, could bring them diseases. Skye shook the serious thoughts away and instead shuffled around closer. She leaned over and kissed Jemma's shoulder and then kissed a purposefully slow trail into the crook of her neck, up the side of it to the back of her jaw. "How's your hand feel?" she asked between her deliberately placed kisses. They would be surrounded by the others soon enough, she could get some extra alone time in now before that happened.

"Don't remind me." Jemma groaned, but it would be impossible for Skye to tell if it was because of her well placed kisses or remembering her hand. It had been consistently throbbing, burning, and stinging since they had cauterized it, but she had been distracted well enough to deal with it. "I should probably change the gauze. Do we still have enough?" Jemma definitely didn't want it to get stuck to her like it had with her leg, so she was much more determined to redress it as often as it should be. She started to untie Skye's knot with her left hand and her teeth, but it wasn't going very well and she could feel frustrated heat rise to her face. She didn't want to be incapable like this, even if it was a small task.

"Hey," Skye spoke softly as she saw Jemma beginning to get frustrated. Skye knew that feeling well after she spent those days unable to move and panicking about it  while needing Jemma to help her do, well, everything, really. She reached for Jemma's hand with both of hers, taking it gently by the sides and pulling Jemma's arm toward her. She untied the knot and then let the fabric go so Jemma could do the rest on her own. She reached out and touched the red patch of skin along Jemma's cheek where the frustration made her flush. She pushed her fingers back along the back of Jemma's jaw, the tips just curling into her hair and ran her thumb along Jemma's warm cheek. "It's going to get easier as it heals," she reminded Jemma. "Til then, you've got me to help you," she smiled and leaned over to kiss her quickly and then reluctantly let go and leaned over toward their bags to retrieve the first aid kit so they could redo the bandages.

"It might not." Jemma mumbled under her breath. Her frustration wasn't with Skye, but with herself for being so stupid when she reached for that knife. "Get better. It might not get better. At least not very much." Jemma sighed, trying to calm herself down so she didn't snap at Skye, who was just trying to help and make her feel better. She didn't think Skye really understood that this one was going to stay. There was damage internally and without a proper surgeon her right hand would be near incapacitated for any difficult manual labor. But she tried to focus on the present and not the possible future, so for the moment she just unwrapped her bandage and tried not to let her welling tears escape as she peeled the gauze from the oozing wound. Her skin was still red and even black in some places, but a few of the blisters had grown overnight and the wide strip across her palm looked like the skin of some horror villain.

Skye already knew what it was going to look like. She was prepared for the visual of it, she had seen burn wounds before. She’d seen a lot of wounds before, well before the age someone should ever see such things. She didn’t want to say that while Jemma was (very validly) emotional about the wound. She was glad they were going back to the beach only for the reason that she would be able to suggest soaking Jemma’s future bandages in the saltwater to help with the blisters and help it heal. For now, they would have the aloe to try and keep the skin moist while covered and healing. Skye didn’t try and talk Jemma out of her frustration or tell her she was wrong. She had seen the inner parts of Jemma’s hand. She’d watched the way some of her fingers didn’t work right. Skye didn’t need a medical degree to know that this wound was very, very, life-altering bad. She didn’t want to join in the pessimistic mindset while Jemma was on it. There was a balance and when Jemma went pessimistic, Skye knew she had to go optimistic, even if it meant Jemma snapped at her. Sometimes, people needed to snap and if that was what Jemma needed then Skye was prepared to let it happen. 

After she gathered a bottle of water and the first aid kit, Skye sat next to Jemma by the edge of the bed. She forced herself not to cringe at the wound and felt pangs of pain in her chest for the fact that Jemma had to deal with this wound, that she had had to inflict the burns on her at all. “For now,” she said. “We’ll have to cover it in as much aloe as we can every time we bandage it,” she said as she studied Jemma’s palm after reaching out to brace the back of her hand with her own. “At the beach we can bottle up some of the saltwater to bring back with us so you can soak it between bandaging,” she said as she started digging through the bag for the aloe plant pieces in there. She grabbed a clean cloth and the the water bottle and looked at Jemma, trying to gauge what she should do or say. “Do you want me to wash it for you...or would you rather…?” She was trying her best to balance between her want to take control and the knowledge that Jemma was struggling with what she could and couldn’t do. 

"I can." Jemma nodded. Just looking at her wound made her sick to her stomach, but she needed to have some level of ability to care for herself. One of her biggest promises to herself was that she wouldn't be a burden to Skye. She would accept help when needed, of course, but she could do this part. She took the water and slowly let it drain from the bottle over her palm, spilling off the sides and between her fingers. It stung, but she bit her tongue and told herself it wasn't so bad. She would live.    
  
"Do you have the aloe?" She asked when most of the discharge from the burn and blisters was washed away along with the old plant matter. It was quite smart of Skye to collect so much of it for medical use, and Jemma certainly appreciated it. It was much better than nothing. When Skye finished preparing it, Jemma saw a concerned look in her eye and knew Skye wanted to help her, truly, and not just as a task, so Jemma gave in and held her hand out toward Skye to wordlessly tell her she'd like her help and she was sorry for her small tantrum.

Skye nodded and worked on opening a couple of the largest aloe plant branches while glancing at Jemma and watching as she cleaned her hand. Jemma was not a burden. If anything, Skye had been a burden. It was a difficult struggle to keep from insisting that Jemma let her help. Skye was stubborn and pushed herself further than she should. It seemed that Jemma had her stubborn side as well and it was in full force right now. So she held back as best as she could, though it killed her to sit there and not help. She was so relieved when Jemma held her hand out to her that she  _ almost _ smiled, but found she couldn’t because she was just too upset about the terrible wound in Jemma’s palm. She was very careful as she worked on applying as much of the aloe as she could, hoping it would alleviate at much of the pain as possible. “When we get back, we’ll have to gather more aloe plants,” She said as she worked, breaking apart lengthy sections of the aloe plant and scraping out the gel-like interior to smooth over Jemma’s wounds. Her original intention for grabbing aloe plants whenever she found them was for use against sunburn since there were a lot of people living on the beach. She knew it had other uses like this, however, and was glad she had been able to keep collecting it. 

Skye took the last of their gauze pads, leaving them as squares this time to make sure it covered everything and taped them down. Afterward, she took her knife and cut a large patch of one of the leaves under the bed and cut it into pads that would fit across Jemma’s palm and used the medical tape to give the bandage extra padding by taping it over the gauze on her palm. As she took the long bandage wrap made from the tank top, she carefully wrapped up Jemma’s hand and wrist again, making sure everything was covered while still giving her some mobility in her fingers. “The leaves will give you a bit of extra padding,” Skye said. “It’s going to be hard to climb out but hopefully the extra padding will keep it from hurting worse than otherwise…” She finished off by tying the two cut ends of the bandage around the lower ring of bandages and double knotting it so it would stay tight. She lifted her eyes finally. “I know it’s bad, Jem,” She said softly. “And I know it’s scary to lose such an important limb,” She’d lost her legs after all, and that wasn’t even talking about the seizure that preceded it, which, frankly she was glad she couldn’t really recall the actual seizure part itself. “It might not get better the way you want it to until we get home and it can be fixed,” She said, “But...we’re going to be okay, because we’re going to stick together and watch out for each other and we’re not going to let anything happen to each other, whatever the case may be.” They had already been through so much and both of them had made it out so far. Skye had to believe that they were going to get find a way off the island and she had to believe that when they did, doctors would be able to fix Jemma’s hand and whatever other problems they accrued between now and then. She had to, especially so when she knew she was doing it for both of them while Jemma couldn’t.  

"Thank you." Jemma felt like a broken record player, but she really was grateful. She flexed her fingers once the bandage was on to see if she was any better for climbing, but again the ring and pinky fingers didn't move. She would be able to grip with the others, but even then it was weak. Her palm would hurt but she thought she might be able to use her hand well enough if she could get past the pain.    
  
"We should get back before Bobbi thinks we got ourselves killed." Jemma smiled then, trying to lighten the mood. They really did need to get going before they panicked everyone back at camp and made them think the new place wasn't safe.

Skye nodded, to both things Jemma said. Before she bothered moving, though, she leaned over and kissed Jemma. “We’ll while I pack up and then we’ll head out?” she suggested, wondering if they should just leave the bed behind for now. She packed up the first aid kit and stood up so she could bring the water bottle to the fire to dump it on the remnants of the fire even though they were just ashes, just to make sure there were no lingering embers. Her mind was on the climb they had to make to get out of the area. What were they going to do if Jemma couldn’t get out? What were they doing to do if any of the others couldn’t climb to get  _ in  _ or  _ out _ ? 

"The less we pack up the less we have to carry back." Jemma pointed out. She just had her messenger bag, but she had lightened it up by leaving her pajamas and a few other things by the bed. She didn't leave any food though so as not to attract any animals. "The plan was to have everyone ready to start moving in once we got back and gave them the all clear." She reminded her. They could be potentially moving in that day to the point where they would be staying that night. They may have already had their last night on the beach, and Jemma couldn't say she wasn't just fine with that.

Skye nodded. She packed up her messenger bag with some of their food, a couple bottles of water, the first aid kit, restored her phone after turning it off. She organized everything unnecessary into her backpack and pulled on her shirt, pants and boots and then tied her hair up in a hair tie. She hooked her hunting knife to her left hip and thigh and her gun to her right hip and thigh and then attached the machete’s belt clip to the back of her belt since she would need it stored to climb. She shoveled down handfuls of dried fruit and bits of dried fish down as she did it all so she’d have something in her stomach to work with for the trek back. After they were all settled with their bags and such, Skye turned to Jemma as she washed her food down with some water and then stowed the bottle in her bag and shifted the messenger bag so it was resting at her lower back. She glanced at the tree area they would need to climb and then looked at Jemma. “Ready to go?” She asked, holding her free hand out for Jemma’s uninjured one. 

Jemma waved and held up a hand in an odd gesture that told Skye _just a second_. She finished chewing her last bite of fruit and swallowed it down so she could rinse off her knife and slid it back into the sheath attached to her belt on the left side now, so it was accessible. "Ready." She finally confirmed and reached for Skye's hand. It wouldn't be a long walk to the tree where they needed to climb but Jemma appreciated and enjoyed the gesture anyway.   
  
"Should I go first?" Jemma asked as they approached. It made sense, to have something to fall back on if her hand gave out. Skye could help push her up if she needed it and there was less of a chance she would fall. 

Skye looked up at the tree and gave Jemma’s hand a gentle squeeze. She nodded. “Yeah, I think that’d be best,” She said. “Just in case.” It would take them some time, but they’d be able to do it. At least Skye was telling herself this because their other option was to stay behind and wait for Bobbi and Mack to worry enough to come looking for them, because Skye certainly wasn’t leaving Jemma behind on her own, obviously. 

"Ok." Jemma took a deep breath and squeezed Skye's hand while she tried to close and open her right fist as a warm up. It didn't go very well and she only curled a few fingers, but hopefully it would be enough. She finally let go of Skye's hand and took the last step toward the tree, taking the first hold with her left hand and wobbling some as she stepped up and didn't have anywhere to put her right hand even if it did work properly. She had to reach high with her right to grab a low hanging branch, and she sucked in a sharp breath when her palm actually touched it and her thumb and forefinger wrapped around it. It was nowhere near a strong enough grip to pull her up, but it could balance her while she tried to get another foothold.    
  
It was a long, painful climb up and Jemma gave herself three heart attacks when she slipped, but Skye had a hand on her from below, on the back of her thigh or the small of her back, to help her stay in place. When she finally got both palms onto the platform where the tree split, she took the pain and pushed down with both arms until she could get her legs up. She stayed on her back on the platform trying to catch her breath and holding her shaking, useless hand against her chest while Skye climbed the rest of the way up.

Skye was incredibly focused during the climb. When there were slips, she was quick to catch Jemma from below to stop her from losing grip. When there were far reaches, she braced herself as firmly as possible and had Jemma use her shoulders as temporary stepping stones to push higher. It was slow and Skye could see how hard it was on Jemma. It hurt to watch but Skye had to shut off the emotion during the climb and just focus on continuing to move forward. She continually called out encouragements to Jemma as they climbed, urged them both onward. Skye relaxed a tiny bit when Jemma made it to the top, did her best to push Jemma from behind to try and help her not put as much weight on her hands but knew it would only go so far to help against what had to be terrible pain.    
  
Skye hauled herself up the rest of the way, ignoring the ache in her injured forearm as she sat down next to Jemma to catch her own breath. She gave Jemma shoulder a small squeeze from her spot seated next to her head and leaned over to kiss Jemma's forehead. "I don't know if you know this," she said, somewhat breathless herself from the climb, "But you are an entirely amazing, brutally strong person."    
  
An idea struck Skye and after she kissed Jemma's forehead once more, she dug through her bag. First, she handed Jemma one of the bottles of water in there in case she needed it while resting. Then, she dug her phone from the bag again and moved to her feet on th platform with a soft, "Stay put and rest a few minutes, I want to take a few photos for the others." She could take a few quick photos to go with Jemma's sketch and turn the phone off. It would have enough juice for that at the least. She aimed the camera after using her shirt to wipe off the lens and angled a few shots, took a panorama. She turned and took a shot of the platform where she was standing, making sure half the picture showed Don into the enclosed area to get an idea of how far up the entrance was and the fact that they had their own guard platform to boot. When all was said and done, she moved to sit back down next to Jemma. She turned the phone off and stowed it securely in her bag again and pulled out another water bottle to drink from. Looking down at the tree below them, she tried to find the easiest path down that could require more foot holds to rest their weight on the hand holds. She waited for Jemma to tell her she was ready, not wanting to rush her into more pain.

"That's a good idea." Jemma told her, out of breath still but blushing from Skye's compliment and not focussing on the intense sensations in her hand. She supposed by normal standards she was strong emotionally, but she still felt like when it came to willpower, Jemma was the lesser of the two of them. She only took a sip of the water Skye gave her, not wanting to cramp later, before she put it into her messenger bag and collected herself so she was ready to start the descending part of the climb.   
  
"We should definitely make an easier way in." Jemma sighed. She held onto a branch and leaned out slightly so she could see around and look at the wall of trees. One of them was thin, about wide enough that someone could slide in sideways if it was cut down. "Maybe Mack could take that down with his ax and we could block it with the wood." Jemma tried to point with her injured hand, forgetting for just a moment that she couldn't close her fist, and frowned when it looked more like she was pointing with her whole arm because of her limp finger.

Skye caught Jemma’s hand by the wrist, so as not to grab the wounded part, and pulled it over to kiss the back of her fingers before leaning to get a look at the part of the trees Jemma had indicated. She surveyed it for a moment, wondering if removing it would at all affect that structural integrity of the platform they were perched on. "We can have him take a look and see what he thinks," she nodded. Even with a thinner tree, it would be no easy task and would likely take some time. Skye was already trying to think of ways that they could get Jemma back into the enclosure when they returned without making her climb. "We can get a few people working on it in shifts and working on a way to protect the entryway once it's carved out." she nodded.

"We could use rocks." Jemma suggested. It was a little confusing though, so she elaborated about what she meant. "The people who stand watch, we can have a pile of large rocks up here. They could certainly stop any humans..." Jemma looked over the edge of the tree and she had to admit, it was a nice thought to imagine someone chucking a fist sized rock at Ward's head. "A knife would work against a terror bird or something taller." She added. She definitely didn't want the gun to be considered as a lookout weapon.    
  
"We should get going." Jemma finally got them back on track. These were logistics that could be discussed with the whole group, their task right now was to get back after surveying the place. "Do you want to go first and I can follow?" Jemma suggested. Skye would be able to find sturdy footholds for her since she could still grip with her hands.

Skye tried to imagine it. No matter what, any opening they cut would need a door of some kind, on both sides, to double up. Any other defenses could be suggested and tested by lookouts later. Skye wasn't about to let anyone else handle the gun unless a situation was so dire that Skye was unable to handle it and it was an act of desperation. There were limited bullets. It was not a toy. It was violent, dangerous and loud, which would draw other predators. She was prepared to physically take on any members of even their group if they tried to steal the gun for any reason. She knew that she was well versed in the very careful, safe handling of firearms but she didn't know if anyone else in their group was at all. Putting a loaded firearm in the hands of someone who was untrained on how to handle them was asking for trouble in a place where one wrong move meant certain death even without guns.    
  
Skye nodded. "My first ones are going to be those two," she pointed toward the foot holds, she meant. "There are a couple about three feet below them, do you see those ones, with th moss between them?" she waited and looked at Jemma. "When I moved to the second set, I'll wait for you to moved to the first and then we'll move down slowly together from there, okay?" she wanted to set it up so she would more or less be moving down the tree with her upper half somewhat molded around Jemma's lower half, to create a protective cover, almost, around Jemma to prevents slips or falls.

"Got it." Jemma agreed. She had a feeling that going down without falling would be harder than up, but if Skye was there she had much more faith. She watched Skye start to climb down and she shook out her own hands a bit and wiped the left against her shirt to make sure it wasn't slick with sweat when she tried to hold onto the tree. Slowly and oh so cautiously, Jemma turned around, got down on her stomach, and lowered herself until her foot caught on the first foothold Skye had pointed out. She took a deep breath and got her other foot secured. She could make it down the tree. She'd done it on her way here when she had the deep cut on her hand, so it shouldn't have been different.    
  
It was definitely different. Jemma's hand throbbed and stung with every slight movement, making it nearly impossible to hold onto anything with it. She did her best though and suffered through what she knew was her blisters popping so she could just get to ground level safely. They made it about halfway down the twenty foot tree without trouble, but they ran out of luck. Jemma was just stepping down to a lower foothold with her left leg when the bark broke off and her body jerked down and to the left. She lost her grip with her left and felt Skye press against her, trying to pin her to the tree, but it didn't work when it was the only thing holding her up- along with her injured hand. She cried out, but held onto the knot in the tree with her right hand. It felt like it was being burned all over again and Jemma tried to hold on long enough to catch her foot on the tree again, but her weak fingers gave way and Jemma's body slammed into Skye's left forearm, breaking her protective pin and sending them both dropping to the ground ten feet below.

Skye thought they were making decent progress. It was slow and she worried about Jemma’s stamina for her injured hand but with the way she kept them, trying to keep a wider stance to shield Jemma from falling, slow was the name of the game. She kept talking as they went, encouraging Jemma when she was moving to footholds and letting her know if her step was off or on target, kept telling her they were almost there, just a little further, that kind of thing. They had just a bit less than ten feet to go when everything went terrible wrong. The tree gave out, Jemma started to slip, Skye gripped the vine-like hanging branches she was holding and pulled her body in, hoping to pin Jemma between herself and the tree to keep her from falling further. Her muscles screamed at her for the sudden tensing jolt and shit. It would have worked, if it hadn’t been her left arm that Jemma’s weight slammed into.  

A rocket of pain shocked its way all the way up her arm to her shoulder and Skye’s grip was instantly gone on the tree. She scrambled, trying to push Jemma back toward the tree but unable to in the free fall. It was only a couple of seconds, but it felt like much longer. Skye landed on her back with a whooshing, “Ooof!” Sound as the wind was instantly knocked out of her in the split second before all of Jemma’s body weight slammed into her gut as she landed on top of her. Skye wound up gasping and coughing uncontrollably, but unable to roll to her side since Jemma was on top of her. The wind was been solidly knocked out of her in rapid success and her diaphragm was spasming a bit so she couldn’t even ask Jemma if she was okay even though she was wide-eyed and worried about her. Had she at least broken Jemma’s fall??

"I'm sorry!" Jemma wheezed the moment she had the breath to. She rolled off of Skye onto her back and groaned, gritting her teeth together and holding her spasming hand against her chest again. It felt like all of the skin on her palm had just been ripped off and Jemma only hoped that wasn't the actual case. She was too afraid to check.   
  
"You okay?" Jemma huffed. She knew there were tears on her cheeks but she turned her head to see Skye and make sure she was alright. The fall had been her fault and she'd dragged Skye down with her, so she was upset and afraid Skye was hurt because of her.

Skye rolled to her right side and curled slightly at the middle. She coughed and gasped and heaved as she tried to regulate her breathing but having the literal wind knocked out of you took some time. Her back screamed in pain but it was nothing compared to the stars she saw behind her eyes from the shooting pain in her arm. She wondered if any of the scratches broke open. When she managed to look at Jemma gain she saw the tears and the way she clutched her hand. She tried to nod to say she was alright but it was lost in translation a bit as she kept gasping to reclaim her breath in ragged spurts. After a couple of minutes she managed to reach for Jemma’s elbow and rasp out a, “H-Ha-Hand?” Between gulps of air. 

"Fine." Jemma lied and frantically got on her hands and knees and crawled back to Skye. Her hand was already ruined so it didn't even matter anymore. "Skye? Just breathe, I'm sorry." She laid her injured hand on Skye's waist and used the other to rub up and down her back. She waited several minutes until Skye's breathing started to come back to normal before she pressed her with any more questions.    
  
"Are you alright? No broken bones?" Jemma asked hopefully. If she did break something it would be a nightmare to try to get her back to the beach and she would never leave Skye here alone.

Skye knew that was a total lie but there wasn’t a whole lot that she could do about it, because or her current condition. It took some time to catch her breath. Her abdomen was a mess of knots and her arm was throbbing. She knew that Jemma’s hand had to be way worse and she felt like shit that Jemma had even had to make either climb with her injury. When she’d relatively caught her breath and was just still a bit winded, she tried to assess whether or not she’d broken anything. She didn’t think she had. Her legs seemed find. Her back and her abdomen hurt but she thought that was just the combo of falling and having a human body fall on top of her. Skye shook her head. “No,” She rasped and moved to try and sit up, using only her right hand to push her up since she didn’t trust her left arm to be able to support her at the moment. Once she was sitting, she reached for Jemma’s left all, careful not to hit her hand. “Are you alright?” she asked. She couldn’t be, Skye knew that, but the words came out anyway. 

"I'm okay, are you okay?" It was Jemma's immediate response. She didn't have an injury that was life threatening or posed a danger to their travel by foot, so she completely ignored what Skye was really asking about. She didn't want to admit that she was close to bursting to tears over it. So instead she scanned her eyes across Skye's body, checking for blood or any body part that wasn't in its proper place.

Skye was still breathing heavily, but she wasn’t gasping and gulping while her gut spasmed at least. She nodded rather than blurted out a reply, more concerned for Jemma’s hand than for herself. She didn’t have any broken ribs, she knew that, though if one looked at chest x-rays of Skye, they would see previously healed fractures - some from childhood, some from adulthood. “M’okay,” she assured, but she stayed where she was for a few more minutes, finishing catching her breath, folding her hands over her head to hold her arms up and tipping her head back to get extra air in. Eventually, when she was almost breathing normally, Skye climbed to her feet slowly and then held her hand out for Jemma’s uninjured hand. “How bad is it?” She asked, sure that she’d have some bruises of her own later, not to mention that she’d need to change the bandages wrapped around her arm later and the ones on there would likely be melded into the wounds by then. She tried not to think about it and instead worried about Jemma’s injury, still upset that the’d had to cauterize it. 

"It's not." Jemma knew it was complete bullshit even as it came out of her mouth, but it was just her first reaction, the product of a culmination of emotions and thoughts that had been running through her head since the crash. Everyone got wounds, it was a part of their life right now, but Jemma was the only one who was consistently coddled for it. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate how much Skye cared for her and she knew she had done the same for Skye, but there was a childish part of her that didn't want to feel like the baby of the family. She wanted to be able to suck it up like everyone else and focus on the task at hand, which was getting back to the beach.    
  
"We can take care of things when we get back," Jemma didn't explicitly admit that her skin was screaming for her to take care of it, but she made sure Skye knew she would be tending to wounds, both her own and Skye's, once they got back.

Skye couldn’t help but frown. She couldn’t even figure out what part of her hurt worse - her left forearm, her lower back where she’d landed on part of the handle for the machete, her abdomen and chest from the Jemma landing on her and the subsequent having the wind thoroughly knocked out of her. Even knowing her own injuries were painful, she still knew this particular injury was brutal for Jemma. She wasn’t trying to coddle Jemma, she was genuinely concerned and upset for her (girlfriend? Right? Right). Skye wanted to protest, even opened her mouth to protest but stopped and bit her tongue. She took a deep breath and helped Jemma up by her good arm. 

“Alright,” she said, voice still a good bit raspy. “Let’s get going,” She pulled the machete from its sheath and gripped it in her left hand so she could hold her right out for Jemma’s left. As an afterthought, she looked over her shoulder, licked her lips and let out a whistle mimicking the one she’d heard Jemma make the morning before to get Buzz to follow them. She watched the top of the tree platform area until she heard Buzz’s approach and saw him cresting over the platform, flying a circle before he spotted them and dove down. He landed on Skye’s shoulder and proceeded to buzz her ear with his wings expectantly when she didn’t immediately reward him from coming to perch. “Oh, right...wait,” She let go of Jemma’s hand only so she could dig through her bag, coming up with a bit of dried mango since it was the first thing her fingers hit. She held it up for him and scrunched up her nose slightly, but had a severely tiny smirk on her face. 

Buzz took flight again and Skye took Jemma’s uninjured hand in hers again. She waited until they had walked a bit before she spoke again. “It’s okay to say it hurts if it does, y’know,” She squeezed Jemma’s hand gently with her own. “I know it has to,” she said. “Just like I’m sure you know mine hurt too,” She added. 

Jemma smiled a bit at Skye's interaction with Buzz, but her eyes were back on the ground by the time they started walking and Skye spoke so she could avoid looking at Skye and tearing up. She was right though, and Jemma felt her hand throb as she said it.   
  
"Talking about it makes it worse." Jemma said quietly. Even referring to her injury with the pronoun made her think about it and her face contorted slightly, betraying her. She shook out the injured hand but it didn't seem to help and getting the extra blood flow to it made the pounding pulse she could feel in the burn even worse. "I don't want to be the one everyone has to fuss over." She admitted and finally looked up.

Skye frowned. She was just about to give in and tell Jemma they didn’t have to talk about it if doing so made it hurt worse but then Jemma made that confession. She looked over at Jemma, brow furrowed, expression a mess of confusion. “Everyone, who? Everyone,  _ me _ ?” She asked. “I fuss over you because I care about how you’re feeling and, y’know, dealing with things…” She felt the need to defend herself because she knew she’d fussed over Jemma a great deal. Jemma had fussed over her a great deal as well. It was a mutual thing, because they cared for each other...right? 

"No, I know." Jemma hurried to reply. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt Skye's feelings and she could tell she was close to it. "I just..." Jemma didn't know how to explain it. "I feel fragile and I feel like everyone else thinks I'm fragile." This was the best she could put it. "May never complained, not once, about having surgery on the beach and the moment she could walk she was better again. Everyone has been getting injured but I feel like when it's me, it's different. I don't feel as strong as everyone else." Jemma didn't know how to explain her self conscious fears any better than this. 

Skye frowned thoughtfully. Her attention turned to their surroundings, not because she didn’t want to look at Jemma, just because she knew she had to keep alert even if they were talking.  She tried to compile her thoughts carefully. Jemma was quick to reply when she thought Skye was upset, so Skye wanted to phrase her responses carefully to avoid further upsetting Jemma. “For the record, I don’t think you’re fragile, and you’re definitely just as strong as, if not stronger than the rest of us,” She said. “But,” she added a moment later as she squeezed Jemma’s hand gently. “That doesn’t mean I don’t want to keep you safe and, y’know...keep you from walking around in pain. And, I mean...you just spent how many days having to help me while I was essentially as defenseless as an infant?” She arched her eyebrows. She understood the feeling Jemma was talking about. When she had finally come to after the seizure and realized her legs didn’t work, she had been positively terrified that she was as good as dead. Granted, one of her biggest fears in that case was that no one would be there to keep Jemma safe if she was dead. It wasn’t because she thought Jemma wasn’t strong, though, it was because the whole entire camp hadn’t realized Jemma had been kidnapped, so how long would it be after Skye was gone that Ward rallied his remaining crew to come after Jemma again? 

Jemma nodded, taking in what Skye had to say. She could tell Skye was trying to make her feel better emotionally as well, and she made a good point, but it was also flawed.    
  
"That was a major, life threatening injury though. That's different. I got a cut." Jemma countered. She held up her hand for emphasis and there was a clear immature pout on her face. "I could get a paper cut and the whole camp would hear about it and offer to put on a bandaid for me." Jemma scoffed, her not really joke dying in the thick layer of moisture that was the humidity.

Skye frowned, this time her brow wrinkled into creases as she listened to Jemma speak. “Okay, back it up, Doc,” She shook her head and started counting off replies. “One - we crash landed on a deserted island with animals and plant life that have been extinct for millions of years and who knows  _ how _ things we think  _ won’t _ kill us may have evolved  _ to _ kill us here? Even a papercut could kill a person here. Two - that is not a ‘ _ cut _ ’ on your hand. It’s a wound that was deep enough that it bled for what, three or four days? Not only that but it was down past your muscles and into all the...like, tendons and stuff in your hand. Which is a fact that leads me to three - you hand is just as important as my legs are in this place, we both know that and I know you know that because it was why you were so upset when we were changing your bandages. And furthermore, four - perhaps most importantly, Jem, you died once already,” She stopped walking and squeezed Jemma’s hand again and pulled her a bit closer by it. “So I’m sorry if you think I’m specifically overly coddling you, I just want to do what I can to keep you safe and when I can’t,” She nodded toward Jemma’s injured hand. “Then I want to do any and everything possible to ease whatever pain you’re feeling. Frankly, I don’t care what the others think. If they’re wrong about you whenever they voice an opinion, I’ll be the first to very loudly let them know just how wrong they are and all the reasons why.”  

As Skye lectured her, Jemma started feeling more and more ridiculous for falling into a trap laid by emotions. She was being irrational and wasn't looking at the big picture, but at least Skye was there to point it out for her. She couldn't imagine how Skye had felt when she was trying to resuscitate her, even if they had just met.    
  
"I don't know what's gotten into me." Jemma sighed. She squeezed Skye's hand in return and stopped them for a moment by stepping in front of Skye. She put her arms underneath Skye's and pulled her into a hug with her arms looped around Skye's back and hands resting on her shoulders, chin over her left hand. "I'm sorry I'm being odd." She chuckled.

Skye wasn’t trying to lecture her! She was just pointing out the fact that they weren’t totally different situations. Her arms slipped around Jemma reflexively after she was pulled into a hug. She kissed the side of Jemma’s head. “You’re not,” She said. “You’re hurt, you’re upset - understandably so - and I’m overly coddling you,” She said. “I’m sorry I can’t help myself when it comes to you,” She kissed the side of her head again and squeezed her arms around Jemma, albeit a bit gently considering their recent fall. “You aren’t a fragile or weak person, by the way. I’ve seen you perform surgery, on a beach, in the  _ dark _ less than ten minutes after you were resuscitated, while you had a head wound. You outran multiple terror birds, killed a dinosaur with your bare hand, befriended and tamed a wildly prehistoric dragonfly and taught him to obey you  _ and _ broke free from a  _ group _ of captors and freed yourself  _ while _ you were still bound and gagged,” She laid it all out there. “You saved my life, multiple times, Jem. You are stronger than anyone else I know on this island.” 

"And you've saved mine. Thank you." Jemma wished they could go back to that waterfall, let everyone think they were dead and it wasn't safe, and live there peacefully alone together. That was a selfish desire that Jemma would hold tightly inside, but it was there. She held on tight (but not too tight) and sighed over Skye's shoulder. She wanted to stay here, not continue the long trek back to the beach, but they had an obligation to help the group. 

Skye brought her hand up from where it was running along Jemma’s back to, briefly, cradle the back of her head. “No,” she grinned broadly at Jemma. “Thank you,” She said as she reached with her free hand to rest it along Jemma’s cheek.    
  
"How is that, by the way?" Jemma smiled and pulled away, trying to lighten the mood. She brought her hand up and brushed the skin on her forehead with her pointer finger. She could feel the line where there was an obviously raised scar, but she hadn't seen herself in a while and she wondered how pink it was and how drastic it looked. "I suppose I'll just be Harry Potter for Halloween." She joked.

Skye’s eyes roamed over the entirety of Jemma’s face rather than just the scar. “I prefer you as Hermione,” She scrunched her nose slightly. “Brains are sexy,” She grinned. “If you’re asking me how you look,” she hooked Jemma around the waist and pulled her back over for a moment. “You’re goddamn gorgeous,” She stole a few quick kisses and between them, against Jemma’s lips added. “Besides...chicks dig scars,” She teased. 

_______

By the time they reached the beach, Jemma was pretty sure her hand was actually melting into the bandages. By the time they could actually see a bit of the wrecked plane her hand was back to throbbing and she could no longer curl even the three good fingers without an immense, pulsing pain burning through her hand and up her arm. She thought she and Skye would finally get a break once they had a meeting with everyone and a decision was made. She was looking forward to relaxing for a bit while everyone else finished packing for the first wave of the move, since she and Skye already had their things in their bags and ready to go.    
  
They didn't get the break. They didn't even get the meeting with Coulson, because as they got closer, the sounds of human screams reached their ears over the coastal winds along with the harmonious screeches of compys. Jemma's eyes widened and she let go of Skye's hand to grab for her knife in case she needed it. She took off at a sprint, hoping Skye didn't try to stop her and came to help too.

Skye's muscles tensed the intent the first screams wafted toward them on the breeze. It didn't cross her mind to stop Jemma because her legs were in motion almost simultaneously as Jemma's. She moved the machete to her right hand and gripped it tightly as her legs pumped, sprinting ahead as they ran. She didn't know where to go first, really. There was so much chaos as they approached. There were more compys than the time her group had been swarmed in the jungle. Skye glanced over her shoulder, "Stay close," she called, easing her speed so she didn't get too far ahead. It didn't quite work out that way, though. What was that quote from the book? 'The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry?' Yeah, that was pretty much the story of their lives on the island.    
  
Skye heard Ace screaming and whirled to her left, angling toward the shoreline where Mike was fighting to free them both from a small swarm of a couple dozen compys, not realizing as she angled for them that Jemma was pulled in a different direction. Before she even reached Mike and Ace, she had to fight off half a dozen of the small dinosaurs away from herself before she was even within twenty feet of Mike and Ace, who had many more swarming at them. "Mike!" She screamed his name or the noise. "In the water!" She had no idea if compys could swim but Mike and Ace were close enough to the shoreline that it was the only thing she could think of to possibly shake the dinosaurs off quickly. Ace was much smaller than Kebo and Skye's heart was in her throat as she thought about how many less compys it would take to swarm him.    
  
She reached Ace first as Mike was still fighting off the horde swarming him. Skye hoisted Ace up off of his feet and rushed through the surf and into the water as some of the compys on Ace switched gears and bit her in the forearm, elbow and lower left side. Ace was sobbing as he dug his finger into Skye's skin while holding onto her. Skye rushed them both into the surf as quick as she could. "I've got you - hold your breath, we're going under!" She heard Ace inhale a long breath and she gulped down her down before diving into an incoming wave to bring them under In the rush and swirl of the tide,the compys clinging to them were gone. Skye pushed up from the ocean floor with her feet to bring them up above the waves. "Are you okay? Ace! Hey! Look at me, look, are you-," she started to move so she could let him go to head for Mike, but Ace wrapped his arms and legs around her, clinging tightly. She could only understand part of what he was saying but it boiled down to the fact that he couldn't swim.    
  
By then, Trip, who had been fighting his way down the shoreline to get to Mike and Ace to help them, made it to Mike and dragged him into the water off of Skye's efforts with Ace. Once the compys were clear and they knew he was able to with whatever injuries he has, Skye passed Ace back to Mike and told them to stay in the shallows so they could dive in if more came after them. After that, Trip and Skye worked their way back onto the beach and fought their way to war Mack and Yoyo who were fighting back to back to try and get to and clear the swarm overtaking some of the others. While fighting, Skye's attention was pulled repeatedly to other areas of the beach, desperately looking to find where Jemma had gone off in her fight.

Jemma was sprinting toward the fuselage. The massive horde of them were still climbing through windows and going around to enter through the broken side. People were rushing out, compys attached to them by the jaws, and started following Skye's lead by diving into the surf. Compys screeched in the water and paddled to get to the surface before picking a new target.    
  
"To the water! Everyone, go!" Jemma was gesturing and waving to get people to hear and see her. "Coulson!" Jemma knew where she was needed when she saw him struggling to escape the fuselage with his legs. About ten of them were ripping into him from the waist down and he was crying out for help. Jemma took off in his direction, but stopped and skidded in the sand when about twenty of the tiny dinosaurs came from the fuselage at the smell of a possible kill and leaped onto Coulson, completely covering his visible skin like a blanket of scales, claws, and teeth.   
  
Shrieks pierced the ears of everyone on the beach, but they weren't from the compys. They were from Coulson, coming from underneath a pile of compys, and then it went silent. Jemma saw the red in the sand and with wide eyes, hurried to slip into the fuselage, hoping to find something more useful for ending the attack than a single knife. There were dead compys scattered in the seats and on the floor, and Jemma felt pure adrenaline running through her veins. Coulson was dead, killed by a thousand cuts. She couldn't imagine the pain it had caused and tears clouded her vision for a few seconds before she blinked them away and pulled herself back into focus. She dug through bags, looking for anything that would help stop the compys outside.    
  
She struck gold in a back she assumed was Victoria's because of the small tube of red hair dye. She found a travel size can of hairspray, another of pepper spray, and even a lighter and a pack of cigarettes. She didn't think Victoria was a smoker, but she might have kept it from their foraging to use to barter later. She didn't know how she had the other items, maybe she had checked them, but it didn't matter now. She grabbed her tools and ran back out into the fray, now prepared.    
  
The compys were everywhere, many were lying dead on the sand, and many people hadn't made it to the water and were still screaming and trying to kill them with their bare hands. She saw Bobbi stabbing at a good sized swarm of them that were attacking Hunter, so Jemma headed their way. She was almost to them when she felt a sharp sting on the back of her heel and yelped, turning to find a smaller one latched onto her ankle. She pulled her knife and stabbed down onto its spine, freeing herself of its grip. She heard Bobbi cry out in pain and twisted back around to check on her. Five of them were biting her in varying places and Jemma moved to help, but she wouldn't be making it. 

The machete proved useful only for swinging at compys that were in the sand or actively leaping Skye's way, so she pulled her hunting knife in order to stab at them whenever she reached a person under attack. Skye’s adrenaline was explosive as the chaotic scene before her unfolded and doubled when she couldn't find Jemma at first. Just as she took out two compys that jumped at her from the front, one jumped onto her bag, digging it's claws deep into her right shoulder blade. It bit down at the nape of her neck and forcefully ripped a quarter-sized chunk of flesh and muscle so quick and forcefully, it dropped Skye to her knees with a groan of pain.    
  
Skye heard the hum of Buzz's wings as he zipped past her ear, turned up into the air and then took a swift twenty foot nose dive bomb at the compy on her back before she could even swing. He hit the spot where it's neck met it's body and then banked to the right and flew back up in the air. Stunned by the surprise hit, the compy dropped from Skye back and she round and took its head off with the machete before glancing up at Buzz, hovering well above the jump height of the compys.    
  
Skye finished making her way to Mack, Yoyo and May, who were trying to free Robbie from a swarm of twenty compys the had already torn most of his throat out and half of his face off. He was barely breathing and from the loud gurgle she heard, he was choking on his own blood. It wasn't an injury they could save him from and compys had started turning on Mack, Yoyo and May. "Water!" She yelled at them. "He's gone - get to the water!" She could only hope throwing all these bloody people in the water wasn't going to bring the sharks to them, but they had limited options at the moment. Coulson's loud shrieks of pain drew Skye attention just as she finished helping Mack, Yoyo and May toward the shallows. She turned to look toward the fuselage and a compy took a flying lunge toward her face only to get knocked away to the sand by another of Buzz's dive bombs. Skye beheaded it with the machete.   
  
Jemma heard more screeches from behind her and Jemma whirled around, knife out. A particularly angry little compy waited on attacking her. It hissed, exposing its rows of razor sharp teeth. It stood up straight and let out loud barking sounds, alerting and communicating with its pack. Jemma looked around her when the barking spread and her eyes widened when she saw that all the remaining compys had stalled their attacks on the others and started communicating. They turned toward Jemma and she had a hard time believing what she was seeing. She was the target of this attack. They had a target. They were smart enough to search for a particular being and tell each other that they'd found it. 

When Skye looked up from the compy she'd just killed, four of them swarmed her, going for her arms at the outside of her right wrist and right elbow and taking out her left thumb and left shoulder on the other side, trying to make her drop her weapons. she was on her knees in the sand with Buzz circling her frantically looking for an in to make another dive bomb with Mack and May raced back from the water, grabbing at the dinosaurs and snapping their necks.    
  
Through her entire time fighting on the beach, Skye caught glimpses of Jemma and kept trying to make her way over only to get stopped on her way. Now, when she looked up, the compys were barking and shrieking at each other - talking to each other! - and circling Jemma.  _ no, no, no,no, no, no! _ Skye's brain screamed at her and her tongue followed as compys started to swarm her. "Jemma!" She shrieked and scrambled out of Mack's attempt to grab her. She struggled, lumbering with her own injuries through the sand, blood running down between her shoulders from the wound on her back, running down her arms and slick over her hands, from the edges of her jaw and a spot on her right collarbone, her heart pounding away in her throat.    
  
In what seemed like less than a second, every single compy left alive on the beach was charging at her. Jemma spun in a circle, heart pounding and lungs burning. There were at least sixty of them running at her from various distances and Jemma fumbled to pull the lighter and the can of hairspray out of her pocket. Two of them lunged at her at once and Jemma stumbled back, tripping over her own feet and falling flat on her back. She screamed when she felt half a dozen parts of her body sting as she was punctured, but she had to focus. She flicked the lighter as more of them piled on top of her, trying to find their own spot to bite. She flicked it again, but still no flame. They were on her torso and her legs and Jemma was sure she was going to die. She flicked the wheel on the lighter one more time and the second a tiny flame appeared, the hairspray can was hissing and a ball of fire shot up and continued. The compys screeched in fear and confusion and Jemma swung it around, clearing herself of the little monsters until she could get to their feet. She was yelling at them, trying to scare them away. Some of the compys were on fire, screaming bloody murder and running around like chickens with their heads cut off.    
  
"GO AWAY!" Jemma shrieked, tears in her eyes. "LEAVE!" She scorched a few more of them and the whole horde screamed and barked and took off into the treeline. When everything finally went silent, Jemma dropped the can and light into the sand and collapsed to her knees, entire body shaking as her energy level crashed and every bit of her stung.

When the fireball erupted, Skye skidded to a stop in the sand lost fifty yards away still, eyed wide in shocked, which quickly turned to awe as Jemma sent compys running off in small blazes of frantic spasms. Her wits came back to her and she began swinging her machete to take out any stray compys in her path to Jemma. She made there a few moment after Jemma hit the said, dropping to her knee in front of Jemma as she dropped her machete and knife in the sand. "Jem!" She blurted breathlessly, throwing her arms around Jemma and pulling her in close for a moment before she backed over and held her by the shoulders, "Holy shit! You're amazing - are you hurt?" her eyes immediately started scanning Jemma's bite wounds in between pauses to quickly kiss her a couple of times. She pulled Jemma back in for a hug because of her sobs and held on tightly to her. "Hey, hey, it's okay, you're okay - you got them. They're gone, you scared them away, you little badass Pyro," she murmured against Jemma's ear as Buzz circled, hovering around them as if he were trying to inspect them.

"They- Coulson-" Jemma was choking on her own words and let the rest of her panic attack leave her lungs as she leaned against Skye, both of them bloodied and exhausted. It took a moment for her breathing to finally begin to even out, and when she did her eyes connected with Skye's, flew down over her body, widened, and came back up. People were hurt and they were going to need her help. By habit, she grabbed for the lighter with her right hand, but her fingers didn't quite wrap around it well enough to hold onto it and it fell back into the sand, a reminder of her new disability. She tried once more with the can and couldn't grab onto it. It reminded her of the claw machines that were rigged to always drop what they caught. How was she supposed to give stitches to people if her precision was gone? She could write with her left, but she'd never done surgical procedures. There was nobody else though, it was her job.    
  
"How many dead?" Jemma's face hardened as she asked it. She needed to push away emotion now if she was going to treat everyone.

"I know," Skye said solemnly when Jemma mentioned Coulson. She watched as Jemma's hand fumbled with the lighter and the hairspray. "Two I know of so far," she answered. "Coulson and Robbie." She glanced over her shoulder, Bobbi and May were helping a very exhausted and somewhat mangled Hunter. Mack, Yoyo and Trip were helping the others out of the water and onto the beach. Skye turned to Jemma. "Can you stand? We'll get the first aid kit, patch you up, then I'll work with you; you'll be the eyes I'll be the hands for whatever you tell me to do?" She knew Jemma wouldn't be able to pinch her fingers together to hold a needle, and she didn't want Jemma to have to hurt herself trying to do so. Her own hands were going to be a bit shaky but she would be able to steady it once she needed to. She could see Jemma was struggling to stay together, so Skye was pushing herself to the opposite end of the spectrum so she could be the strong one until Jemma had time to process and come back to herself.

"We won't have enough supplies if everyone was bitten like this." Jemma pointed out, looking down at her own shredded clothes and multitudes of wounds seeping blood. Skye was also covered in it and at any other time Jemma would have been more than concerned, but now they were all in this state. The important part was that Skye was alive, they both were. "We can't use up all the thread and we won't have nearly enough bandages, which means only one thing..." Jemma didn't make eye contact with Skye at this part. She didn't want to say it, so instead she just glanced at her own hand and hoped Skye got the meaning. "We'll only treat by necessity."

Skye swallowed hard against the bile that rose in the back of her throat.  She knew exactly what Jemma meant.  They couldn't stitch everything.  They would have to cauterize a great deal of the wounds. A chill shook down Skye's alone as both the memories of cauterizing Jemma's wound and the memories of having her own wounds cauterized previously flooded her mind. Still,  she set her jaw and nodded,  selfishly hoping that the deep wound at the back of her neck would warrant some of those stitches instead of cauterizing. She wouldn't complain about it,  if course, but the thought was in the back of her mind.    
  
"Okay," she nodded.  "Where do you think we should corral everyone?" she moved to stand and helped Jemma up, very careful not to jostle her bad hand even s her eyes scanned Jemma's shredded clothes and wounds.  How many times was she going to have to inflict burns on Jemma?  She frowned,  brow a mess of creases,  full of concern for Jemma and the rest of the others, rather than herself.

"We can do it by our shelter, we have plenty of wood." Jemma was already lightheaded and sick as she looked around and saw every single person with at least one bleeding wound. The cries of pain were not over for the day just yet. "After that we can- take care of the dead." Jemma breathed. Vocalizing what they needed to do was difficult. She could only imagine the long line of people waiting their turn to be burned or stitched and she was going to hate every second of it.    
  
"Are you alright? You're first." Jemma pursed her lips and when she got up, held Skye out at arm's length to get a good look at her. From what she could tell Skye had quite a few bites, but she wouldn't know until they cleared away all the blood which ones wouldn't heal well on their own. She was going to be as conservative with her healing power- or curse- as she could. She knew exactly how much those burns hurt and didn't want to inflict them unless she had to.

Skye frowned and shook her head.  "Me?  No, I'm fine. Others are worse," she insisted stubbornly, despite the pain in the back of her neck, among other places.     
  
Trip reached them first on the beach.  He managed to get some people in the water earlier on so he only had a few bloodied wounds.  "Are you two-,"    
  
Skye cut him off,  work mode hitting her as she turned toward Trip.  They would need to work fast to take care of everyone and the bodied so that they could then pack what they could and make it to the waterfall before night caught up to them. "Trip. we're going to set up triage by our shelter, " she said. "Do you think you're able to start helping people over there while we set up?"    
  
Trip sobered immediately and nodded. Skye gave him a grateful nod of her own.  "Start with Hunter if you can, " She thought he killed like he could be the worst injured but still alive.  "We'll go from there," she said.  Trip bonded and turned to go.    


Jemma took a deep breath, in through her nose, out through her mouth. She knew Skye was telling her complete bullshit about being okay, but she was right that Hunter needed help first and she couldn't play favorites when other people were in need. Just like everyone else, Skye would get her turn, even if Jemma preferred she not wait. She reached for Skye's hand for comfort and inhaled sharply at the feeling of the slick surface of her skin, blood dribbling down her arm. She scanned the area and the people around them with analytical eyes, ranking who needed medical attention first.    
  
"Fitz, where's Fitz?" Jemma's pulse spiked as she looked around and couldn't catch sight of him. He could have disappeared in the ocean or been dragged into the jungle by compys- "Fitz!!" Jemma shouted.   
  
"Simmons?" Fitz's terrified face popped out of her and Skye's shelter and Jemma let out an audible sigh of relief. He must have been inside tinkering with the electronics when the attack started and stayed hidden inside where the compys couldn't see him while distracted by the others.    
  
"I didn't know you were back- bloody hell, are you alright??" Fitz ran up to the both of them- as Jemma guessed, free of bite marks- and pulled both Jemma and Skye into a very gentle three way hug.

Skye wasn't prepared for that hug.  She had just squeezed Jemma's hand to reassure her, when the search for Fitz hit. She felt relieved,  and maybe a tiny bit jealous that Fitz was injury free. But when he reached them and pulled them into the little hug,  Skye was ill prepared. Her muscles tensed a brief moment,  a reflexive action, even as she tried to return the hug with her free arm. Her face contorted a bit when his arm hit the spot on the nape of her neck where the compy took a chunk of her.  "We were on our way back when we heard screams," She said.  "We need to get a fire started and get the injured to our shelter so we can start patching people up. We need to get everyone off the beach and to the waterfall as quickly as possible, preferably before nightfall," She frowned, daunted by the task at hand and her own exhaustion, but unwilling to verbally lament the situation. Now was not the time to give in to immature frustrations.

"Do you think they'll be back?" Fitz was looking at Jemma now as he pulled away from the hug. He had gotten their blood on his arms and chest, but too much was going on for it to be a prominent problem. A little blood was nothing on the island.    
  
"Absolutely, after everything we've seen." Jemma shuddered at the thought. A second wave would be even more deadly than the first if they were all exhausted and stayed sitting on the beach like injured birds. She looked around and estimated the dead to be at least thirty. "We can get quite a bit of food out of this to tide us over while we settle into the new place." Jemma noted. It wasn't pleasant to think about eating the beasts that killed their friends, but nothing could go to waste.    
  
"Come on, we have to get started." Jemma gave Skye's hand a very light squeeze and a tug and Fitz ran ahead of them to help people over to be treated.    
  
"I don't know if I can do this." Jemma admitted as they got closer. Everyone was watching her expectantly, like she could take away all their problems. She only wished she could.

While Fitz ran ahead, Skye squeezed Jemma's hand. Will passed them, helping Victoria who had a few decent chunks missing from her calf. "Spaceman!" Skye the nickname with more affection than she had in past instances and Will looked over his shoulder at her. "When you get her settled, can you grab Trip and pile some firewood for me in the pit by our shelter?" she asked.    
  
"Consider it done," Will nodded and carried on.    
  
Skye gave him a grateful nod. "Maybe not," she looked at Jemma in response to her self doubt. "But we can. Because we have to. So we will " she said it without any traces of doubt in her tone even though she most definitely doubted her own abilities. She gave Jemma's hand a quick squeeze and then let go so she could address everyone.    
  
Clearing her throat, Skye spoke, quickly but clearly and loud enough for everyone to hear. "I know you're all scared and freaked out, I am too. We have to work together now so we can get to the new location by night fall. We're going to patch everyone up. We're going to pack our most important items if we haven't already packed. We're going to stock up on whatever meat we can for our reserves. Then we're all going to go, together, to the waterfall to make camp." She glanced around all the wide eyed, and in some cases bloodied, faces around her, trying to make eye contact and hoping she could instill some confidence and reassurance in them to quell the panic so they could get through the day. She turned to Mack and Yoyo and gave a nod toward the plane and gave them a quieter, "Can you gather the first aid kits?"    
  
They glanced at each other, evaluating the other for their wounds quickly and then nodded and stepped away and jogged in the sand for the fuselage to gather the first aid kit and all the extra lots filled with the various concoctions Jemma had made of the plants they'd gathered. Skye made a mental note that she was going to have to find and gather more aloe plants.    
  
Skye's eyes turn back to the gathered group, just as they erupted into an onslaught of questions and outbursts Skye couldn't keep up with.    
  
"Where were you when this was happening?!" That one came from Victoria   
  
"What about the dead??" This one from Akela, Who was holding her own shirt against her face while sitting in the sand with blood seeping between her fingers having already soaked through the cloth.    
  
"How do we know it's  safe to go anywhere else?!" Victoria again.    
  
"Doesn't seem we have a choice," Will popped up.   
  
"Of course we do, unless this is a dictatorship now?" Mike cut in.    
  
"Medical attention first - figure out the rest later!" This outburst came from a somewhat panicked Bobbi, who was sitting near a half-conscious Hunter while she and May were holding pressure on a couple of deeper wounds on his side and his collar area respectively.    
  
Skye put her thumb and forefinger in her mouth and let out a long wolf whistle that culled everyone to silence as Mack and Yoyo returned with the gear. "Bobbi's right," she looked at Jemma. "Hunter and Akela first and then we'll go from there?" Those two seemed to have the worst wounds she could see out of the others gathered around.    


There were grumbles and quiet complaints from the group and it wasn't until then that Jemma looked over them and realized just how small the group was. They had started with at least thirty survivors and now, not including Ward's group, they were at less than fifteen. They were losing numbers fast here and she could only hope it would be better at the waterfall.    
  
Skye had insisted that Jemma patch herself up before trying to help the others. Jemma had in turn argued that Skye needed attention as well if she was going to work with her. After that they got to work, the both of them sporting several more burns, and Skye a few stitches in the back of her neck.   
  
Hunter was a mess, pieces of him missing all over his body. He was lucky the little beasts hadn't punctured any of his important veins. She did end up using thread for him, a combination of stitches and cauterizations. She tried to make it easier for Skye. Skye did stitches since Jemma couldn't, but Jemma handled using the red hot blade over the fire to close deeper wounds. Hunter passed out from the pain a few bites in and Jemma only treated the wounds that absolutely needed it. Eventually Jemma moved on to Akela and left Bobbi to care for Hunter by cleaning the rest of his wounds.    
  
"Let me see," Jemma gently pulled Akela's hand and cloth away from her face and had to consciously stop the bile in her throat from turning into vomit on the sand. Akela's eye was gone, leaving just a bloody, dark, hollow socket. Thankfully Akela was in enough shock to not truly be feeling it just yet. It was almost more difficult for Jemma as she cauterized the blood vessels inside and stitched what was left of Akela's eyelids closed (she didn't dare make Skye attempt this one and managed with her left hand). She knew Akela knew what had happened and she was glad she didn't have to tell her and say it out loud. At least the other eye was still intact.    
  
It went even less well with Ace. Jemma didn't feel great about causing anyone pain, but it was worse with Ace. Skye had to distract him with action figures and Jemma refused to give him any stitches lest he move and hurt himself. She stuck to small burns and only treated three of the bites, the rest would heal on their own. He pouted and complained, but they all knew he was better off.    
  
Jemma had inflicted so many burns and Skye had done so many stitches by the end that Jemma felt her hand was going to fall off and Skye would be able to become their secondary medic. Her brow was covered in sweat from proximity to the fire and she was ready to go to sleep by the time they finished, not talk about what had happened and still make a move to the waterfall within the day.    
  
Skye felt more than a little traumatized. She kept asking Jemma if she needed to stop and offering to take over so she didn't have to keep burning people, but Jemma was about as stubborn as Skye so she kept going and Skye had kept on stitching. When they were finished, she had Fitz make his way around with the container of aloe gel Will and Trip had been scraping out of the stock of plants they had. She settled next to Jemma after   cleaning and packing the medical kit. They could take a few minutes to breathe. before rushing back into work.    
  
Skye pulled a bottle of water from her messenger bag, uncapped it, took a few gulps and then held it out to Jemma with one hand while holding the other out with three of the aspirin from the bottle in the kit. They could spare it and she knew Jemma needed it. "Do you want to re-wrap your hand or wait until we're back home?" she asked, kneeling in the sand and then sitting back on her heels so she could move her arm around Jemma's back, trying to be careful to avoid squeezing her because of the wounds. Her left shoulder, left hand, right wrist, torso and jaw were minor annoyances, though some of them had bled enough to be cauterized. The back of her neck, back of her shoulder blade and her right elbow were throbbing. They had been the worst ones for Skye. Her torso was also bruised and chest ached when she took deep breaths from their fall earlier, but Skye wasn't about to make that known. There was a lot to do still.

Jemma relaxed into Skye's touch. Her back was the one place that didn't hurt, the only good thing that came out of falling when the compys attacked. Her stomach, chest, and thighs had been riddled with them. She was just thankful they were in places that didn't bleed much so she could get away with only a few burns and applying pressure to the rest. She took a deep breath after swallowing down half of what was left in the bottle.    
  
"I think I can agree with your venom induced self. I would much rather that be tequila." Jemma joked, swishing the water in the bottle and passing it back to Skye. They could all use a little liquid courage. "But yes, it does need to be taken care of now. I won't make the same mistake I did with my leg." Jemma sighed. She didn't want to look at it, she really didn't, but she needed to change the bandages. She managed to untie the knot with her left hand and started to unwrap it, already cringing as the pressure came off it.

Skye chuckled and finished off the open bottle and stowed it in her bag. "I'll keep an eye out for stray leftover mini bottles for you." She pulled out a fresh water bottle they could use to wash Jemma's hand and pulled the medical kit over. She dropped her eyes down to Jemma's hand, shifting to sit and gently pulling her arm closer by the uninjured bottom of it after it was unwrapped. "Do you think soaking it in saltwater will help? I know saline drenched bandages helps with the blisters but the closest we have to that at the moment is the ocean," she asked as she peeled the bandages back and set about washing the wound out so they could get a look at it without the aloe coating and cleaned up.

"Salt water is good for burns, but it also runs the risk of infection with all that's in the seawater." Jemma pointed out. There was no winning here, no pro without a con. Nothing they did was safe, it was just a series of risks taken with hopes that they wouldn't come back to bite them. "I do need some help with the pain control though." Jemma decided. The gauze was sticking to her burn and she had to pour some water from her own water bottle to detach it. She glanced around at everyone frantically packing and her own heart rate started to speed up. They needed to get a move on and make sure they were ready when everyone else was.

Skye worked on preparing everything else they needed, gauze, alcohol, aloe, tape and, this time, an ace bandage roll that was tucked into the bottom of the first aid kit. It would make for better wrapping around Jemma’s hand and wrist than the cut up tank top. She could see the way Jemma was starting to panic a bit. “Jem, we’re already packed,” She reminded her. “We’ve got time to wrap your hand,” She assured. She ducked her head and caught Jemma’s eye. “And you’re going to take the aspirin I gave you when we’re done,” She added, her tone stern. “They’re technically mine and that means I can decide who gets them and those are yours, so you’re taking them.” She moved on to carefully (albeit, quickly since they couldn’t waste time, really) cleaning Jemma’s wound out and covering over it with the aloe. Next would be taping on the gauze pads, layering the thick leaves back on top and then wrapping it firmly with the ace bandage. Skye had the pattern down and she could work quickly enough given what was going on around them. 

Jemma smiled guiltily and her cheeks flushed when Skye called her out. She didn't think Skye had noticed that she'd slipped the pills into her pocket to save for someone else, but apparently she had. She gave in to Skye's demands and tipped her head back to pop the pills into the back of her mouth as the pressure on her hand increased. Skye had it tightly tied. Apparently she'd decided for Jemma to go with the aspirin for the pain control instead of the seawater.    
  
"All gone." Jemma chuckled and opened her mouth so Skye could see she'd swallowed the pills. She checked her hand over and nodded at Skye's work. She tried yet again to close her hand into a fist and her outer fingers had almost no response. It had done the opposite of get better and Jemma only hoped the injuries wouldn't affect her last few fingers after continued usage. "I'm ready to go if you are." Jemma glanced around them again and reached for her messenger bag, dragging it closer by the handle and stuffing the first aid kit into it. They would have to do at least three trips to carry everything, but the first aid kit was a must.

Skye thought the saltwater was a good idea but she was afraid of the microbe deal. Then again, the same could be true of the water they were using from the waterfall too. They really had no idea. They were lucky the water they’d had so far hadn’t killed them or left them unable to do anything but shit out their own intestines. The balance of good and bad luck for the whole duration of the weeks they had been on this island was drastic and mind boggling and she didn’t have time to wrap her head around things right now. There were goals and they had to work their way through them as quickly and concisely as possible. She looked up after finishing with the ace bandage and smiled when Jemma opened her mouth to prove she took the pills. “Atta girl,” She leaned over and kissed her quickly.

Skye’s eyes glanced between her work putting the first aid kit back together so it all fit into the large kit bag and one shaving kit bag, and Jemma’s attempts to close her hand. She wanted to tell Jemma that her hand had to be inflamed and swollen worse than before because of the climbing they’d done and the compy fight. Skye handed over the kit bags and nodded as Jemma tucked them away. “We’ll grab the backpacks and the suitcase from the shelter and then we’ll gather everyone for the first-,” Skye cut off as Buzz appeared now that it seemed like Jemma and Skye were preparing to move somewhere. He wanted to follow. Her swooped around them and then bumped into Skye’s right shoulder before landing on it and briefly fluttering his wings by her ear in a specific duration that Skye was slowly learning was his greeting. 

Skye let out a small chuckle. “Yeah, buddy, I know, I didn’t get to thank you for saving my butt, yet,” She fished into her messenger bag and came up with one of the food packs. She gave Buzz a piece of smoked fish, tossed a chunk into her own mouth and then held the bag out for Jemma. Inside besides the fish were a couple of kiwi’s, a large collection of dried fruit and the last few pieces of terror bird jerky they had. “Should have seen him in action - he dive bombed a couple of compys in mid-air.” She told Jemma as she passed more bits of fish to Buzz. 

Jemma smiled and took a small piece of fish for herself. She didn't want to eat too much and cramp up while they were walking, so she was conservative with the food and gave a piece of her own to Buzz on Skye's shoulder.    
  
"He has become quite the asset." Jemma commented, reflecting on the day she'd stupidly wandered into the jungle. Skye had been so angry with her and Jemma understood now despite having not then. "And an interesting little friend." Jemma added with a chuckle. It really was quite peculiar that the dragonfly would risk its own life for them and continue to follow them, but the whole island was peculiar and this was probably the least strange of their discoveries. 

“Yeah, he’s definitely been a surprising little dude,” She tossed one last bit of fish and fruit into her own mouth and then gave Buzz one last piece before she zipped the bag and tossed it back into her messenger bag then zipped and hooked it shut just as Fitz was hurrying their way.   
  
"Everyone's ready. May is trying to get us all to move." Fitz appeared out of nowhere like usual to alert them that the group would be moving. The camp was fully of nervous energy and all the packed bags were out on the sand accompanying people instead of stored on the plane. People lugged suitcases and backpacks and had cushions tied to their backs with seatbelt straps. They had salvaged as much luggage and useful plane parts as they were going to for the time being. It would already take several runs with what they had so far, so a further picking apart of the plane would have to wait for later.    
  
"Sounds like we better get on it." Jemma stopped her mild attempts at physical therapy and pulled herself to her feet, offering her left hand to help Skye up. She pulled her in by the arm for a slower, gentler kiss than usual and parted only to get her messenger back strap over her body. "Let's do this." Her voice was determined. Skye would be able to tell by the look in her eye that she one hundred percent believed this was the right decision and knew how difficult it would be.

Skye took Jemma’s hand but used her own muscles to stand rather than pulling heavily on Jemma’s no doubt overly taxed muscles. She hadn’t expected the kiss but she was eager to return it, a small bright spot in an otherwise gloomy moment overall. Skye still had her lingering worries about moving to the waterfall, but she had no doubts whatsoever that it was the right decision for them given, especially, the compy herd and the fact that Ward and Co could come after them here while they were recovering. She squeezed Jemma’s hand firmly in her own to let her know that she was a hundred percent on board, regardless of her previous reservations. 

“I need to grab the last backpack and my suitcase from the shelter,” Skye said as Buzz finished his fish and took flight, circling Fitz as he went to gather bags to carry from the pile. “I’ll just be a second,” she assured, making a mental note that she wanted to take down and roll up the tarp from the door of their shelter to shove it into a compartment of the suitcase. She let go of Jemma’s hand after another squeeze and kissed her temple, then gathered her hunting knife which she holstered in its sheath on her thigh and then her machete, which she held onto in her right hand. She jogged to the shelter and pulled down the tarp, folding it a couple of times quickly and then rolling it, she opened the front compartment of her suitcase and managed to stuff it there. She tugged the backpack on, grabbed the suitcase by its side handle and grabbed up her machete in her right hand and went to meet Jemma and the others to get moving on the first trip to the waterfall. 

"I've still got mine, remember?" Jemma walked into the shelter and pulled her bag up off the sand. Jemma knew she was injured, but if Skye thought it would keep her from hauling her own share of stuff- especially her own stuff- to the waterfall, she was sorely wrong. She was determined to do her share of the work and nothing was going to stop her, not even her lame hand.    
  
"Let's move, hurry it up!" They heard May's voice outside the shelter and Jemma took one last look at it while it was empty, bedroll gone and bags off the ground.    
  
"I feel like we're moving houses, like it's normal." Jemma chuckled and shifted the weight of her bag in her hand.

Admittedly, Skye was planning on having one of the others take Jemma's bag if they could, or to grab it on the next trip, rather than having Jemma carry it in her one good hand. She probably could have argued a case for someone else carrying Jemma's bag for her but it would only waste more time and they couldn't afford to do that in their current circumstances. So she, begrudgingly, didn't fuss over it.    
  
Skye gave one last look around the shelter and tried not to frown as her brow creased. "Yeah," she agreed in a distant tone.  She had moved so many times in her life, this should have been no big deal; Orphanages to foster home one, back to orphanage,  to foster home two,  back to orphanage, to foster home three,  back to orphanage,  to foster home four, back to orphanage,  to hell (The Wheelers), back to orphanage,  to her first ever real home and family (The Brodys), back to the orphanage (after their deaths), to an even worse hell (the group home), to juvenile detention, to a second group home,  to running away and living on the streets, squatting vacant houses,  to her van,  to eventually a seemingly endless shuffle of apartments so she wasn't in one place too long because of her job.  Skye had lost count of hours many times she'd moved. She wondered what if she would even be able to handle staying in one place longer them a single year at a time, I'd if she'd ever get the chance to find out.    
  
Another shout from May and some of the others shook Skye back to the present.  She adjusted her grip on the suitcase and the backpack on her shoulders before gripping the machete tighter in her right hand.  "Let's go before May's head explodes, " she attempted to joke before they started out to join the others. 

"I just can't wait to get back to our bed." Jemma smiled. She was already immensely sore and just the thought of snuggling up with Skye, even if they would have to get used to sharing space, would be her motivation to get herself to carry her suitcase the few miles it took to get there. It was going to be a much rougher trip this time.   
  
_______________   
  
Jemma had been right about the difficulty level. She and everyone else with a rolling suitcase carried it down the beach half of the trek, but were so tired and sore that from there they dragged them by the long handle, not caring that it didn't roll. The lot of them looked like a caravan of elderly mules by the time they got to the forked tree without incident, drenched in sweat and panting. Everyone had been excited to arrive until they saw the height of the tree and it came to question exactly how they would get the heavy bags (and Jemma) up the twenty foot climb.    
  
"I have some rope we made. Maybe we can use that to pull the bags up." Trip rifled around in his backpack and pulled out a long, strong strand of plant made rope that he used for his fishing nets.    
  
"I could fashion a pulley off of that branch." Fitz piped up. Jemma looked at Skye and nudged her with a smile since she had predicted this very outcome.    
  
"Let's get to it then." Bobbi took the rope from Trip and passed it over to Fitz to get started.

Not that it was unusual on this island, but Skye felt dog tired. So many parts of her were in pain she couldn’t pinpoint the one that hurt the worst. She offered up an exhausted, tiny, smile when Jemma nudged her but her mind was running through time constraints. She didn’t think leaving their piled things on the beach was a good idea since Ward’s crew could pilfer them, which meant they would have to go back for another trip, or two, and they would have to do it before the sun went down. 

Skye pushed her suitcase next to Jemma’s and moved to take her backpack off, trying her best not to grimace in pain as every movement made her muscles scream louder. She fished around in her messenger bag for the last of her water bottles and drank a third of it before she held it out to Jemma. “We still need to get the rest of the stuff from the beach,” She said, trying to calculate in her head who would need to stay behind both to get the current bags (and Jemma) up and over the tree or because they were too injured to tax them further for another two hour round trip. 

Jemma took off her messenger bag to take a break for a moment while they all stood and discussed at the base of the tree. When Skye spoke up, she looked over to her with concern on her face. She'd already made the trip an extra time over the others today alone, she had to be exhausted.    
  
"We should do it in one more load, get it over with." May suggested.    
  
"All that's left are cushions, materials from the plane, and a few smaller bags." Fitz piped up. He looked between Skye and Jemma and could tell just looking at Skye's face and where her attentions were that Skye would be going and Jemma would not.  "I'll stay here and help get things over the tree with the pulley." Fitz held up the rope. He looked to Jemma and her hand and wondered how Skye had gotten her over twice already. He glanced over to her.   
  
"I'll go." Bobbi spoke up. She had very few bites and seemed to have the most energy left out of all of them. Trip, Mack, Yoyo and Will all volunteered along with him.   
  
"Do you have to?" Jemma sounded like a child when she tugged at Skye's shirt and tried to make eye contact with her. She knew that look and knew Skye would stop at nothing to keep everyone safe and complete the objective.

Skye gave Fitz a small nod, glad for the pulley system since it meant he’d be there with Jemma since she was definitely going for the second, and hopefully last, trip back and forth. There was some small relief in knowing that Jemma wasn’t going to have to climb up, over and down the tree again and risk further injuring her hand. It was hard to focus between the pain from her wounds, her general urge to want to lay down and go to sleep for days and her stomach grumbling angrily to be fed since she’d worked off way more calories in the day than she’d consumed. It was a far cry from the food coma she and Jemma had put themselves in the night before after catching the catfish. She would need to eat something on the hike back out to the beach. 

Skye’s attention turned to Jemma at the question. She wanted to say she didn’t have to go, but Skye felt like she definitely had to, to make sure everything went as it should. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust the group of volunteers, she absolutely did. It was just the way Skye was wired. She wound her arm around Jemma’s waist and pulled her closer. “It’ll only be a couple hours,” She said. “Enough time for you to get up and over and get a nap in before I get back,” She tried to joke with a small smile. 

"I won't be able to sleep without you." It sounded like a small whine, even though she knew there was nothing she could do to convince Skye to stay. She was determined to help everyone, but that didn't mean Jemma had to be happy about it. "Promise you'll be extra careful." Jemma gave Skye's hand a squeeze and glanced around. Those going on the second trek were dropping bags for the others to get up and over. Fitz had thrown the rope up over the branch and was starting to tie knots.

Skye offered Jemma a small smile and leaned over to kiss her temple even as the tone she used made parts of her heart twinge painfully in her chest. “Always,” She replied. “We’ll be back before you know it, promise,” she gave Jemma a light squeeze and leaned over in to steal a proper kiss. “Try to stay out of trouble while I’m, gone, hm?” She smiled and tucked some of Jemma’s hair behind her ear before she started to step back from her. 

Without turning away from Jemma, Skye looked at Fitz and Mike working with the rope. “No matter how much she fights, don’t let her climb anymore with that hand. I’m sure you can come up with a way to get her up and over, yeah?” She arched her eyebrows and nodded toward the rope as she took a few steps back toward the others who’d volunteered and looked back over at Jemma. “Let them help you, okay?” She paused a breath and added. “For me?” 

The luggage was fine, but Jemma did not like the idea of having herself hoisted up by whatever contraption Fitz was working on. She was much more inclined to ignore her injury and climb anyway, but she remembered how she'd fallen on Skye and then Skye made that face and used that hopeful tone and Jemma couldn't say no to her.    
  
"Only if it can get the bags up." Jemma agreed. Her terms were simple. She stepped forward as Skye stepped back and caught her by the waist to pull her back in for another kiss, long enough to last them the few hours until Skye got back. "I'll see you later." She whispered against Skye's lips.    
  
"Gross!" Ace suddenly seemed to notice the happenings between the two women and Jemma finally pulled away with a chuckle as Mike nudged and shushed his son.

“Have a little faith, Doc,” Skye grinned, albeit tiredly, as Jemma pulled her back. She wasn’t eager at all for that kiss to break. Every time they had one like that, before they were separating, it left the question in mind about whether it would be the last time she ever got to kiss Jemma. She did her best to push the thought to the back of her mind. “Count on it,” She murmured right back. 

Skye let out a small chuckle at Ace’s outburst. “You’re in charge of keeping this one in line while I’m gone,” She said to Ace, very lightly ruffling up his hair as she walked by before she flashed Jemma another small smile. She turned and walked over to join the others. 

"Yes, Ma'am!" Ace did a very well rehearsed solute and rushed over to Jemma, grabbing onto her good hand like Skye always did so he could "take care of her". Jemma chuckled and squeezed his hand back, but gave Skye a small, sad smile as she and the others walked off nearly empty handed into the jungle.

___________ 

It took a bit longer than usual to make it to the beach this time. On the walk out there, Skye pulled out the food the remaining two food bags from her messenger bag and split everything in there - a few kiwi, a couple of small oranges, a few heavy handfuls of various dried fruits (mango, papaya, coconut, guava, etc), and a few pieces of smoked fish and shrimp - between all of them for a small recharge. Buzz had followed to go with them so Skye gave him a few pieces when he would hover or land on her shoulder. 

When they made it to the beach, there was a pile still by the fuselage. There were about eight rolled up cushions, extras that they could add to the rolls they already had for cushions, four rolling suitcases, two large camping backpacks filled with odds and ends, and three mid-sized messenger bags. Skye noticed a few empty school backpacks near the pile and grabbed those first.  

“Trip, do you want to check your traps, see if there’s anything we can bring back with us?” Skye asked, handing him one of the packs. “While you do that, we’ll grab the rest of the compy bodies?” A good deal of those had made it in the first trip and the group was probably already smoking them to turn them into jerky.  

“I checked and emptied them this morning,” Trip said. “They’ll need more time. I can come back tomorrow or the day after to check them again, give them some time. It’s mostly the crab traps, all the fish ones are in my bag back at the waterfall,” He told her. “So I’ll help gather the compys.” 

“Should we do a last quick sweep of the plane?” Mack asked. “Make sure we’ve got everything for now?” None of them wanted to linger too long and tempt fate that the compys would come back. 

"Because it would be horrible if someone left their phone charger in the back seat pocket." Yoyo joked sarcastically. A few weeks ago that would have been the worst thing that could happen to them all week, and now it was irrelevant. The joke got a few chuckles out of Will.

It got a few, very tired, chuckles out of Skye as well, though truth be told she would grab a phone charger if she saw one in the hopes that it would somehow help Fitz with wiring up a sat hookup for their electronic tinkering. Any kind of wiring that could help with rigging their attempt at communication was definitely a find to be grabbed.    
  
"I think all we'll find are more cushions and seat belts, but it's worth a look." Will replied. The two objects were quite useful so if there was more they could carry, they would.    
  
They grabbed a few more cushions left in the airplane cabin and strapped them to the suitcases with the seat belts they could cut loose. Once they divided the load for everyone to carry their share, they got back on the move to get to the waterfall to stay before night fell.   
  
"How do you think they're doing getting everyone and everything over the tree?" Will asked as they walked. He didn't know how Jemma had gotten over with Skye before, but he supposed if she could do it then she could do it now, especially with rope. 

“I’m hoping everything’s running smoothly and they’re inside getting settled,” Skye said. Her mind was on the waterfall, of course, hoping everyone was safe and that maybe Jemma could get some rest once she was inside. Knowing Jemma, she was probably fussing over everyone’s injuries rather than napping. “We’ll get there, have the others help lug the bags over and get started on dino barbecue,” she said with a small, hopeful smile. 

Turning to her other side, she looked over at Bobbi, who had been unusually quiet since they left the waterfall. “So,” She said, popping her right eyebrow up slightly. “You and Hunter, huh?” She let mouth twist just very slightly into a tiny crooked smirk. 

"Don't start." Bobbi chuckled and waggled her finger, but she was actually slightly panting. She knew there was no way Skye would let it go after all of her own teasing and interrupting, but it was worth a shot. "It's mostly for sex." she admitted blatantly. They had been sneaking into the treeline for a while and Bobbi was happy with the relationship. "It's not like you and Jemma. It's just for fun." she explained.

Oh, hell no, Skye wasn’t going to let it go, especially not when it gave her something to focus on rather than the fact that she was absolutely exhausted and wanted to collapse an pass out, even as they finally made it into the shade of the jungle from the struggle through the sand. Skye let out a snort of laughter, which hurt a number of different muscles but, since the rest of her muscles were screaming at her in pain, she ignored it. “Uh huh,” She murmured skeptically. She wanted to say,  _ ‘which is why you were so upset and freaked out when he was hurt, hm?’ _ but she didn’t want to be quite so cruel to Bobbi when they were all feeling it right now. “A likely story,” she smirked instead. 

"What, did you not enjoy the benefits of your 'safety check' of the waterfall last night? You know exactly what I mean. End of the world sex is amazing." Bobbi snickered and it only amused her even more that Will stiffened and looked more than a little uncomfortable in the back. They all knew about the television drama, gossip traveled fast. "So maybe I find he's not so bad- even a little funny, in a college sophomore kind of way."

Skye snickered. She shrugged up her shoulders as best as she could with how they were weighed down with bags. “Feeling compelled to do a lottttttta explaining there, Bobbi,” Skye said in a singsong tone just to pick on her a little more, grinning a bit. It was way more than just lust for Skye and Jemma, but Skye didn’t think she needed to actually say that, not to Bobbi at least. She might’ve been tired enough for a sentimental little smile and expression cross her face at the thought of being able to just lay down in bed with Jemma to rest when they got back. Soon. They’d be back soon. 

 ____________

Even with the help from the ropes, Jemma still used her hands since she didn't exactly trust them not to snap. May and Fitz pulled on the rope from   
the top and Jemma wore it more like a climbing vest and did about half of the work herself. It was different for Hunter, Jemma didn't want him to reopen any wounds so several of them pulled him up and lowered him down on the other side. It took about an hour just to get everything and everyone inside the enclosed space, but when they did it was worth it. Ace was in awe and chased after Buzz to the water to go swimming and nobody was able to stop him. Jemma warned him not to go near the waterfall and carried on. They had to let Ace grow up faster if he was going to make it out of here, and a little unsupervised play was a good easy start.   
  
They spent a long time unpacking everyone's things, setting up beds out of cushions, and choosing spots. There was a larger, main cave in the side of the cliff along with another about a third of its size. Jemma and Fitz took the liberty to move Trip, Bobbi, and Hunter's things into the smaller cave where her and Skye's bed were. They would all be roommates for the time being.    
  
"You guys won't have all that privacy anymore." Fitz chuckled as he finished laying his bed cushions on the other side of the small cave. He didn't want to be anywhere near the two of them lest it get awkward.    
  
"I think Skye will mind it more than I will." Jemma smiled. Skye was more of a loner than Jemma was, and since she had been the one to set up her own private shelter to begin with it was probably her strong preference. "I think she'll mind less once we lay down. We're all exhausted." Jemma added. Fitz nodded in agreement. "She should be back by now." Jemma looked out the cave mouth at the light, or lack thereof, and frowned.

It was reaching sunset by the time the group returned. They helped hook bags up to the rope to send them up and over and Skye didn't even fight when the others urged her to climb up first, though she did stop and stare upward a moment as she tiredly contemplated the energy that would be necessary to climb up and over the tree.    
  
With a sigh, she started the climb, thoughts solely on the want to go lay down with Jemma. When she reached the bottom, inside, however, a wave of exhaustion hut her. She made it about ten feet from the tree, looking around the camp to do a quick sweep of their set up before her knees wobbled a tiny bit and she eased down, catching her breath still, to sit in the grass and catch her breath. Skye didn't know if it was relief or just the fact that she was so far drained she just had nothing left in the tank and needed to sit a moment so she could regain the strength to move and finish her way to the cave. Skye laid back in the grass without having taken her messenger bag or the rolled up cushions strapped to it off. Just a few minutes to breathe and then she'd work her way back to her feet to drag herself the rest of the way to bed. Yep, that was it. She closed her eyes a second and tried to take slow, deep breaths in through her nose out through her mouth.

Jemma perked up when some of those who had been on the second haul team starting filtering into the two caves. Bobbi dropped off what she had carried at the mouth of the cave for the owner to find and pick up. With a tired groan, she found her bed with Hunter and collapsed into it by his side. Jemma stared at the mouth of the cave, but Skye didn't come through and Jemma opened her mouth to implore, but Bobbi just pointed and Jemma got to her feet and hurried in the right direction.    
  
Her worried frown melted off her face and yielded a small smile when she saw Skye, exhausted, dropped in the grass, ready to sleep right there. Jemma scanned her person once just to make sure there were no injuries before she approached.    
  
"Come on, Sleepyhead, almost there." Jemma nudged Skye's foot with her toe and held a hand out to help her up. If she sat down with her they'd both be too tired to get up so Jemma wanted to just keep her momentum going until they got to bed.

Skye's eyes cracked open. A small dopey smile curled up her lips when she saw Jemma.  She lazily reached up for Jemma's hand but didn't pull herself up right away, though she didn't pull Jemma down either.  "I don't think I've got the juice left to move," she was only half joking, really.  Whatever little boosts of adrenaline she'd had urging her along for the second hike had left her when she had hit the grass inside the camp. "How'd everything go here?" she asked,  barely managing to sit herself back up and too tired to hide the flinch of facial muscles that scrunched around her face when she moved.

"Just fine, don't you worry." Jemma leaned back and gave Skye a good tug, pulling her arm over her shoulders and adjusting to hold some of her weight. "Let's just get you to bed. Everything else is for another day." Jemma sighed and took a couple steps to get Skye going.

Skye climbed to her feet with great effort and didn't fight at all against her arm being pulled around Jemma's shoulders,  though she did resist leaning on her to avoid possibly hurting any of Jemma's wounds. "That sounds..." Skye was so tired she felt lounge she was asleep on her feet,  "perfect," she sighed.  "Even have extra cushions for bed," she murmured worn a flick of her thumb toward the cushion rolls strapped to her back.  She turned her head as they trudged and kissed Jemma's temple, unable and unwilling to fight the compulsion to do so.

Jemma giggled and rested her bandaged hand against the side of Skye's face. "Don't forget we have roommates now." Jemma chided playfully and tapped at Skye's cheek. She led them back to their bed and it didn't matter that their friends were all around them, everyone crashed the moment their heads hit their pillows (or whatever they were using for pillows).    



	14. Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warnings:** discussion/mentions of previously attempted rape
> 
> Today was literally my last day of 12 straight days of work that spanned almost 103 total hours of working over them...so let me just say....love you guys! Thanks for reading! thanks for the kudos, comments and love! Hope you enjoy this chapter!! sorry for typos we didn't catch!!! 
> 
> Hang onto your butts!   
> #whereverwednesday!  
> <3  
> :D
> 
> ________________

Admittedly, Skye wasn't all that jazzed about the fact that they were sharing their living space.  It wasn't because she didn't like the people she was sharing space with, she did, very much so.  She was very used to living alone.  She had really grown used to sharing space with Jemma,  though, and honestly didn't think she would be able to sleep if Jemma wasn't next to her. Thankfully, that wasn't an issue right now. Not only had they been able to sleep (on extra cushioned beds now too), but they had actually been able to sleep in through the early morning and almost to the afternoon. It was almost like a Christmas miracle, if ever there was such a thing in real life.     
  
Skye was the first to wake. She didn't open her eyes right away. Jemma was wrapped around her and tucked into her shoulder under her chin. Their legs were tangled and they were wound around each other under their covers. Skye was so comfortable in the moment, despite her aching muscles and wounds, that she was reluctant to move, lest she accidentally rouse Jemma.    
  
She lost her battle against not moving, however, when she stretched her legs and curved her back to crack it. She ran her fingers gently through Jemma's hair, tucked it behind her ear, traced the curve of her face and then set about peppering ghost light kisses all about Jemma's face - her forehead, nose, the small crook next to her nose, cheek, temple, jaw, chin, the corner of her mouth and so on while her hand ran along Jemma's back.

Jemma made a humming sound, eyes still closed, first sounding grumpy at having to wake up but changing to happy and content at Skye's attentions. She slowly let her smile pull the corners of her mouth up and she mumbled something about five more minutes and turned her face into Skye's shoulder to block any other attempts to wake her.    
  
"Shh," Bobbi quietly shushed them. Everyone was still asleep and nobody wanted to get up any time soon. They were on a stranded island, it wasn't like they had a schedule to meet.

Skye turned her head slightly into the top of Jemma's shoulder as she snickered softly at both of them. "K," she murmured against Jemma's shoulder, where she left one last kiss. She wanted to go back to sleep but she was normally an early riser because of her job so, once she was up she was normally up (barring, of course things like recovering from venom induced seizures and such). She left her cheek leaning against the side of Jemma's head and shifted to move her arms further around her. Abandoning the kisses to let Jemma nap a little longer, she was only minorly conscious of still moving her hand very lightly along Jemma's back in random trails and patterns. She did indulge in taking a long inhale through her nose to let her senses fill up with Jemma's scent as she closed her eyes again in an attempt to either fall back asleep or wait Jemma out however long she needed to sleep still.    
  
Though it was normally a dangerous thing to do, Skye let her mind wander. For the moment, they were safe. They had clean water readily available, food stocks, their own fort-like walls for protection and  built-in shelter. Short of being rescued off this island, it was more than they could ask for at the moment. They would, of course, need to search the new area around their new encampment to forage for food, and they'd have to find a safe way to climb to get to the river above them for fishing purposes since they wouldn't want to over fish the pond, of course. The most important thing was that they were safe.    
  
No one had to run from dinosaurs or terror birds. Ward and his group didn't know where they were, so they couldn't try to kidnap Jemma. They had shifts of guards set up at the tree to keep a lookout in groups of two as well for an extra precaution. They were safe, and that gave Skye time to contemplate the fact that she had found Jemma at all, regardless of the way it had happened. It felt surreal that she felt comfortable enough with Jemma, after such a short period of time, to very willingly let herself feel exactly as intensely as she did for her. It was simultaneously terrifying and exhilarating to not only know that Jemma felt the same way about her, but to actually believe it, especially in the ways she knew it without Jemma having to actually say it. This was not something Skye ever thought she would have. In fact she'd convinced herself long ago that she'd given up on even hoping to have anything remotely like it. And now, here was Jemma, all wrapped up in her arms, one small piece of paradise among her otherwise tumultuous past.   
  
Thinking about it made Skye's heart pick up quite a few extra beat swells she could only hope didn't disturb Jemma too much with the way her face was tucked into her shoulder and all. Along with the somewhat unbelievable fact that she'd found Jemma, that they'd managed to find each other on an overcrowded planet full of other people, was the thought that never truly left Skye's mind. The ones that told Skye that it was only a matter of time before she lost Jemma somehow, just like everyone else who had ever mattered to her in any real, tangible way. She had already nearly lost Jemma numerous times. Each time, the background thought that it was only a matter of time before Jemma was gone from her life forever became louder and pushed its way to the forefront of her mind, trying its best to suffocate her with the tangible fear of loss.   
  
"I love you, Jemma," It came out as a bit of a blurted whisper against Jemma's  ear, both trying not to actually wake Jemma and trying not to bother the others with noise again while needing to actually say it aloud, just to put it out there in the ether so there could be no doubt of it.

Jemma wasn't quite asleep when Skye said it. She was suddenly awake. She and Skye could sense each other's emotions well enough for Jemma to know something was on Skye's mind. It was too early to find exactly what, but Jemma did slip their fingers together. Her burn wasn't stinging too badly and she'd much rather be holding onto Skye's hand.    
  
"I love you too." Jemma whispered quietly into Skye's ear and gave Skye's neck and then her collarbone a few soft kisses before she nuzzled back in. She didn't think it could get any better than this, all things considered.

All things considered, it couldn't get any better, nope. Skye was careful not to squeeze Jemma's hand since it was her injured hand, but she curled her fingers loosely together with hers. She smiled a bit when Jemma spoke and at the feel of those kisses and closed her eyes to just memorize the moment and the feeling of all of it, the good and scary ones alike. She let out a slow breath and then turned her head to kiss the side of Jemma's, catching the edge of her earlobe as she did. "Sorry, go back to sleep," she whispered a bit sheepishly afterward, still tracing her hand along Jemma's back gently with one hand while running the pad of her thumb along the outside length of Jemma's since it wasn't covered by the bandages.

________________   
  
"It's going to take much longer than I'd like it to." Jemma grumbled, referring to the time it would take for her hand to heal, or at least the burns, since there was nothing she could do about the loss of function. She had it unwrapped and was trying to clean it by the pond while everyone else was milling about or contributing to the making of a large group brunch, since most of them had just gotten up, even though the sun's position meant it was about noon. Jemma was still wearing her periodic table pajamas, now comfortable enough with the group and caring less about social norms from before the crash.

It was a small miracle Skye had been capable the night before (with much urging and help on Jemma’s part) to actually get  _ into _ her pajamas, there was no way she was going to change out of them already if it wasn’t necessary. She sat next to Jemma in her not nearly as interesting plaid pajama pants and her old sweatshirt with the sleeves cut short and a wide opening cut into the collar. She tried not to frown too much as she ran her hand over Jemma’s hair and leaned over to kiss the side of her head, lingering there for a moment. She kissed Jemma’s shoulder a moment later and looked back down at her hand. She traced her fingers along the top of Jemma’s forearm and stopped once her palm was pressed against the uninjured back of her hand and studied all the terribly marled parts of Jemma’s palm. 

“What are our options?” Skye asked. “Is there anything we can look for in the jungle? Or anything at all we can do to help speed up the process for you?” Even though she knew it was illogical to think Jemma would be in pain the whole time her palm was healing since she knew that would slowly ease, Skye was greatly upset that this might be the case especially since she was the one who’d burnt Jemma’s palm and she had no idea if she’d done anything wrong that would cause the healing to take longer, or if she had inadvertently made Jemma’s hand functionality worse in how she’d done it. She knew Jemma would never tell her if that was the case, so she worried and she fussed and she tried to tread as lightly as possible in trying to figure out what they could do to make this less terrible on Jemma. 

Jemma sighed and rubbed her left hand up and down the arm Skye had holding her injured hand. She knew Skye was worried. Her hand hurt, but it would be worse if she knew Skye felt so upset about it. She knew Skye felt guilty, but she also knew that no matter how many times Jemma told her it wasn't her fault Skye still wouldn't believe it.    
  
"I'll submit to using a bit of the burn cream." The throbbing and stinging finally made Jemma give in. Skye had been urging her to use it since the burn happened but Jemma had wanted to save it for the others. After everyone had used a bit for their cauterized bites, though, she supposed it was only fair she use it as well. She was doing it partly because yes, her palm did hurt, but it would make Skye feel better too.

It was more than fair for Jemma to be slotted some of that burn cream and Skye would have brought it up in her latest comments but Jemma had already looked and sounded frustrated enough that she didn't want to exacerbate things by insisting that she use some again. She had been, however, actively considering mixing some of it into the small tube of aloe gel in her messenger bag and hoping Jemma wouldn't notice. Skye's head snapped up, eyebrows arched, face a bit brighter with hope. "Really?" she asked "No, wait don't answer that, you said it, no take backs!" It came out all in a rush before she leaned forward and quickly smashed their mouths together in a long kiss to prevent Jemma from trying to second guess the decision. "I'll grab it," she grinned once she broke the kiss and then had to let go of Jemma so she could drag the first aid kit closer to dig the tube of burn cream out. 

Once Skye had the tube, she unscrewed the cap and squeezed a generous enough amount out onto two of her fingers before she set the tube in her lap and gently pulled Jemma's arm over to her. Skye was the picture of concentration as she took great care to work the cream over the wound, making sure it was covered despite the uneven nature of the burn spots. She was so concentrated on it, listening only for certain sounds from Jemma so she could adjust if she used too much pressure, her brow was creased and her eyes strictly focused, she was only missing the tip of her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth to complete her near-cartoonish attention to the task, shamelessly unabashed by her level of utmost care given.

Jemma giggled at Skye's overjoyed reaction to her allowing herself to be medicated, but flinched when it was first applied. Skye's touch was gentle and soft, but it still stung at first until the numbing chemicals in it started to take effect and Jemma sighed. The pain buzzing in her hand for the last two days had finally subsided for the first time.    
  
"Thank you, I should listen to you more often." Jemma joked, but was also half serious. Skye was right, after everything the two of them had done, they deserved care for themselves.

Skye made a show of exhaling a dejected sigh before she brought her eyes up to Jemma’s.  "You couldn't have waited until I had some witnesses to hear that?" she asked before she cracked and a smile broke across her face. She wiped the tiny bit of excess burn cream along one of the burn spots on the back of her neck next to her stitches, just to make sure it didn't go to waste even if it was only a tiny bit left behind. She leaned over and stole another kiss. Okay, it was maybe more like three kisses. Skye didn't think she could be faulted for such indulgence, even if there weren't really many private places for there to be no prying eyes anymore.

“Funny.” Jemma grinned and let herself melt into Skye, enthusiastically returning her kisses even though people could see them. They'd have to get used to it. She made sure to hold her burned hand out to the side to keep from smearing away the precious medication.    
  
"Hey, lady lovers! Breakfast is ready!" Jemma broke them apart for air when Bobbi so suddenly interrupted them. A small grumble nearly escaped her throat, but she couldn't stop the one from her stomach.

Skye let out a snicker at Jemma’s grumbling stomach as she ducked her own head and dropped her eyes while the tops of her ears turned a few deep shades of red. “In a sec!” She called back. She leaned closer to Jemma and whispered. “When my stomach’s full...the gloves come off and we mercilessly pick on her and Hunter,” she grinned and then looked down at Jemma’s hand. “Do you want to rewrap it now, or wait to let the cream soak in more first?” She asked, falling more serious as she asked it. 

"Game on." Jemma chuckled. She shook out her hand to let the cool air move across it as she mulled over the decision in her head. It was ultimately better to keep it protected, so there was only one good option. "Let's wrap it up now." Jemma gathered up the supplies they needed and passed Skye the long bandage to tie around her hand after she situated the gauze.   
  
"I'm afraid to check for mobility again." Jemma caught her lip and worried it between her teeth. She was looking for reassurance from Skye that everything would be alright, even if she knew she probably wouldn't have full function ever again.

Skye went to work winding the ace bandage around Jemma's wrist and hand, wrapping it firm as always but, of course trying to be as careful not to hurt Jemma as possible and making sure not to impede her fingers too much even if they had limited movement currently.    
  
"You don't need to check for that right now," Skye said as she fastened the ace bandage and leaned over to kiss the corner of Jemma's mouth next to where she was worrying her lip. "It's still recovering from all that drawing, climbing and fighting. It’s gotta be way too inflamed and still healing to know for sure." She said it as if she knew this was the case rather than just hoping it was the truth because she knew Jemma needed some form of reassurance and she damn sure was going to offer as much of it as she could.    
  
After cleaning up the first aid kit, Skye zipped it shut, stole another kiss then stood up and he'd her hand out for Jemma's uninjured one to pull her up. She slipped her arm around Jemma's waist and carried the kit in her free hand as they headed in Bobbi's direction, stomachs grumbling louder as they approached.

"I hope so." Jemma quickly flexed her few fingers anyway and cringed before she let her arm go down to her side so she could ignore it and focus on the next objective: getting food into their stomachs. Everyone was gathering around the main fire pit and Bobbi and Trip were distributing thin, cooked strips of compy on plates cut from the giant leaves.   
  
"It's almost like bacon." Jemma joked. "Thank you." She nodded to Trip when he gave her her share and looked over to Skye and Bobbi, waiting to see what kind of teasing she might pull from her sleeve. 

Trip gave Jemma a nod. "Welcome - hopefully it tastes even a bit like that, we used some of the salt you made while cooking it." He told her.    
  
"Thanks," Skye said as Trip handed her a leaf plate as well. Her mouth watered as she imagined a breakfast plate full of bacon, pancakes and runny sunnyside up eggs. To distract herself from longing for such things, she turned to Bobbi with a mischievous grin and said, "Preparing a little breakfast in bed for the ol’  Hubs, huh?" Her grin stretched until it was Cheshire sized, most of her teeth showed. "That's so sweet, it's almost sickening, Bobbi!" She exaggerated her gushing as the corners of her eyes crinkled when her Cheshire grin pushed her cheeks up higher.

"That's not- Skyeeee." Bobbi groaned and put the plate she had indeed just been putting together for Hunter on the side to get a serving for the next person in line. She knew it was time for Skye's revenge about all the teasing, but that didn't mean Bobbi had to like it. "You can make fun of me all you want." Bobbi's chest puffed up and she was clearly pretending to not care. "You tease me now, but you and Jemma are about to go off and make heart eyes and be all lovey dovey with each other."

Skye turned her head to look at Jemma and the heart eyes appeared nearly instantaneously, though she didn't even blush this time despite the fact that there were quite a few other people around them. "You say that like it's a bad thing," she quipped as she stepped back with Jemma to let other people in. "It's kind of cute how flustered she is about him, isn't it?" She asked Jemma as if Bobbi wasn't standing right there. She let out a jokingly dreamy sigh and smiled sweetly at Bobbi, putting a hand over her heart. "Young lovvvvve," she cooed. Trip ducked his head and snickered and then had to duck as Bobbi tried to swat at him. 

"It's a wonderful display of phenylethylamine, norepinephrine and dopamine." Jemma chuckled, but she didn't realize nobody else thought it was as funny as she did until after she said it and was giggling at her own joke. She blushed and shrugged her shoulders, but it was too late because Bobbi was already laughing at her excessive knowledge.    
  
"So what if I like him for more than sex?" Bobbi shot back at Skye. "It's not a bad thing." She repeated. "He has that sarcastic thing going and it's amusing to hang out with him." Bobbi knew Skye had her trapped and now that she had admitted it, the teasing would never end. “Go eat your breakfast.” She tried to shoo the two women away with a flick of her wrist. 

Skye arched her eyebrows just slightly at what she assumed was a joke by the way Jemma was chuckling and couldn’t help but snicker a bit as she flashed those heart eyes at her again. Just her right eyebrow jumped upward as Bobbi admitted it. That Cheshire sized grin lit up her face again now that the words were out! And then Bobbi even went on to gush even  _ more _ !! Skye was snickering still as Bobbi tried to hurry them along. She hooked her free arm around Jemma’s waist to pull her over to her side, “We’re going, we’re going!” she said as they started off but turned her head and called over her shoulder. “Hey, Bobbi!” She said loudly. “Congrats, I’m proud of you - the first step is admitting you have an addiction!” She beamed a bright grin at Bobbi and mimicked one of the infamous winks she always gave Skye when she was picking on her. 

Bobbi's hand came up, closed in a fist except for her middle finger. There was a smile on her face though, so they knew she was playfully bantering with them. Trip gave her a good shove though and nodded his head toward Ace and his father as Mike stared Bobbi down. She shrugged apologetically and Jemma laughed at the exchange. At least they still had the bit of normal that meant there were things that were inappropriate for children.   
  
"You really got her going there." Jemma chuckled, bumped Skye with her hip and gave her a peck on the cheek as they walked back to the edge of the pond to eat. It was actually quite amusing to watch.

Skye was still grinning, even snickering slightly still when Jemma’s hip bumped hers. The sappy look in her eyes was right back in place the moment Jemma’s lips touched her cheeks and Skye wasn’t at all bashful about the fact it was happening. The comments Bobbi and the others made joking around with them, or interrupting them when they were kissing or whatever, okay, fine she would flush a few shades of pink in the cheeks and tops of her eyes then. But she wasn’t bashful, at least she didn’t feel so at this point, about the way she felt about Jemma. Of course, it kind of helped that things were sorted between them. If they hadn’t been, she would be plenty bashful about it. 

“I still owe her a few more, but,” Skye grinned as they sat down by the water. “I’ll choose my striking moments carefully…” she chuckled. Honestly, Skye probably would never quite pick on Bobbi about it as much as Bobbi picked on her about her and Jemma. But finding little moments like that one that gave them all a good chuckle without going  _ too _ far, that was something they could equate to normalcy. She tossed a piece of kiwi into her mouth and looked over at Jemma. “What do the other two do?” She asked. She finished chewing and swallowed and then added. “I mean, I know what dopamine does,” Or, she knew the most basic definition of what it did and she was sure Jemma knew full textbooks worth of information on the three things (Skye assumed they were also chemicals in the brain based off of the mention of the Dopamine) she’d listed in her joke. “But what do the other two things you mentioned in your joke do? Or, control, I guess?” Part of Skye wanted to get the joke better than she had and the other part wanted to see if this would prompt Jemma into rambling about science-y things since Skye really loved the animated way Jemma got into it when she rambled about those things. Plus, it wasn’t like Skye was asking this while she was caring for a wound Jemma had in order to try and distract her from pain so Skye would get to really pay attention to Jemma’s face and gesticulation when she answered.   
  
"Well," Jemma started, pausing to chew a dry piece of compy and making a slight face of distaste before she continued. "Norepinephrine, when released from neurons, stimulates the production of adrenaline." Jemma explained. She put her food down momentarily and reached for Skye's hand. She spread open Skye's fingers and laid her own hand over Skye's over her own chest. "It's what makes our hearts beat wildly and our palms sweat." She grinned and leaned over to share a short, but soft and sweet kiss with Skye before she continued her science lesson.    
  
"Phenylethylamine acts as a releasing agent of norepinephrine and dopamine, which you already know about. When we first see someone we find attractive, phenylethylamine is produced and thus exists love at first sight. It's all quite exciting." Jemma was enthusiastically gesturing with her hands as she spoke and smiling broadly at her interested student.    
  
"The fact most often remembered about phenylethylamine is that there is a recognizable amount of it in chocolate." Jemma's finger was up and waving slightly in an informative gesture and tone. "But what is less well known is that a large percentage of it never makes it to the brain, so what really brings us pleasure from eating chocolate is the sweet taste." Jemma had already gone off topic and she blushed when she realized she had been jabbering on. "I would kill a terror bird for chocolate right now." She joked to try to lighten some of the heavy embarrassment on her shoulders.    


Skye was paying attention and she wanted to know the information Jemma was giving her, but her real attention was on Jemma, herself. Her wild gesticulations, the way her finger traced out the cadence of her comments on the air as she relayed them...the jumping rhythm of Jemma’s heartbeat beneath her palm after a short, sweet little kiss like that. Heart Eyes. Jemma was literally giving her a layman’s breakdown of the three chemicals in people’s brains that caused the heart eyes emoji to exist...and Skye was probably giving Jemma the heart eyes the entire time she did it, completely unable to stop herself. She grinned as Jemma blushed and was just going to lean over to steal a kiss when she mentioned the desire for chocolate. The grin on her face stretched a bit wider. 

“Okay, one,” Skye held her finger up after swallowing a less than stellar tasting mouthful of compy meat and went on. “You are so damn adorable, I’m not entirely sure I can stand it,” She gushed, jusssst slightly and ignored the heat in the tops of her ears afterward. “And two,” She picked up her leaf-made plate and set it on the free side of Jemma’s lap. “Hold this a sec and don’t go anywhere,” She leaned over and stole that kiss she wanted steal before as she pulled herself to her feet. She gave Jemma’s shoulder a small squeeze and headed for the cave. 

A few minutes later, after digging through the pockets of her messenger bag where she’d hidden it back when they’d first pulled everything from the tail end of the plane, she returned to Jemma, holding the package by her side and out of sight. Skye reclaimed her spot next to Jemma and sat down cross legged next to her again. She took her leaf plate of food back and, still beaming a lopsided, impish little grin at Jemma, said, “Close your eyes.”   
  
Jemma had a pretty good idea about what Skye was holding behind her back, but she was also hesitant to let herself get so excited about it. She should want to share, she knew, but she also thought she and Skye deserved their own little special something after all the risks they had taken and everything they'd done for the group.  
  
"You didn't," Jemma grinned, but closed her eyes in compliance. She squinted through one eye just to look at Skye's face, and it made Jemma's smile stretch even more. Never before had she been looked at with such admiration and it made her heart pound in her chest and every muscle jittery with happiness. 

Skye had a couple of things stocked away. Two things really. The bag in her hand and a bag of mini chocolate chip cookies. She was holding out on them for as long as possible but the way Jemma joked about the desire for chocolate let her know now was exactly the time to utilize this precious, saved cargo. “Hey, no peeking!” Skye chuckled and leaned over to kiss at the outside corner of the eye Jemma was squinting through to make her close it. She brought the bag up and held it palm up with the front of the bag showing, hovering over Jemma’s lap, so that when she opened her eyes she would see that Skye was in possession of a rare bag of chocolate covered pretzels. “Okay, open em!” She cheered and let her eyes follow Jemma’s face for her reaction. They had been through far too much and this might seem like an insignificant gift if they were perhaps back in Los Angeles, but here? Here it was different. 

Jemma kept her eyes closed tight after Skye's little kiss until, after what felt like many long, agonizing moments, Skye told her to open them and Jemma first saw Skye's face, but her eyes traveled down her arms to her hands and when she saw what was actually there, she practically squealed.  
  
"Oh my god!" She exclaimed, but quieted herself and looked around to make sure she hadn't drawn everyone's attention. Once she deemed it safe, she reached out for the small package and turned it over in her hands. "Is this real?" Jemma felt stupid, but she asked it anyway. She felt the blob in the bag that was probably the ball of chocolate and pretzels melted together by the heat, but she still couldn't believe that after a month on the island they still existed. Once she was sure that they actually were there, Jemma swatted at her cheeks to catch a few stray tears. A plethora of emotions seemed to hit her like a freight train. She knew the value and meaning of a gift like this from Skye, and it made her both incredibly happy and sad that she didn't have anything like this in return. She was suddenly scared when she realized it would probably be the last time either of them ate this kind of food, and still concerned about how Skye would react to her tears. 

Now there was where Jemma was wrong. Just watching Jemma’s reaction and seeing her excitement over the gift was enough. She understood the tears. She really did. Skye really didn’t like seeing Jemma cry, but for this moment she understood it. She reached out and settled her hand on the side of Jemma’s face and swiped her thumb across her cheek to catch another one of the tears. “Hey,” She leaned over and pressed their foreheads together. “You are only allowed to open this bag on two conditions,” She said. “One - You and you alone are allowed to eat its contents. Two - ...you remember how they taste because when we get home, I’m going to make an entire bucket of chocolate covered pretzels for you and I’m gonna need to know how they measure up to it.” She smiled at Jemma, hoping to get a laugh out of her in light of the tears. “Deal?” She swiped at another of the tears on Jemma’s cheek. 

Jemma nodded and leaned over so she could connect their lips for a short kiss. It was in Jemma's nature to want to share, but she knew this was a very special gift meant just for her and she liked that Skye knew her well enough to make her promise not to divvy it up between everyone. Once she was certain she'd given Skye enough of a physical thank you, she pulled away and looked back into her eyes.    
  
"I will follow your conditions under one condition" Jemma started, that playful smile back on her face even if her cheeks were damp. "You have to eat at least one of these pretzels." There was no way Jemma could take the entire contents of the bag without sharing at least a piece, especially with Skye. It just wouldn't feel right. "If you don't the bag will end up being saved indefinitely." Jemma bartered.

Skye let out a small snort of laughter at the way Jemma agreed to the deal and then changed the rules of the agreement. She was still smiling at Jemma, maybe not quite the stereotype of flashing 'heart eyes' at her but still gazing upon her with great affection as she gave her a nod. "I will make this great burdensome sacrifice for you and only you," She teased and leaned over to drop a kiss or two to the top of Jemma's shoulder.

"Well in that case-" Jemma beamed and the crinkling of the bag reached their ears when Jemma started fumbling with it. She rolled it in her hands so the top was facing up and did her very best to open it. She pinched both sides, only three fingers with the left, but when she went to pull the plastic apart her fingers kept slipping off the bag, unable to keep her grip strong enough to even open a snack bag. She could feel the frustration bubbling up, but she was learning her limits.    
  
"Help?" Jemma didn't even feel embarrassed this time. She knew she couldn't open the bag and she wasn't going to hurt herself trying to make her nearly paralyzed hand work.

Skye busied herself with a couple of bites from her breakfast to stop herself from immediately trying to open the bag for Jemma. She knew she had to wait for Jemma to give her the go ahead. Skye was genuinely relieved when Jemma outright asked for her help. "Of course, " she took the bag, which crinkled again in her hands.  Pinching both sides of the bag, she leaned in and kissed the closest corner of Jemma's mouth as she gently pulled the bag until it opened, being careful not to tug too hard to avoid spilling any, even though she knew they'd both still eat them if she did.     
  
When she sat back, she held the bag from the bottom and pressed the melded together blob from the outside of the bag, to try and break some pieces loose. She turned the bag in her hand so the open top was facing Jemma and held it up for her to dig in. Skye grinned over at her. They deserved this moment.  They deserved all the moments they'd been given since the crash, large and small alike.  They deserved much more than the troubles this island provided, or at least Jemma deserved better. Skye's eyes roamed Jemma's face, mapping out every contour with her own eyes and committing it to memory for safe mental keeping.

Jemma bit her bottom lip to keep her smile under control. She could honestly say that she was never hungrier in her life than when she saw the chunk of chocolate and pretzels sticking out of the bag. She reached for a broken off piece she thought contained pretzel and instead of bringing it toward herself, outstretched her arm further to hold the delicacy near Skye's lips.   
  
"You know you want it." Jemma chuckled and waved it up and down a bit. It was a part of their deal, after all.

Skye's smile was overly affectionate and downright dopey at Jemma's gesture, both because, frankly, it was sweet and adorable but also because she assumed Jemma employed this tactic because she already knew Skye was going to do her best to make sure Jemma was the one that got to enjoy the entire bag herself. Was it possible to know someone that we'll after such a short time both knowing each other and being together? Yes, Skye decided, because they weren't just two random people. They were the very definition of something Skye had resisted believing in for her entire life; soulmates. Skye didn't just suspect this about the two of them, she knew it, she felt it. No matter how chaotic and surreal the rest of their surroundings were, this was real, and tangible; it was powerful.   
  
With the sappy grin still twisting up the corners of her mouth, Skye leaned toward the outstretched chocolate coated pretzel chunk. She dipped her mouth at the last moment and instead pressed a series of quick kisses along the inside heel of Jemma's, wrist and lower part of her forearm. It was so ridiculously nice to have a serene moment of time to shut out the insanity of everything else they were going to with the silly act of randomly kissing patches of her girlfriend's (that term was going to be fun to get used to) arm while Jemma was trying to feed her a chocolate covered pretzel.

"Hey, we had a deal!" Jemma laughed and pulled her hand away so Skye couldn't reach her any longer. "Cheaters don't get kisses." Jemma chimed, an amused little grin on her face. The chocolate was starting to melt between her fingers and she was determined to share with Skye before it was ruined.

Skye was never going to tire of hearing Jemma laugh. She grinned, beamed even, unable to muster up even an attempt at innocence. "Sorry, I simply don't know what came over me," She insisted. There was small glint of mischief in her eyes as she reached for the bottom of Jemma's hand and pulled it back toward her. Skye tore her eyes from Jemma's and dipped her head, this time to grab the offered snack with her mouth, lingering of course to clean up the smeared melted chocolate with her tongue.    
  
Skye was ill prepared for the combination of the salty-sweet treat, something she hadn't had in quite some time and something she'd possibly never have again after this moment, a very clear reminder of where they were and of the promise she'd made to get Jemma off this island and bring her home. She had no idea how she was ever going to accomplish such a feat. It was more likely that she would probably die trying to accomplish it, but she'd made the promise in earnest and Skye did not break promises.    
  
Skye licked her lips and gave the heel of Jemma's hand one last peck before she sat up straight and just let the food sit on her tongue for a moment, letting in linger. She dropped her eyes to the bag and shook it a bit to break up the clumps. "They're all yours now," she smiled as she started chewing and aimed the open top of the bag toward Jemma.

"You sure about that?" Jemma asked, seeing if she could lure Skye into eating a bit more after she'd had a taste. She seemed to have a willpower of steel though. Jemma was both frustrated with it and in admiration of it at times. Jemma did not have the willpower to wait any longer, so she chose a decent size chunk from the top of the pile in the bag and popped it into her mouth. An embarrassing happy sigh came out of her and she closed her eyes, relishing the taste as the chocolate melted in her mouth. She was hesitant to swallow and lose it to the acids of her stomach, so she let it linger on her tastebuds until the chocolate was melted and the pretzel was soft.    
  
"Thank you again, a thousand times." Jemma chuckled and expressed her gratitude once again when she finished chewing.

Skye shook her head at the offer. "I'm good, they're yours. We had a deal," She smiled and leaned back, resting her weight on her right palm in the grass behind Jemma so they were sitting close together. Even if Skye had wanted more of the sweet treat, that sigh Jemma let put after her first bite would have been more than enough to deter her from the temptation. She smiled again and kissed Jemma's shoulder before. "You're welcome a thousand times," She leaned over and kissed Jemma's shoulder before she went back to eating the last of her breakfast from her lap.    
  
Skye tried her best to keep her thoughts from wandering back to what she'd been thinking about earlier that morning while tucked in bed with Jemma. She watched Ace, who was messing about in the shallows of the pond, insisting he'd watched enough YouTube videos to be able to catch a catfish with only his fist but his fishing swim was rapidly turning into a game of trying to splash Buzz as Buzz hovered over him, occasionally dodging airborne waves of water while Ace laughed. 

Though she was watching what was happening, she wasn't really seeing it. Instead, her thoughts traveled back to all the possible things that could happen from here on out, about how and when the other shoe would drop. She started to wonder how long she would be allowed to keep this relationship she had with Jemma, about how it would be torn away from her when it was finally taken, about how she would even attempt to fathom putting herself together after that. The simple answer was that she wouldn't. Physically she might survive but if she did it would be as an empty shell, a listless body without a heart or soul left to speak of. Her brow creased as she slipped deeper into her own head, where she was bound to get stuck if left to her own devices. There would be no point to even trying without Jemma.

Jemma had a few more pieces, and ate them just as slowly, but she didn't want to eat it all at once, so she rolled the top of the bag shut and turned her attentions back to the wonderful person beside her. She was surprised to see that scared look on her face. She saw Skye's eyes, but they looked empty, like her mind was somewhere else.   
  
"Hey," Jemma bumped their shoulders together and leaned over to kiss Skye's temple. She ran her fingers through her hair and tried not to hit any tangles so it was relaxing instead of painful. "Penny for your thoughts?" Jemma knew it sounded like a cheap line to strike up a conversation in a bar, but that was how Skye imagined they'd meet, so it was intentional. She hoped to be casual and not show her true concern. 

Skye blinked, startled out of her thoughts by the bump and Jemma’s voice. “Hm?” she glanced over and had to force herself not to frown at the fact that she’d be caught. These were not thoughts she needed to dwell on and they weren’t thoughts she should share. So Skye arched her eyebrows slightly and forced a small, lopsided smirk - a tiny twisted smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes just then like normally. “Do you actually have a penny?” She asked in an attempt to shy away from having to actually answer the question or, if nothing else, to stall for time to come up with a different answer than what was actually on her mind. It was just paranoia, right? Well, no it wasn’t just paranoia. It was history. Skye’s history. All sources pointed to the fact that just associating herself with Skye was likely going to lead to Jemma’s detriment and Skye could probably list all the possibilities if she were given a clean yellow legal pad of paper and a pen. 

"God no." Jemma laughed. If Skye didn't want to talk about it and was more willing to make lighthearted jokes with her, Jemma wasn't going to be the one to spoil it. They only had so many moments to be carefree so she wasn't about to mess it up.    
  
"I never liked American currency." Jemma ran with the joke. "It doesn't take a marooning to make pennies useless." She wagged her finger and shook her head, as if in disappointment with a child.

Skye smiled, this one a little more easy, though not completely back to herself yet. A snort of laughter escaped when Jemma practically scolded her about pennies as if she were the one in charge of what currency circulated through her country. Skye exhaled a small, overly dreamy sigh. “I love you,” She said before she leaned over, shifting her weight further onto her hand, and kissed her, lingering as long as possible as she decided again that she didn’t care if anyone else saw them. There were things to do around the camp, sure, but they needed a break. They couldn’t keep going and running on various states of empty. A day off to recharge, at minimum, that was it. It would get their heads back in the game, recharged, even if just a bit. 

Jemma shifted easily into the kiss, like it was where her body was meant to be in the first place. They always felt as a perfect fit like this, but even more so in such a peaceful, calm environment. "And I, you." Jemma murmured. Her hand came to rest at the nape of Skye's neck and hold her closer, and when the kiss ended she pressed their foreheads and the tips of their noses together.    
  
A  _ whoosh _ startled Jemma out of her little happy daze and her whole body jumped, but then shook with laughter when she realized it was Buzz flying over their heads and looking for shelter from a giggling Ace, who was just getting out of the water.

Skye started a bit, pulled from the reverie by the whooshing sound and Jemma’s startled jump. She mentally chided herself for relaxing so much, even if they were in a safer place than they had been previously, for letting her guard down like that. Quickly, the stern expression that overtook her face while she was internally scolding herself, shifted into a lopsided smile as Buzz hovered down low behind both Skye and Jemma and only came up over one of their shoulders to peek out and see if Ace was angling their way. Skye grabbed a piece of dried mango from the plate in her lap and gave it a toss for Buzz. "Looks like somebody bit off more than they could chew in the fun department," she quipped.  
___________ 

That first day in their new camp was eye opening. It was leisurely and serene. They adjusted to the louder noises of various animals. Trip, Mike and Ace fished the large pond and came up with a few catfish larger than the one Skye caught when it was just her and Jemma. The day was spent mostly getting properly settled in their new camp and taking an updated inventory. Skye had been on the tree platform for guard duty with Bobbi for most of the afternoon until evening before Will and Mike replaced them so they could join the rest of dinner. While up in the tree with more access to some direct sunlight, Skye had used one of the solar charging cells to charge up her cell phone. After dinner, while everyone was still gathered by the main fire near the pond, Skye used an empty can to slip her phone in and make a speaker and set the mellow portion of her desert island playlist going. It was unexpected, she knew, music was something most of them hadn't heard in this capacity for quite a few weeks. It seemed to work nicely, having a calming effect to set everyone at varying degrees of ease amidst their still rattled nerves. Occasionally someone would sing along softly to a song, or someone would tell a memory or story that came to mind, jogged by a particular song. Everyone huddled close to those they'd bonded with, processing all those things they hadn't had time to process since this wild unrelenting adventure had begun.    
  
The next two days after that first one in their new encampment went about just as smoothly. Skye insisted on coating Jemma's hand with the burn cream for the morning clean and re-wrap each day and settled for allowing it to be just the aloe during the evening re-wrap. She used only aloe on her own burns since they were severely minor and barely hurt. She did use some antibiotic ointment for her left arm since it was taking longer to heal than she thought it should. For the stitches on the back of her neck she was at Jemma's mercy since she couldn't see what Jemma was doing while redressing it.   
  
Mack, Yoyo, Will and Mike spent the second and third day taking turns chopping their way through the section of trees Jemma had suggested to Skye originally, and making doors for both sides of it that could be properly secured to keep wandering animals out and could take too long for human predators to fiddle with and not be noticed by the round the clock guards on the tree platform gap. Trip took Fitz with him to head to the beach to collect whatever was in his traps and to move the traps closer down the beach to the jungle entrance to their new home, wanting to break Fitz away from his electronic tinkering to give his brain a break. Jemma redressed wounds, helped May with inventory, practiced more writing with her left hand while journaling for science and drawing pictures and taking notes as she catalogued all the plants, animals and insects found within the camp area, making particular note of any they could use for whatever reason.    
  
The group gathered for dinner and discussion each evening and, so long as Skye's phone was charged, indulged in a little bit of soft music to ease whatever nerves were rattling them. Beds were made more comfortable with extra cushioning from the plane and from piles of the large leaves from some of the trees. Skye was even starting to kind of get used to having roommates instead of the previous privacy of sorts she'd had on the beach with her particular shelter.    
  
It wasn't until the fourth day that trouble found them. Skye was up in the tree platform with Bobbi on guard duty in the morning after breakfast. She had all of her necessary gear with her; messenger bag (lightly packed by slung across her body crosswise and settled against her lower back), hunting knife (sheathed and attached to her belt with a strap around her thigh), gun (holstered on her right side, hooked to her belt and steadied with a strap around her thigh within easy reach) and machete (resting standing up in the wood of the tree next to her within easy reach). Skye had determined after that first day that she wasn't going to let her guard down because to do so, even with the relative safety of their new home, would be foolish. Despite this, she was not prepared at all to see Raina come strolling through the open path in front of the tree platform, with another woman Skye didn't know in tow. Before Bobbi had even spotted them, Skye was standing in the middle of the platform, legs apart and braced, slightly bent at the knees, her arms stretched out, gun in hand, one hand around the handle of the gun with the safety flicked off and her finger recklessly inside the trigger guard, the other braced the bottom of the gun, both arms locked steadily and her aim squarely on Raina's chest for a direct shot to the heart.    
  
"Stop right there!" Skye bellowed the words to alert those inside the camp that they had intruders. "Don't come any closer! You have no business here!” When Raina took another step, Skye's thumb cocked back the hammer on her gun. Raina stopped and so did the woman next to her. The unknown woman had a hunting knife while Raina's hands were empty. Skye knew she could take out the unknown woman before she even had a chance to attempt an attack and then, before the unknown woman hit the ground, she'd have taken out Raina. It would have been so easy and the urge was there.

"I'll give you to the count of three to turn around and leave - if you ever come here again, I won't give you a warning," Skye called. 

"Whoa, cool down, Skye." Raina stuck both of her hands in the air by her ears as a little surrender, but sarcastically shook them, a bit like jazz hands. She had a calm confidence to her that she hoped would be enough to get them to listen. She knew walking into this that it would be hard to convince Skye of all people, but she didn't want to deal with a middle man. They had known where Skye's group had been for the past two days and had since been watching their activities, but this time they had no ulterior motive or bad intention.   
  
"We're here for Jemma." Kara said bluntly. Raina gave her a side glare and quickly sought to correct her before Skye shot them down.    
  
"We're here for help, that's all." Raina clarified. "Garrett's hurt pretty badly." It wasn't likely Skye would just let up and forgive them after everything that had happened, and Raina didn't blame her, but they were forced to try.

Skye's face hardened, her eyes went dark, jaw clenched as she shifted her weight and aimed the gun at Kara when she spoke. Skye's finger brushed against the trigger, just about to squeeze when Raina spoke up. Skye's finger eased off the tiger but stayed inside the trigger guard, shifting her aim back to Raina. She actually let out a derisive snort of laughter.    
  
"Let the scumbag rot," She ground her teeth together as various memories of fights with Garrett and Ward rolled through her mind, particularly the things that had been done to Jemma. "Get the fuck out of here. If you ever come back, we’ll shoot on sight. You have to the count of three," Skye didn't wait for a reply. "One, two-"

"Skye, stop it!" Jemma shouted up at her back from behind. She had been nearby when she had first heard Skye's initial harsh warning and had rushed over to make sure everything was okay. She couldn't see over the tree, but she heard Raina's voice and what little conversation ensued and she wasn't sure if Skye really would pull the trigger.   
  
"Listen to your girlfriend, we're not going to do anything." Kara dropped her knife as proof and smiled sweetly, though it was obviously fake. Raina gave her yet another glare.    
  
"We can help you too. We have weapons. A rifle. Garrett says it’s yours if you bring the good doc to help him out. You can even bring a group. A temporary ceasefire, if you will." Raina was much more eloquent with her proposals than Kara, who spoke up again. "Exactly, you scratch our back, we scratch yours."

Skye was definitely planning on pulling the trigger. There wasn't a chance in hell she was letting Jemma go anywhere near these assholes or that camp. She stopped counting but never moved her aim or sight from the two women. She wasn't at all convinced that Garrett was actually hurt and she didn't care at all what they had to pretend offer them.    
  
"You have no negotiation power here," Skye growled at them. "There's no back scratching and we've run out of patience for doling out charity to your kind. Even  _ IF _ I believed a single word that came out of either one of your mouths - which, let’s be real, here, I don't - I'm not delivering Jemma to your camp of kidnapping rapists, you sick twisted fucks," She adjusted her grip on her gun, let only her eyes dart between them. "Go back to where you came from. You  _ chose _ to leave. You  _ chose _ to rob us. You  _ chose _ to kidnap Jemma. You  _ chose _ to let your cohorts try to violate her. So we choose to let you deal with your own problems. You go back and you tell Garrett if he sends another lackey here to force our hands for any reason whatsoever, I will not hesitate to hunt down every last one of you-"

"Skye, listen to yourself!" Jemma shouted. She wasn't angry, but scared. She knew how much it hurt Skye when she was forced to do what she had to do that night, but she couldn't imagine the aftermath of this, if she didn't stop it and allowed Skye to preventatively kill someone. "There are no  _ kinds _ . Just people."    
  
"And I am sorry about that. Sincerely." Raina called out. There was no sign of humanity in Skye's eyes and Raina had no doubt she could pull the trigger. She knew Donnie and Quinn hadn't come back for a reason, even if Ward wasn't willing to admit it.    


Skye ground her teeth tightly together when she heard Jemma calling out to her, fought against the urge to relent. She would not relent. Last time she relented had been because Ward had Jemma at knife point to the throat. Relenting led to kidnapping and Ward attempting to force himself on Jemma. All Skye could think about was her immense fear of losing Jemma just like she had lost everyone else she ever loved. This, this moment right here was that other shoe dropping and Skye wasn't about to concede so much as a breath to these people.    
  
"Yes," Skye said. "There are  _ kinds _ of people. There are people who come together and stick together and support each other in times of dire need," she said. "And then there are these people, selfish people who have no regard for what their actions cause, who think it's funny to sexual assault people, who think other people are their property and they can be dragged off anywhere against their will. Who use children as human shields because they're too pathetic to fight their own battles.  Who think they deserve your help, Jemma, when what they really deserve is to bleed out slowly and succumb to festering wounds." She said.    
  
"Sorry?" Skye spat back at Raina with a sneer. "You don't know the meaning of the word! You were perfectly okay with binding, gagging and kidnapping, but you're genuinely sorry that your leader got a bit rapey, huh? You're not sorry for any of it! You're only sorry that you failed and have to stand there groveling for your other leader's life - fuck you!" Skye couldn't help it. She felt enraged at their audacity. "You know what, I'll show you sorry, go ahead just take another step forward, spew another lie, spin another yarn. Go on! Let's hear it!" Raina was right. In that very moment, whatever shreds of Skye's humanity that had remained in place by patchwork (mostly by Jemma, she was sure), had slipped away and were completely gone. Left behind was the rabid, feral beast, ready and eager to tear anyone who threatened Jemma (or anyone else in their group) to fibrous threads of bloodied meat scraps.    
  
Nothing was going to stop her from keeping Jemma safe this time. No one and nothing was going to take Jemma away from her so long as she was still breathing. Skye wasn't joking around, not even in the least bit. She knew Jemma was scared, had heard it in Jemma's voice, but Skye forced herself to ignore it. If this was what it took to keep Jemma safe, then Skye would make the sacrifice, even if it meant Jemma shied away from her later. It didn't matter, because at least Jemma would still be alive and safe. And that was all that mattered. Skye would not allow herself to fail Jemma again, no matter the cost.   


"You're right." Raina said, if only in self preservation. There was nothing stopping Skye from killing them. Kara was quiet now, sarcastic tone gone and a bit of fear showing in her slightly widened eyes. "We just want to stay alive." She replied. This was the only thing she knew to say that Skye and the rest of her group would be willing to relate to.    
  
"Maybe you should have thought of that before you repeatedly attacked us and tried to fucking kill us first!" Skye spat at them. "I've got no sympathy for the choices you made. I gave you every chance before you kidnapped Jemma to rectify it. You've made your bed! You want to live? Turn around and leave. Jemma's not coming with you." 

"Skye, I want to help." Jemma said sternly. When she didn't respond immediately, Jemma waved for Bobbi's attention and tried to mouth for her to take Skye's gun, but Bobbi either didn't understand, agreed with Skye, or was too afraid to try to stop her. "I am not denying they have questionable personalities. But who am I to decide who lives and who dies when I have the power to save?" Jemma said it with less urgency and more conviction, trying to get Skye to focus on her words and listen to pull her out of her rage.   
  
Skye ground her teeth together harder when she heard Jemma. She refused to take her attention away from Raina and Kara. It was a damn good thing Bobbi didn't try to go for the gun because Skye definitely wasn't completely in her right mind. She was in control of herself. Her breathing was steady, her pulse thick in her veins. She was prepared, but she wasn't prepared for an attempted ambush from her own team, so there was no telling what would have happened.    
  
"You don't even know if they're telling the truth! This is a farce to get you into the camp so they can force you to stay like they tried to before - to tie you up and gag you and do god knows whatever else to you once Ward's involved!" Skye called out loud enough for Jemma to hear without her turning around. "And even if they are telling the truth, you don't know that anything you do will be of any help!" She said. "If you don't want to make that decision, that's fine. I will. No one from this camp is going to Garrett and Ward's camp." She directed her words toward both Jemma and to Raina and Kara.    
  
"Every choice we make has consequences! I've had to live with mine," she glowered as her eyes and face darkened even more. "Now it's time for you to learn to live with yours."    
  
Kara couldn't take the preaching anymore. "So, what, you're just going to stand up on your pulpit and preach at us, you-," Kara pushed against Raina's attempt at a restraining arm and pushed a few steps forward.    
  
"Skye, don't-," Bobbi started to reach for Skye.    
  
Before anyone realized Skye's left hand had let go of the gun butt (though her right hand remained firmly and steadily clasped around the gun with her finger inside the trigger guard, arm locked and ready to shoot), Skye's left hand had yanked her knife from its holster hoisted it in the air, grabbed it by the tip of the knife blade and threw it as if she were a natural lefty. The blade spun through the air and sliced Kara's arm as it pinned her sleeve to the tree she was passing. Kara screamed in surprise as Raina cringed before realizing Skye hadn't killed Kara.    
  
Kara glared up at Skye. "You missed, hotshot," she snapped    
  
"No," Skye shook her head and shifted her weight, moving her left hand back to brace her gun as she said it. "I didnt. Choice," she said, leveling the gun and pausing, watching as Kara's eyes widened and she stared down the barrel of the gun from the distance, let it really sink in, let Kara agonize over it. "Consequences," she pressed her finger against the trigger but didn't squeeze, only because she heard Jemma in the silence of anticipation from everyone else around her.    
  
Tensions were rising like the water in a storm drain during a tsunami and Jemma knew her own pulse spiked when Skye threw the knife. She didn't know what kind of contact it made, but she assumed it was something by the sounds she heard. There was only one thing she could think about to get Skye to lower the gun. Mack shook his head when Jemma looked his way, where he was standing next to the partially chopped hole in the tree. She gave him a stern look that dared her to stop him and he backed away as Jemma slipped through.    
  
"Skye, put the gun down. Let's just talk." Jemma had her hands out, like she was trying to settle down a wild animal. She sidestepped into the line of fire, back to Kara and Raina and facing Skye. She probably had too much faith in the people behind her, but she knew Raina had some shred of morality so she was willing to risk it so Skye could keep hers.

Skye’s reaction was immediate and reflexive when Jemma suddenly appeared in front of her line of fire; the gun was immediately aimed downward, her arms stretched straight and held taut by her tense muscles and her finger moved to rest outside the trigger guard. She did not, however, release the hammer or flip the safety on. Her eyes were wide in horror as Jemma stood with her back to Kara and Raina and, essentially, in the way of Skye being able to protect her if either of them grabbed her. “Jemma…” She eyed all three of them, mentally calculating her options of what she could do if they grabbed her. “No. We’re not negotiating this. I’m not taking you anywhere near their camp. This is a trap - they’re full of shit. A ‘ceasefire,’? It’s bullshit, they just want to lure you there and hold you captive. There’s nothing to talk about!” 

Case in point, Kara grabbed the handle of the knife pinning her sleeve to the tree, yanked it free and lunged for Jemma. Skye shouted Jemma’s name and swung the gun up but she had no shot with Jemma in the way. Bobbi lunged for Skye to keep her from taking a twenty foot dive to the ground from the tree platform at the same time that Raina stopped Kara’s impulsive and stupid move. 

Jemma froze as the sudden all too familiar feeling of a knife on her throat came about by Kara's hand. It was only for a second this time though, because Jemma's faith in Raina was apparently not as misguided as everyone had thought.    
  
"This is  _ not _ how we're doing this." Raina stepped forward in front of Jemma and without hesitation ripped the knife from Kara's hand without even grazing Jemma with the blade. She immediately tossed it to the ground and turned back toward Skye, hands in the air. "I don't mean any harm, Kara just got a bit worked up because of our  _ encouragement _ to come back with help." Raina said, letting the implications and possibilities of their situation hang in the air.    
  
"Skye, I'm going to go help him. He may be a terrible man, but we are not a jury. You can come or you can give me the gun so I can go." Jemma had her jaw set. She knew she wanted someone to come so that Ward didn't try anything, but she wasn't so sure she wanted it to be Skye. She was afraid Skye wouldn't be able to contain herself when she saw his face. Call it naive, but Jemma was clearly more forgiving, even to those who had done her harm. She was a humanitarian, after all.

Skye...was not a humanitarian. And she was extremely stubborn, which, to be fair, was likely the only reason she had survived to adulthood and wound up where she was before the plane crash. She practically shook with anger. Regardless of Raina’s intervention, Skye didn’t have a single ounce of trust to spare for Garrett, Ward or any of their crew. She couldn’t. She didn’t have the luxury. She couldn’t believe Jemma was that fucking forgiving enough to put herself in this situation - and  _ after _ one of their crew just  _ held a fucking knife to her throat _ . She heard the implication in Raina’s words and had to stop her own brain from jumping to a number of her own memories from the past. She refused to feel sympathy for them, not after what Ward did to Jemma, not after what she’d had to do in order to get Jemma back safely. No. They made their choice. Skye didn’t make their choices for them, they made them on their own because they were manipulative assholes. 

For a long time, Skye stared Jemma down, wondering if Jemma was aware that it would take less than a second to take out both the women standing with her. Jemma knew she wasn’t going to just hand the gun over and send Jemma on her way, with one good hand and one hand that didn’t fully work. She growled, not at all caring that it was a loud rumble from her throat, feral and agitated. If she were a dog, her hackles would be standing on end and she’d have been foaming at the mouth as she growled out her anger and betrayal. She readjusted her grip on the gun. 

“Jemma, get back inside and get your supplies ready,” She said. She aimed at the others. “You two, go down the path a hundred yards, past the bend and you wait for us there. Come back for any reason before we come to meet you and I  _ will  _ kill you.” She ordered. “Do it or there’s no deal.” she arched her right eyebrow to see what they would do. She wanted Kara to give her one more reason to shoot her right between the eyes. Either of them. She felt a burning rage in her chest about the horrors that flickered behind her eyes from that day they took Jemma from camp, did those terrible things to her and forced Skye’s hand on the terrible things she had to do. She’d do them again if she had to, right now. 

Raina nodded, not emitting another sound. She turned to walk away from the entrance, but paused when Kara hesitated to come with her. Kara glanced back and forth between Raina, Skye, and Jemma a few times and Raina had to give her a good nudge with her elbow before she finally gave in and started to move away with Raina.   
  
"Don't think I'm not coming with you two." Bobbi laid a hand over Skye's shoulder and gave her a firm squeeze as Jemma came back over to the base of the trees and through the hole.   
  
"Count me in on it too." Mack spoke from below.    
  
"I'll make sure everything is in order here, you see if you can get that gun from them." May said. When Skye turned around she would see the small crowd that had formed over the commotion.

Skye didn’t move. She didn’t speak at first either. She watched Raina and Kara go until they were far enough away that she couldn’t see them, then watched to make sure Jemma made it back inside alright. She, reluctantly, eased the hammer back on the gun, flipped the safety and holstered it. Pulling the machete from where it was perched in the tree bark, she hooked it into its sheath at the back of her belt and frowned. She glanced at Bobbi but didn’t meet her eyes. When she turned around to look into the camp only to see the crowd. Her frowned deepened. A gun. May was worried about a fucking gun. They had a fucking gun already. They didn’t need another gun in camp. Skye didn’t even know who else in camp was capable of wielding a gun and May wanted her to see if she could get a fucking gun. 

“Trip, Yoyo, I want you on guard duty,” Skye began to climb down, making such quick work of it, it seemed like she had no lingering injuries at all. When her feet hit the ground, she stepped up to May. “Fuck the gun. This is a trap. You need to get people prepared to fight in case they send a raid here while we’re away.” She said. “Get that hole blocked off after we’re gone,” She motioned for the tree where Mack had been chopping. “No one goes in or out until we’re back,” She pushed through the crowd to start for her and Jemma’s section of the cave. “Eyes and ears open, get extra lookouts in the trees if you can.”  

Skye marched with a set jaw and purpose to her and Jemma’s section of the caves. She dug her way through her suitcase and pulled out the lockbox from it, not even caring that Jemma would see her type in a code to open it. She checked the magazine in her gun, made sure it was full and then pulled the extra magazine clip from the box, double checked that it was full and slipped it into the the cargo pocket of her pants. She silently prepared, stuffing a bag of food into her messenger bag along with her own travel first aid kit even though she knew Jemma would bring the bigger one with them. She stuffed various other items into her bag as well, tinder for fires, the burn cream and her canister of aloe plant gel, bottles of water, an extra shirt, an extra utility knife, etc. She was silent the whole time she shoved items into her bag, quietly seething while flinching whenever the mental images flashed through her mind of that day in the forest - Jemma frantically trying to redo the button on her pants, Donnie rushing at Jemma with the machete raised overhead, the bruising on Jemma’s thigh, that shellshocked terrified look on Jemma’s face that was partially from what happened to her and partially from watching what Skye had done to Quinn and Donnie, the terrible burn wound in Jemma’s palm that Skye had had to issue because of the fight. 

Garrett did not deserve Jemma’s care. He deserved to rot in this hell hole with festering wounds knowing that help wasn’t on its way. Whatever situation he and Ward put Kara and Raina in to convince them come and beg for mercy, Skye refused to have sympathy for them. Any other situation and Skye would have gladly offered to flay Garrett and Ward for the girls. But today? No. Skye had no sympathy. She had no mercy. She had only fear and rage to accompany her. Rage that Jemma was subjecting them to this situation and all-encompassing fear that she was going to lose Jemma, just like she lost every other person she ever cared about - and Jemma was  _ choosing _ this path. 

"Skye-" Jemma looked up from her packing, a good amount of first aid supplies condensed into her messenger bag, both of her knives, big and small, and an extra shirt. She watched silently as Skye went through all her things in apparent blindness to Jemma. She was focused on her weapons and Jemma could feel the anger radiating off of her in waves. She knew Skye was angry at Ward and his whole group, and she knew Skye was angry at her, too. But she couldn't just stand by and let another person die. She would fix him up so he would survive this and then he would rot in a cell, but after a fair trial. "Skye-" Jemma tried again, moved closer now that she was ready, but she was afraid to reach out and touch her. She was afraid all of Skye's anger was going to turn on her and she was afraid Skye would decide not to come. She was afraid she was wrong about her gut feeling that this wasn't a trap. She wanted to do this and she wanted Skye to come with her, but it wasn't off to a good start so far.    
  
"I just have a feeling." It was a weak and pathetic explanation for all the potential disaster she could be causing, Jemma knew, but she needed to maintain her faith. She was a woman of science, but she also needed her faith in humanity to survive the island with her.

Skye supposed this was where they diverged. This was the moment Jemma saw her for what she really was - a battered, broken and bitter soul who knew what life had to offer and knew that any time it gave her anything remotely good, she was never allowed to hold onto it. She was only allowed to experience it long enough to know how good it could be, how perfect and genuine and lucky. She was given glimpses of something she was not supposed to have, something she was wholly unworthy of, no matter how ruthlessly she was willing to fight for it, to cling to it and protect it. Skye knew she was unworthy of the gift she’d been given, knew it was only a matter of time that would take Jemma from her, knew that she wasn’t going to apologize for selfishly wanting to keep Jemma safe. 

She tensed when Jemma said her name, barely managed to hold off on flinching and didn’t dare turn to look at Jemma for fear that she would lose the battle against her emotions and Jemma would see her fear. No, it was better for Jemma to see the anger instead. She closed up her lock box and suitcase and zipped her messenger bag shut before slinging it crosswise over her again and twisting it so the pack rested against her lower back. When she finally spoke, her voice was quiet, a forced kind of calm, a tone she couldn’t believe she was using to speak to Jemma. “These people have stolen resources and nearly starved us, choked me, held Ace at knife point as a bargaining chip, held you at knife point multiple times, kidnapped you, bound you, gagged you, tried to rape _and_ murder you...and you want to waltz right into their trap. Why?” She asked, finally forcing her eyes to Jemma’s, knowing it exposed the betrayal she felt, the fear that was burning through her hotter than her anger and too wound up to stop it. “Because you have a _feeling_ that people who have repeatedly lied and attacked us are magically going to keep their word?”   

Skye clenched her jaw when she felt the bridge of her nose burn a bit. She stepped closer toward Jemma. “I’ve got some news for you, Jem…” She dropped her voice even quieter. “That’s not how the world works. It’s not how humans work. It’s not how  _ they _ work. But,” She held her hands up in surrender and shrugged. “You have a feeling that it’s gonna be rainbows and sunshine if you patch up a maniacal monster.” Skye hated herself for being so harsh. She really did. This was a last ditch effort to protect Jemma and she would be as ruthless as she needed to be if it would work, even if it meant upsetting Jemma in the process. A living Jemma that hated Skye for what she said, did or insisted, was better than a dead Jemma of any kind. “It doesn’t matter what I think about this situation anyway, you’re the boss now. Wherever you go, I go. That was the deal. That’s how it stands...even if you’re marching us into a death trap.” She clenched her jaw to keep her eyes from welling. She hated herself in that moment, for the words that came off her tongue. Skye hated herself for a lot of reasons. It was probably fitting that this was the end of the last good thing she would ever have in her life, she supposed. 

"I'm a doctor, Skye. I am a biochemist, but also a doctor." Jemma asserted. At first her submissive side had rolled over and tears welled up in her eyes, but soon after she seemed to echo Skye's closed off, stiff stance and her arms crossed over her chest.    
  
"I will use treatment to help the sick according to my ability and judgment, but never with a view to injury and wrong-doing." She quoted. "The Hippocratic Oath. They may not live by a code, but I do, and I hope you do too." With that, Jemma turned tail and headed back toward the tree to wait for Bobbi and Mack to be ready.

Skye instantly wanted to chase after Jemma. In fact, she turned and took a step in that direction before she stopped herself. She felt a swell of anger surge again - anger at herself for what she’d said to Jemma and anger at Jemma for her reply. She didn’t live by that code and she didn’t have the luxury of self righteously throwing that in someone else’s face. Skye had lived through everything terrible humans could throw at another living being and now she was about to march Jemma through the jungle straight into a hornet’s nest of unknown dangers. And Jemma just wanted her to be okay with it, like it was no fucking big deal. It was a very big deal. 

When Skye reached the tree, Bobbi and Mack hadn’t arrived yet. Skye still needed her knife, so she climbed up to the platform and let herself down the other side since she knew Jemma would send herself through the hole instead. She picked up her knife, wiped Kara’s blood smear off on her pant leg and sheathed it into its holster on her left hip and leg. She grabbed Kara’s fallen knife and stowed it in her messenger bag. Normally, she carried her machete in the jungle. Today, she pulled the gun from its holster and held it downward with both hands, facing the ground but ready to swing it up and shoot at a moment’s notice. She waited with her back to the tree platform, watching for any signs of Kara and Raina being anywhere they weren’t supposed to be while waiting for Jemma, Bobbi and Mack. She felt sick. She felt her fear coursing through her. She felt the full weight of her conversation with Jemma, the true chasm of distance between the person she wanted to be, the one Jemma wanted her to be, and the one she actually was when it came down to it. She wasn’t worthy. She wasn’t fit for the kinds of decisions Jemma was making. She was fit for exposing people’s secrets, breaking into files and, it turned out, judging and executing people. 

Skye would not apologize for her own gut feelings. She would not apologize for wanting to keep Jemma safe, just like she hadn’t apologized for it in the past. She would swallow whatever shreds of pride she had left and she would do her job. When they returned, she could move herself to camp somewhere outside the cave enclosures if Jemma saw fit that she couldn’t deal with this version of Skye. What was her code? Surely she’d given herself one to live by before this island, but did it matter? Did any of it matter since they were here? The longer the days stretched here, the less Skye was sure of what kind of code she followed. Survival. That was the code. What they were doing right now was a threat to that code and Skye was powerless to stop Jemma short of tying her up and forcing her to stay, which would make her just as bad as Ward and Garrett. So instead she was leading her girlfriend into the lion’s den when they hadn’t been fed int days. 

Jemma approached Skye from behind, slowly so as not to startle her. Mack and Bobbi still hadn't arrived and Jemma figured that meant she had a little more time to talk to Skye before they left so she wasn't moving through the jungle angry and distracted.    
  
"It's about Raina too." Jemma said quietly. She put her hand on Skye's shoulder and didn't move for a moment to test the waters, but then she gave her a gentle squeeze and ran her hand halfway down her arm before she decided it wasn't a good idea to push Skye for affection right now. "She's misguided. Whatever they've done to her... I still believe she's a good person. She did try to stop Ward when he- she couldn't though." Jemma nearly whispered it so Bobbi and Mack wouldn't hear if they caught up.    
  
"Maybe if I do this, she'll see- they'll see- that we don't have to be like this. We can help each other." Jemma knew her ideology seemed flawed to Skye because of her past experiences, and Jemma couldn't blame her for that. But she needed to try. Ward and his group posed a significant threat if they knew where they were and she wanted there to be more than one way to neutralize them.

Skye tensed and her grip on the gun tightened but she didn’t pull away from Jemma’s touch. There had been countless instances during their stay on this island that both Skye and Jemma had given selflessly of themselves for the good of everyone else. And, maybe, if Jemma hadn’t been involved in this particular situation, she would have considered the fact that Raina and Kara, as far as Skye knew, were the only females in Garrett and Ward’s group, and were possibly subjected to terrible things that Skye knew all about on intimate levels. But in this one instance, Skye was willing to sacrifice whatever moral compass had been somehow ingrained in her despite the years of suffering she’d accumulated, because Jemma was more important. Jemma was the only thing Skye was unrelentingly unwilling to sacrifice for any kind of code or cause. She simply couldn’t bring herself to do it.  
  
“No matter how much you will it, leopards don’t spontaneously swap their spots for tiger stripes,” Skye murmured. She turned her head to look at Jemma. “Swap our places, then look me in the eye and tell me you would just suck it up and send me to them with a smile on your face and a self-righteous spring in your step.” Skye tried to hold her tongue when Jemma had spoken up to try and convince her again. She really had. But if this was her last opportunity to change Jemma’s mind, she had to take it, didn’t she? She tried to make only her confidence in her insistence that this was a terrible trap and trick shine through but she knew her abject fear of something happening to Jemma lingered in them along with the betrayal she felt that Jemma didn’t trust her judgement enough to not go through with this. Forget terror birds, spiders, snakes, compys – forget all of them. Living, thinking, plotting humans with devious intentions were much more dangerous. And Jemma just expected Skye to be okay with this scenario. No. She couldn’t, no matter how hard she tried. Let Jemma think she was morally bankrupt if it meant she wouldn’t go through with this suicide mission.   


No, Jemma wouldn't suck it up with a smile on her face, but she sure as hell wouldn't want to kill the people she was trying to help. She didn't voice this though, because Skye could be angry with her all she wanted but Jemma refused to gripe back. Skye had enough to deal with, this decision was on Jemma. She wasn't forcing Skye to come and she didn't ask to be put first before the group. She loved her, she really, really did, but they had to put it aside so they could take risks for the entire group of people who had crashed in that plane, not just the people "on their side". Raina and Kara may not be the best people in the world and they had made a bad decision, but they didn't deserve to suffer.   
  
Jemma didn't know what to say, so she said nothing. Her jaw was tight and so was her hand on the strap of her messenger bag. She wouldn't snap back. Mack and Bobbi approached them a few seconds later and Jemma was glad for the reprieve.  
  
"If I call out to them are you going to shoot them?" Bobbi asked. Jemma shot her a glare for being so insensitive, but Bobbi just rolled her eyes and looked to Skye, brows raised. It was a valid question.  
  
Jemma’s refusal to come back at her was maddening, really. Skye turned her attention back to the path. Maybe before they kidnapped Jemma, Skye saw it as there being no sides as she had done her best to break up the altercations with minimal violence and while still giving Ward and Co shares of food and water, however unpopular that had been. After they’d taken Jemma, however, all bets were off, all pretenses dropped. It was an ‘us’ and ‘them’ situation from there on out, so far as Skye was concerned and that was through Ward’s group’s own doing, not for lack of Skye and the rest of them trying. Garrett, Ward and the other group had proven time and again the kind of people they were – and yes, there were kinds of people. Skye was down to fighting fire with fire.  
  
Skye didn’t make any kind of protest to Bobbi’s snippy comment in her direction. She didn’t even look at Bobbi. It was clear enough that Skye was on her own in this protest. Everyone wanted a stupid goddamn rifle, apparently. Once again, no one gave a shit whether or not they were putting Jemma or any of the rest of them in peril because oooh, there was a shiny carrot dangling in front of them. Skye’s lip curled in a sneer.  
  
“If they give me a reason,” Skye practically growled. “Yes, I will.” And she refused to let herself feel guilty for this stance on the matter. Skye started walking  at the head of their small group and didn’t bother to look for or listen to their reactions. Mack glanced between Bobbi and Jemma and shrugged before he started off to follow, sticking close to Jemma’s side while Bobbi stayed by the other.    


Jemma sighed and started walking with the rest of them. Whatever mindset had taken hold of Skye had its claws in deep and Jemma didn't know how to get rid of it, but she hoped it would dissipate once they were back in their own camp by nightfall.    
  
"So what exactly has Garrett out of order?" Mack ended the silence when they met up with Raina and Kara down the beaten path they'd made when everyone trekked to the newer camp. Jemma just hoped she'd packed for it, whatever it was, and she internally scolded herself for not asking sooner.   
  
"She thinks he's bleeding internally." Kara jutted her chin toward Raina. "He has a huge, dark bruise on his torso and he can hardly move." Raina elaborated. Jemma frowned. It definitely sounded like some kind of internal bleeding, but still she was no surgeon. She could only do what she could with the knowledge she'd gained from med school.    
  
"I can't guarantee a fix, but I can try." Jemma nodded. She could end up killing him, but hey, at least that possibility would be an incentive for Skye to get them there.   
  
"He wasn't doing well when we left, we should just go through the jungle. It would be three times the trip to go to the beach. It was fast and quiet on our way here." Kara suggested. This, Jemma had to admit she was skeptical of. She wasn't afraid of an ambush, Skye seemed to have perfect reflexes and could take down anyone with a rifle, if they did actually have one. They would know better than to bring knives to a gunfight, Jemma knew that much.

Skye remained quiet as they met up with Raina and Kara. She kept her steely gaze on the two of them and at all times whenever either of them shifted or Jemma moved, made sure at least part of her stood between Jemma and the two of them so they wouldn't have a chance of grabbing at Jemma without Skye intervening. Her hands were steady even as they pointed the gun downward for safety purposes.    
  
The moment internal bleeding was mentioned, a part of Skye's mind sprung loose, part she had convinced herself she had pushed to the farthest reaches of her brain for better or worse; the part that stored the mental replays of Mace's final moments of life, when Skye had punctured the artery in his neck so he would bleed out in seconds rather than living the last few hours of his life in agony, the part that heard his raspy voice as he told Skye about his daughter Casey.    
  
Alarm bells brought her back to the present when Kara suggested going through the forest. Skye’s face darkened. So that was the play, huh? Skye turned partially to look at Jemma but not enough that she couldn't see Kara and Raina's movements out of her periphery. Her moves were practiced, muscle memory, precise and purposeful. Her positioning, attention to detail and the subtle way she checked their perimeters were not something a normal everyday citizen would do. Skye might have cared about casting suspicion on herself for her actions, but what did it matter by this point?    
  
Skye pursed her lips and arched just her right eyebrow up at Jemma, as if to say, ' _ Believe me now?' _ After all, this wasn't her call since they had already established that her gut feelings were irrelevant and Jemma's were in charge, so, this decision was on Jemma. Skye would have told them it was the beach route or nothing.

Jemma internally recoiled from the look Skye gave her. She had made it very clear that she thought Jemma was batshit crazy, but that didn't mean she had to keep shoving it in her face when Skye was the one who decided to come along anyway. She honestly didn't know what to do. She already trusted Raina on some level, or she wouldn't be in this situation at all, but the question was how much did she trust her? They could deal with an ambush, and if it was the monsters, Raina wouldn't lead them through, she had too strong a sense of self preservation for that. So it was either an ambush or she was legitimately telling the truth. At least this way it would be faster.    
  
"Let's just do it." Jemma said, voice shaky and unsure of herself. She didn't much like the idea of going through the jungle, but the anger flying off of Skye was affecting her judgement and she just wanted it to be over and done with.    
  
Bobbi and Mack gave each other a look, probably thinking the same things. "So we're going through?" Bobbi asked, just to be certain.

Skye wasn't just angry. She was terrified. Edgy. On guard. Tense. Distressed. She gave a nod, however, when Jemma replied, not at all shocked by the answer regardless of how foolish she thought the decision. She shifted her weight, turned her attention back to Raina and Kara. She lifted her gun without putting her finger inside the trigger guard and gave her wrist a flick do indicate the jungle. "You heard her. You first. Get moving." Skye only dropped her aim back to the jungle floor when Raina and Kara started moving. Skye stayed back just in front of and slightly off to Jemma's right since it was her injured side.    
  
Mack pulled the ax from his shoulder and carried it with one hand toward the bottom of the handle and one closer to the tip so he would be ready to swing it should the situation arise. He exchanged another glance with Bobbi and followed the group into the foliage, trying his best not to think of spiders and titanoboas.

From there the group proceeded with caution. Jemma noticed the way Skye was still shifting strategically to protect her specifically, so she knew the anger came from a place of love, but it was still hard to hold on her shoulders. She knew Skye didn't understand and everyone had differences, those different ways of thinking were just expressed more drastically in a situation such as theirs. It wasn't fair that they had to deal with both the environment and their own inner demons, but they did, so Jemma was determined to have enough faith for the both of them that Raina was telling the truth and this wasn't a trap.   
  
They traveled silently for the most part. Nobody spoke. Jemma didn't speak because she didn't know what to say, Mack and Bobbi didn't speak because they were unsure themselves, Kara and Raina didn't speak because they were afraid of Skye, and Skye- well, Jemma didn't know why she wouldn't talk to her. A first assumption was anger, but Jemma didn't think that was it. Skye at first glance appeared to be blinded by frustration, but upon closer inspection Jemma could see her mind running a mile a minute.   
  
About halfway through the trip the silence was broken and they heard an all too familiar screech. It pierced their eardrums and Jemma instinctively reached for her knife with her right hand, but switched to her left to make sure she would have a good grip on it if she needed to.   
  
"I swear they weren't here before." Raina whispered. Maybe they were attacking some poor creature far enough away to ignore them, but Jemma wasn't so sure. She looked to Skye, eyes wide, argument forgotten. Like a child, she wanted to run to Skye's arms and ask for protection. She still didn't regret her decision to make this trip, but she regretted her hasty following of Raina on the fastest route.   
  
"Should we keep walking or stay still?" Bobbi asked just as quietly. None of them knew exactly what would be best to avoid an attack.  
  
The moment the sound reached her ears, Skye’s arms whipped upward and she aimed the gun the general direction of the sound. Her own eyes were wide but her jaw was clenched. She shifted her weight again, still ensuring she was in front of Jemma’s right side. Her eyes darted to Raina but she didn’t have time to call her a liar because something came rustling through the lower foliage in a wild, screeching shriek of fear. Four to six lizard-like creatures with somewhat stubby legs dashed right toward them. Raina and Kara jumped to the left to clear their path.  
  
Skye only had time to drop her shoulder and slam it into Jemma to push her out of the way off to the left before one of the shell-less turtle-like blurs raced directly through her left shin and threw her to the ground off to the right hand side. Skye landed and rolled as the other animals finished racing by. Mack, who had taken a dive off to the right, scrambled to his feet almost as fast as Skye. Bobbi was further back, someone in the middle, barely able to skirt the edge of the running lizard like animals.  
  
“Is everybody alrig-,” Mack didn’t get to finish his sentence.  
  
Skye was looking in Jemma’s direction, knowing she’d had to shove Jemma in Raina and Kara’s direction, when the next terror bird screech hit. It was too close. Skye’s heart hammered in her chest, an expression of her fear amplified by the thundering pulse in her ears. Her eyes widened when she saw not one but a pack of five terror birds charging the foliage, racing after the lizard/shell-less turtles which they must have been hunting for food. This was it. This was how it happened. Skye didn’t have to come along? No, this is exactly why Skye had to come along in the end. This was the only way she could protect Jemma.  
  
Skye’s wide eyes locked to Jemma’s. “ ** _R U N!_** ” She bellowed the word as Raina, Kara and Jemma were the closest to the birds’ approach. Skye swung the gun up and aimed, racing in short, quick steps to keep the gun steady. The terror birds burst into the small area they were in, stopped long enough to take stock of the new prey and then the first lunged toward Jemma. A crescendo of earsplitting explosive force reverberated around them as Skye shifted her aim and squeezed the trigger. The first bird went down with mere inches between its beak and Jemma. “GO! RUN! NOW!” Skye screamed as the three of the four remaining birds angled toward her. Skye turned and ran in the other direction, knowing they were going to chase her because of the loud noise from the gun. Mack was quick to follow, knowing Skye was vastly outnumbered and would be out paced too even if she was one of the fastest runners among the survivors. 

Jemma could practically feel the searing ghost pain in her scar when the terror bird's face slammed into the dirt right in front of her. Her shoulder and side ached from the forced fall, but Jemma knew it was necessary and her eyes locked with Skye's only once before the terror birds had taken new aim.  _ I'm sorry! _ she wanted to shout, but Skye was already screaming for them to run and Kara's arm was hooked under Jemma's right, dragging her to her feet to help her keep her weight off her injured hand as she got up.   
  
"RUN!" Raina echoed Skye and forced Jemma into action by yanking on Jemma's CDC vest and starting into a sprint. Jemma wanted to stop, to go back for Skye. Most of the remaining flock was zeroed in on Skye, but the beady eyes of the largest terror bird were on Jemma, Raina and Kara. They were forced to run. Jemma went blindly, running in whatever direction Raina yanked her.  _ They're going to die and it's my fault. _ It kept repeating in her head as they ran. Her lungs burned and her legs ached but they kept running, numb to anything but raw fear and pure adrenaline.


	15. Where Is She?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warning:** Violence, gore, Skye in best mode, Spontaneous snake birth expulsion
> 
> Keeping this short as I'm nodding off - forgive me for the typos I didn't fully spell/grammar check!! Let me know about the worst or funniest typos (i'll try and fix them in the morning)   
> Thanks for reading as always and thank you for the kudos, comments and love! we see you, you're awesome and we love knowing what you're thinking, loving, liking or hating!!   
> <3 <3   
> :D
> 
> __________________

Skye’s feet carried her at a sprinter’s pace. Her knees kicked up high, her arms swung as if their simple slicing through the air would propel her faster through the jungle. She vaulted over fallen roots and fallen trees and whipped through hanging branches and vines that stung as they caught along her face, shoulders and arms. Three of the terror birds were chasing after her. Bobbi and Mack had split up, trying to gain ground to flank at least one of the birds. Skye swung her arm back and spared a glance behind her just long enough to try and take a shot at the birds. With the heavy bounding of her feet the shot missed the bird’s head and instead blasted into its shoulder. The bird squawked a loud shriek of pain, which stalled the other two. Its two partners spotted the floundering bird and whirled around on Skye. Skye slowed long enough to shoot once more, taking out the first bird to lunge for her. The one right behind it tripped over the dead one’s carcass. Skye had only enough time to shove her gun into its holster, snap the button to secure it and then to turn and climb over the fallen tree behind her.  
  
“Skye?!” Mack called out from somewhere off to her right.  
  
“We’re going the wrong way!” Skye shouted back. Yes, she wanted to lure the birds away from Jemma, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to make her way back to Jemma since Skye knew she was alone with Raina and Kara and that was infinitely more terrifying to Skye than the birds chasing her.  
  
“Lil’ help over here!” Bobbi shouted. She had swooped in behind the injured bird that was giving slower chase than the one after Skye.  
  
“Mack! Drop back to Bobbi!” Skye took a right hand turn and could see Mack further behind in the distance, turning and making a dash toward Bobbi’s shouts.  
  
Skye scrabbled over a smattering of roots she tripped on and clambered to get back to her feet. Her balance was off and she tripped again as the bird closed on her. She scrambled back on her hands and feet as the bird slowed and stalked in, toying with her as it waited to attack. Skye didn’t have time to pull the gun so she grabbed the first thing her hand landed on, which was a thick fallen branch and swung it up in front of her a hand on either end of it. She heard the distant sound of Jemma’s voice shouting but couldn’t make out if it was an actual word or an unintelligible scream. The bird lunged as Skye pulled the branch up to block its first bite. The dead wood of the branch exploded and rained splinters on Skye. She turned her wrist and shoved as hard as she could with a piece of the branch as the terror bird lunged again. This time she managed to jam the branch lengthwise into its beak, preventing it from closing its beak to bite down.  
  
This was only a stopgap measure, however, as the bird’s talons swung at her instead. Skye dodged the first swipe but the second one caught her right side just above her hip and waistband, slicing through both the material of her shirt and a few layers of her skin. Skye let out a cry of pain as she rolled to her left to try and evade the bird while it flailed at her and tried to break the branch in its beak. Skye clawed at the jungle floor to find purchase to get to her feet. Not wanting to waste bullets she might later need to use on Raina, Kara and the rest of Ward and Garrett’s crew, Skye reached for her machete but before she even caught the handle, the terror bird slammed into her, pinned her to the tree and knocked the wind out of her. As a jolt of pain shocked through Skye’s spine, her mind raced back to the last time that happened and she wondered if there were any scorpions back there that would do more than paralyze her this time, assuming she survived the terror bird.  
  
The bird’s beak swung wildly. Skye dodged it a couple of times and pushed to get out from how it had her pinned. On the third swing of the bird’s head, a jagged edge of its beak caught Skye’s right cheek with enough force to tear her skin and twist her head to the side. She ground her teeth tight and leaned back against the tree as the terror bird leaned back preparing to lunge again. Skye had just enough room to pull her legs up and kick the bird backward with her feet, exhaling a loud grunt as she did and doing her best to ignore the fiery pain in her side that came with the exertion.  
  
Skye pulled the machete from its sheath, hooked to the back of her belt, as quickly as she could. Gripping it with both hands she dodged to the side and swung as the terror bird charged. She caught it in the shoulder and barely managed to pull the machete back as it crashed into the tree it had previously pinned Skye against. Skye backed up, staying on her toes, prepared to run or dive out of the way when it came back. As it crashed into the tree, the force of the crash managed to break the branch that was in its beak and as it recovered, Skye felt the full weight of the situation hit her.  
  
Skye was now separated from both Jemma and, technically from Bobbi and Mack. She knew the latter group would catch up to her, but the former…Jemma was at the mercy of Raina’s and Kara’s wills. Skye felt her blood boiling in her veins at the thoughts of what Garrett’s group could or would do to Jemma once she had attempted to patch Garrett up. What if Jemma couldn’t help Garrett? Would they assume she was lying and hold it against her? Would they even make it? Had they been able to outrun the other Terror Bird? The one in front of Skye recovered and charged at her, off kilter from its injuries and wobbling. Skye ducked to the side and took a sweep with her leg to trip it. As soon as it went down, she was on it, swinging the machete as feverishly as she had when she’d attacked Quinn, screaming in guttural rage as she landed blow after blow for long moments after the bird had stopped moving.  
  
She fell onto her knees on the ground and sat back on her heels, covered in terror bird blood while her right cheek and lower right side bled. Skye did not believe in a God or Gods of any kind. She couldn’t believe that a child could go through the things she went through or the kinds of things she went through growing up without a powerful deity stepping in if one actually existed. However, in that moment, she was begging any and all deities that would listen not to take Jemma away from her. Hadn’t she given enough? Had her pound of flesh not been paid in full time and time again by this point? What else did she have to give of herself to break this chain of loss?  
  
She felt a few hot tears escape down her cheeks as she sent up those prayers to no one. She peeled the material of her torn shirt up from her side and found that the talon had left a roughly four inch laceration along her skin. Jemma probably would have insisted on stitching it, but there was no time for that. She had to get up and moving, had to find Mack and Bobbi and they had to get to Jemma. Skye pressed her right hand down on the wound on her side, pushed as hard as she could to try and stop it from bleeding. Fresh tears streaked her cheeks as she expelled a cry of pain and frustration.  
  
“Skye!” Mack called out. “Where are you??”  
  
Skye had no idea how to answer that with a directional cue. She took a deep breath and called out a pathetic. “Over here!” While she waited, she leaned over enough to get a look at her compass to try and figure out which direction they would have to go in order to get back to Jemma. She leaned back, winded and trying to catch her breath. She screamed Jemma’s name as loud as she could and strained her ears listening for a reply but received none. She tried to tell herself this was because they were too far away and not because Jemma was dead, despite her brain’s insistence that Jemma was dead and it was her fault for being so blinded by her fear that she failed to keep Jemma safe.  
  
\--  
  
“We have to go-,”  
  
“Skye, if we don’t fix it, you’ll bleed out by the time we find her. You’re no good to Jemma dead,” Bobbi cut off Skye’s protests and nodded to Mack, who wrapped his arms around Skye’s torso, pinning her arms, which were bent at the elbow, to her chest and keeping her both from bolting and from squirming around too much.  
  
“They’ve got-,”  
  
“We know they’ve got Jemma!” Bobbi snapped as she moved her hunting knife around in the small fire they’d started next to them for this express purpose.  
  
“If you keep fighting, this’ll take longer,” Mack pointed out, trying for a calmer tone than Bobbi.  
  
Bobbi used part of Skye’s shirt to wipe away the seeping blood and frowned. “It’s pretty deep,” she said with some concern in her tone.  
  
“Just get it done!” Skye growled through gritted teeth at the shock of pain that wiping at her wound caused. They were wasting time and Skye was more than frantic to start moving again. She didn’t even have time to mentally process what it was going to feel like to have this wound cauterized. Her own cauterized wounds so far had been small ones from compy bites. This gash was almost four inches long. It wasn’t going to tickle, that was for sure, but it was necessary so they would let her go after Jemma.  
  
Bobbi pulled her heated knife from the fire and hesitated. Skye turned her face away. Mack tightened his grip on her. Bobbi cleaned the wound off with her water bottle and Skye hissed through her tightly ground teeth. A moment later Bobbi firmly pressed the metal of the knife flat against Skye’s wound and grimaced at the site, sound and smell of Skye’s flesh searing beneath the metal. Skye let out a blood curdling scream of pain and Mack struggled to hold her still as Bobbi made sure the wound was fully cauterized. Hot tears sprung from the corners of Skye’s eyes again, both from the intense, burning pain of the red hot knife and also from the memory of inflicting this pain on Jemma mere days ago.  
  
Mack let go only when it was over and Skye landed on the ground on all fours, the contents of her stomach finally emptying from a combo of adrenaline spikes, fear and pain. Her fight or flight instincts were on overdrive. Breathing heavily and flinching, Skye cradled an arm near but not on top of, the wound on her side and climbed to her feet.  
  
“Take a minute to-,” Bobbi began, reaching out for Skye but Skye jerked back out of reach.  
  
“We don’t have a minute!” Skye snapped.  
  
“At least let me cover it, it could get-,” Bobbi tried again.  
  
“We have to move,” Skye wiped the machete off on her pant leg and gripped it tightly in her right hand. It was a shame they had to waste all the meat from those terror birds, but this was just a fleeting thought as Skye lifted her wrist to look at her compass. It took a bit of turning before she oriented herself and started walking.  
  
“Skye! Wait!” Bobbi called. She glanced at Mack, who had just finished pouring some water on her blade to cool it off bit. He nodded for her to go and started covering the small fire with dirt to put it out. He grabbed his ax from the ground as he climbed to his feet and turned to catch up with Bobbi and Skye.  
  
\--  
  
The good thing about how Jemma and the others had to run through the jungle was that it left somewhat of a trail that they could follow since the large terror bird had trampled through behind them. Skye wanted to run after the path but she was terrified she would miss a turn if she ran blindly after the path so she wound up moving in a jerky trot, running for short sprints when she could, looking around for any sign of Jemma. Every so often, Skye called Jemma’s name as loud as she could but never received an answer.  
  
They stopped when they reached the bank of the large creek, both the boot/shoe prints and the large terror bird prints stopped. Skye frowned, growled in frustration. She looked around for evidence of whether or not they had crossed or turned. From the mud impressions on the bank in front of them, it looked like they went across. Had the terror bird chased after? Skye hadn’t spotted any blood on the trail so far but that didn’t mean all that much, really. She didn’t think they would hurt Jemma until Jemma patched up Garrett, assuming he wasn’t faking a wound.  
  
“Looks like they crossed,” Mack pointed out the bank opposite the side they were on. Rather than looking flat and placid, it looked like it had been disturbed and trampled through even from the distance in the waning light of the day. Skye felt a renewed urgency to make it to the camp. She pulled her gun and the magazine from the holster and stowed them inside the interior of her messenger bag and secured it since it was waterproof, so she wouldn’t have to hope the gun worked later if she needed it.  
  
Just as they were preparing to step into the bank and into the water, thundering footfalls echoed behind them and a loud screech accompanied the terror bird that had given up chasing Jemma and the others earlier because of the river. Skye, Mack and Bobbi all screamed variations on the urgency to run at the same time. Skye bolted through the thick mud into the water, slowing only a bit as her feet sunk and she pulled her knees high to clear them in the waist deep water. She grimaced and grit her teeth against the painful burn in her side as the water hit it even though the water was cool and less salty than her sweat which had been soaking into it already from the hike.  
  
The bird managed, as it snapped, to catch Mack in the back of his shoulder.  
  
“Mack!” Bobbi shouted, struggling free from the mud to try and get to him.  
  
Skye turned just as Mack landed in the shallows and dropped his ax with a groan of pain. She lunged back toward the bird and swung her machete, managed to tear a large chunk of the side of its face and part of its beak away. The bird shrieked and jumped backward. “Get him up!” Skye shouted as she and Bobbi moved to get Mack out of the terror bird’s reach.  
  
Once Bobbi had him supported and they started moving, Skye pulled the ax up from the mud and threw it by the handle, sending it spinning end over end to the other side of the water. She turned back to the terror bird as it made another approach and swung the machete. This time, the bird dodged back, having learned about the weapon from the first swing. It squawked and jabbered angrily at Skye and rushed her. Skye lost her footing and fell back into the water. When she surfaced she swung the machete ad the bird tried to lunge for her and then she noticed that it wouldn’t trample into the water. Quickly, she swung the machete every time it got near as she backed through the thick mud to get to the other side.  
  
When she was close enough, Bobbi reached out and helped yank her out and onto the muddy bank. Winded, Skye dropped back onto her elbows and watched the injured bird. For the first time, she felt minor relief that the bird wasn’t bloody until Skye had injured it. It stood to reason that it hadn’t managed to bite anyone, which would mean it hadn’t managed to bite Jemma. This, by no means, meant Jemma was safe of course, but it was one small victory in a large war in which the outcome had yet to be determined.  
  
Skye closed her eyes and gulped down some air. “Mack, are you okay?” She asked between breaths. Mack grunted, planted on his side in the mud.  
  
“Let me see,” Bobbi reached him and began to try and clear the mud and blood from his back to get a look at his shoulder wound.  
  
Skye waited a few minutes, letting the mud and her soaked clothes cool her off for a second, ignoring the terrible pain in her side. “Cauterize?” she asked Bobbi when she opened her eyes.  
  
Bobbi sighed. “Cauterize.”  
  
Mack grunted.  
  
“Let’s get to it,” Skye pulled herself up and went to go gather what they’d need for another small fire as Bobbi nodded.  
  
\--  
  
Every little setback meant time. More and more time meant Skye was marching on and on toward the inevitable. She did not expect to find Jemma alive, if they did find Jemma. _If. If, if, if, if…IF_. It was a terrible war Skye’s mind waged against her as they started through the jungle again after cauterizing the wound on Mack’s shoulder. Skye wanted to shut her brain off to everything except for the quest of getting to Garrett’s camp to find Jemma, in whatever state she was in. If she hadn’t been so blinded by her fear, she wouldn’t have been so distracted in the jungle and she might have realized they were in the terror bird hunting grounds sooner instead of too late.  
  
If Jemma was alive, what were they doing to her in the camp? What had they done to Kara and Raina? If they’d done even an iota of what they tried to do to Jemma before, Skye couldn’t understand why they would stay there, why they would do Ward and Garrett’s bidding. No, that wasn’t true. Skye understood exactly why they would stay, why they would obey. Skye had been in that position more than once in her life. After the first group home, when she’d been sent to juvenile detention, she’d promised herself she would never let herself fall prey to those kinds of people again. Skye gave her head a shake as they continued through the jungle, trying to jog her thoughts loose. None of them spoke, merely kept their ears and eyes peeled.  
  
If Jemma hadn’t insisted on going to help Garrett, none of this would be happening. If Skye hadn’t abandoned her moral compass in favor of clinging onto the idea of Jemma’s safety so fiercely that she had wound up pushing Jemma away, they wouldn’t be in this position. They wouldn’t be here. Jemma would be safe. Skye had failed, again. If they were holding Jemma hostage, how would Skye save her?  Skye constantly fought against the urge to puke again just thinking about what Ward, alone, could be doing to Jemma…if Jemma was still alive.  
  
The further they walked, the less often Skye called Jemma’s name, not wanting to alert Garrett’s camp to their approach because they had no idea what they were walking into. They stopped at a clearing after hiking almost forty-five minutes from the stream, took a moment to take small sips from the water bottles they’d refilled at the creek. Skye looked at her compass again and then shielded her eyes from the sun as she looked upward. In this direction, the ocean was to their left, and the deeper part of the jungle was to their right. She squinted at the sky and then, as this brought her eyes down toward the top of the opening in the canopy, she saw it.  
  
“Guys,” She spoke quietly and pointed. Bobbi and Mack looked up in the area indicated.  
  
“Smoke?” Bobbi asked.  
  
“It’s still a ways off,” Mack murmured as she used the handle of the ax to help him stand.  
  
Skye nodded, deep in thought as she considered options. They didn’t know what they were walking into. They didn’t know exactly how many of them were still in there. They didn’t know what kind of defenses they had, didn’t know if they had any other guns besides the rifle they were (allegedly) promising Jemma. Garrett was likely incapacitated in some fashion, assuming he was actually injured. That left Ward, Creel, Raina, Kara…who were the others? The smarmy European suit from first class with the gelled back hair…there were at least two or three more, weren’t there? Skye didn’t know if any of them had died on wild hunts with Ward like the ones he’d managed to get killed hunting for terror birds before the groups split. Skye chewed on the corner of her bottom lip.  
  
“What’re you thinking?” Bobbi asked as she looked from the smoke above the trees over to Skye.  
  
“We can’t just walk right up,” Mack said. “Even if they’re on the level with the ‘deal,’ there’s no way they’re just going to let us pass if they’ve got-,”  
  
“Here’s what I’m thinking,” Skye didn’t let Mack finish. She dumped some of her water into the dirt in front of her and crouched down to one knee. She drew out their position and a space to mark a rough position for the camp. As she started laying out the plan, she traced lines to indicate where she wanted Mack and Bobbi and her ideas for how to approach. They spent fifteen minutes talking strategy and backup before Skye looked between them both and said, “If you’ve got any other suggestions, now’s the time.”  
  
Bobbi and Mack exchanged a glance and both shook their heads. Skye nodded. “Alright,” she stood up, pulling the gun from her bag, double checking the magazine before sliding it back into place and slipping it into the holster on her thigh. The extra magazine went back into its assigned slot and she kicked the drawing with the bottom of her boot to smear it away. “Let’s go.” She adjusted her bag, grabbed up the machete and sheathed it to the back of her belt. They shared a last glance with each other and then split up to go in their assigned directions.  
  
\--  
  
Mack’s job was to flank toward the front right side of the camp, Bobbi’s the left. They would stay out of range and sight and cause dueling distractions so that Skye could find a way inside their camp to get the jump on them. Skye moved quickest of the three so she felt comfortable stopping in her wide arch toward the billowing smoke so that she could pile up some loose dirt and soak it with her water to turn it to mud. She coated her skin – her arms, hands, neck, ears and face, to help blend in with the surroundings better since she was already in browns and greens clothing wise. It wasn’t perfect but every little thing would help.  
  
Skye continued a wide circle, moving slower, waiting for the sounds of Mack and Bobbi making their distractions. When she finally caught sight of the encampment, she knew she was going to have some problems getting inside. They were fortified - wooden walls built up, spikes facing outward to prevent climbing. She was starting to rethink her plan until she saw the tree that was just close enough to the back of the encampment that she’d be able to scale it on the outside and come down inside the camp. Skye determined immediately that this was her play. She kept careful watch for scouts but soon enough Mack and Bobbi’s varying distractions had the attention of the two scouts, moving them away from Skye’s target entrance and to the other side of their enclosure.  
  
Skye left her weapons in their sheaths and while the loud commotion distracted the others, those inside the camp heading for the front wall of the camp, preparing to leave or to fight, Skye didn’t know which. She used the noise to her advantage, though she didn’t make much noise herself at all as she quickly scaled a path up the tree. The potential of finding Jemma spurred her speed and her racing thoughts. She spared just a few seconds to survey the camp and how many people she could see and count. She crawled out along a thick branch that hung over the wall of the enclosure just as Ward was coming out of one of the tent-like huts below her asking what all the commotion was about.  
  
Skye was blinded in that moment by her blood boiling rage at Ward for all the things he’d done and especially those that he’d done to Jemma. In rapid succession, she hung down, dropped to the branch below her, dropped to hang from that branch and then dropped the final distance to the ground, bending her knees as taking care to land with balance. As Ward was beginning to spin her way, Skye turned slightly to the side and slammed her boot down into the side crook of his knee as hard she could. With a groan, Ward landed on his knees and Skye delivered two swift punches, one to his jaw and the other hit his nose with her fist and then her elbow. Ward dropped, coughing and sputtering as his nose started bleeding.  
  
Creel, Kara and Malick immediately rushed for her but by the time they made it two feet in her direction, Skye had already pulled the gun and had it aimed at Ward’s head, standing with her feet braced, her arms locked, one hand around the gun handle with her finger inside the trigger guard, the other braced against the bottom, steadying her aim. The safety was off, the hammer cocked and her finger poised against the trigger, ready to squeeze at any moment. Ward held his hands up to stall the others, but Skye spoke before he could.  
  
“ _Where. Is. She_.” Skye growled the words out through her teeth. Her tone was calm, but it was more of a calm before the mother of all storms – the moment before the teapot started steaming, before the pot boiled over its rim, that last second before the grenade blew, before the beat dropped – whatever way one wanted to spin it. Skye was positioned behind Ward so he wouldn’t be able to make any moves to grab the gun away from her. Skye had nothing to her back but rock wall and tree trunk and not enough space for someone to sneak up without seeing her. She was by no means distracted, despite her desperate need to find Jemma. All her senses were working overtime. She kept visual track of her surroundings. Her ears were tuned into every noise, even down to the bugs, hyper aware and prepared. It was a practiced skill, muscle memory and thank goodness for that because internally, her pulse was racing and her fear was multiplying every second she neither saw nor heard any sight or sound of Jemma.   
  
"Jesus, what the fuck?" Ward brought a hand up to his nose and it came away damp with blood. He knew why Skye punched him, but that didn't mean he was happy about it. He definitely expected Skye to show up and he should have known she wasn't just going to knock on the front door. "Calm down, we didn't make her stay." Ward shook his head. He was starting to actually regret letting her go because he realized now that Skye wouldn't believe him.   
  
"She was here." Raina spoke up from the left. She gestured to Garrett on his cot to the right, a medium sized incision stitched up on his lower right side. He was breathing, at least for now. "She patched him up, Ward gave her the gun, and she left. Said she thought you would meet her back at camp." Raina said.

Skye's teeth ground tightly together.  " _ Bullshit _ !" She glanced between Ward and Raina. Kara,  meanwhile, had ducked around the back of the hut Ward had come out of.  She was just sneaking up on Skye's right flank, when Skye decided she was close enough. Simultaneously,  Skye yanked her hunting knife free, stepped forward and pulled Ward back against her by holding the knife blade to his neck and also flipped the safety on the gun,  swung it around on her finger till she gripped it by the barrel and swung it at Kara, butt end first.  Kara went down in a heap. Skye spun the gun in her hand and flipped the safety off again.    
  
"You expect me to believe that after what you did to her before?" she growled louder. "Where is she?!?" 

"She took off as soon as she finished with Garrett, I swear." Ward grunted and leaned back into Skye so she wouldn't accidentally graze him. "Look for yourself, it's not like we have a ton of Jemma sized hiding places." Ward said. He didn't know how he could prove that he didn't have something, especially when Skye was so convinced that they did. He was just trying not to anger her any more than she already was. 

"Jemma!?" Skye shouted her name and listened for any replies.  She heard nothing,  but that didn't mean anything necessarily.  She aimed her gun at Kara as she moved to stand.  "Get back over there with your buddies," She jerked her head toward Raina and the others.     
  
"Skye!?" Bobbi called out from the other side of the wall. "What's the good word?"   
  
"Under control!" Skye called out as Kara sauntered back to Raina and Hall, pressing into the bloody gash now on her temple and grumbling.    
  
"Creel, open the gate and let them in, " Skye ordered. When Creel started to protest, Skye aimed the gun at him and brought the knife tighter to Ward's neck.  After the way he'd held it to her neck in the jungle and before that how he'd done it to Jemma on the beach, she didn't care one bit if it nicked his skin.

"Just open it." Ward ordered. Creel hesitated, but did what Ward said. He was probably doing what Skye said though, since she was the one with the gun pointed at his face. He leaned against the wooden door and pushed it out and open, allowing Bobbi and Mack to come in with their weapons raised.    
  
"We're doing what you ask, we aren't using weapons." Ward tried to reason with her. "Jemma finished the deal and that was that, she's gone." Ward grumbled. He didn't know what more Skye wanted them to say.

Once Bobbi and Mack were inside, Skye nodded toward the group of gathered assholes. “Get back over there with your buddies,” She ordered Creel. She ground her teeth tighter when Ward spoke. The mere sound of his voice made her skin crawl and her blood start boiling all over again. “Are all your cronies besides Garrett standing out here?” She asked. She pressed the blade tight against his skin. “Reminder - I don’t give a shit if you give me a reason to kill you or not so you’ll be the first to go if anybody’s lying in wait when I send my friends to scour your camp.” She told him. 

"Cross my heart." Ward did a fake, agitated looking smile and moved his finger over his chest in an 'X'. Raina was on the side of the group pressing the hem of her shirt onto Kara's forehead, but other than that Skye had the whole group standing in the middle of camp.    
  
"The longer you're here the further away Jemma gets." Raina reminded her. She wasn't trying to start a fight, she just wanted Skye to move on like she knew she would when she found Jemma wasn't here. A little nudge wouldn't do any harm.

Skye swung the gun toward Raina. “You’re second on my list,” She said. “You led us into those hunting grounds on purpose,” She growled. 

“Further away - where is she?” Mack asked in confusion.

“She’s not here!” Kara snapped. 

“Then you won’t mind if we make sure you’re not full of shit!” Skye snapped. 

"Then do it already! Search the camp! Get on with it!" Ward shouted. Tensions were rising and they all knew there was a real possibility that Skye would kill someone. Raina didn't even argue about the intention behind her route to their camp, even if she hadn't known about the terror birds. It wasn't worth getting killed for.

Mack glanced at Bobbi and they split up to make their way through the camp, neither wanting to delay. Skye narrowed her eyes at Raina but didn’t say anymore about the trap. It was on purpose. Skye believed that in her bones. She did, at least, pull the knife away from Ward’s neck and put it back in its sheath. She stepped back and aimed her gun at the back of Ward’s head again, braced it with her now free hand. 

Mack and Bobbi returned, both grim faced and anxious about what Skye’s reaction would be when Mack said. “She’s not here.” 

For a moment, Skye’s mind was blank. In the next, her eyes were wide and wild. If Jemma wasn’t in the camp, Jemma was out in the jungle by herself. Jemma was possibly heading back down the path to the creek where they’d left a wounded, angry terror bird squawking on the creek bank. She had her knives and she had a massive gun she didn’t know how to use. “You...you sent her... _ alone _ after separating us…” She stammered in disbelief as she looked from the back of Ward over to Raina. What the fuck was happening? Why did Jemma have to help Garrett? Why couldn’t she just let whatever happened to him, happen? How was she supposed to find Jemma if she was wandering the island’s jungle? What if she got past that terror bird and took a wrong turn - what if she found something worse than the giant snakes and spiders the group had already encountered?? Skye felt momentarily like she was suffocating as the sheer number of possibilities flooded over her. If she wasn’t covered in mud, the color would have drained right out of her face. 

"She wanted to leave, what would you have wanted me to do?" Ward asked. "Tie her up and keep her against her will?" He questioned. Either way he was on Skye’s bad side. 

“YOU SENT HER ALONE IN THE JUNGLE!” Skye screamed it. 

“Skye-,” Bobbi tried to to approach her. 

Too late. Skye swung the butt of the gun at the back of Ward’s head. He collapsed to the ground unconscious, but in her haste she hadn’t spotted Creel already moving toward her in the moment she reeled back to swing. He dove at her to tackle her but Skye was still hyper aware of her surroundings despite herself. She dodged to the side and threw Creel to the ground next to her, planted her left foot and swung the right, hitting Creel squarely in the diaphragm, effectively incapacitating him as he was left on the ground, squirming and trying to regain his breath as he coughed and sputtered. Skye stalked toward Raina and Kara, swinging the gun back out to aim it at Raina first. 

Mack rushed Skye, just barely managing to catch her around the torso while throwing her arm up in the air as she pulled the trigger. Instead of exploding through her skull, the bullet whizzed by a few inches above her head. “Skye, stop!” Mack tried to drag her back as Skye fought against his hold. 

“LET ME FUCKING GO!” Skye screamed. 

“Calm down!” Mack shouted.  

“LET ME GO! THEY FUCKING - MACK, THEY FUCKING KILLED HER!” Skye broke free from Mack’s grip and aimed again, only to stop as Bobbi was standing in front of a clear shot at Raina or Kara with her hands up in a placating manner much in the way Jemma had only hours ago. The end of the gun shook with Skye’s rage and fear. “GET OUT OF THE WAY!” She bellowed.

“Skye…” Bobbi said carefully. “If you kill them…we won’t know what direction they sent her. We need to go,” She said. “Now.” 

Raina stood there in shock, completely terrified that Skye had actually shot to kill and in awe that Bobbi stopped her, even if it was just so they could find Jemma. Her mouth hung open slightly, but when she heard what Skye accused them of her breath hitched in her throat. She was right, it probably was at least partially her fault if Jemma didn't make it back. She wished she could do more, but she could do one thing.   
  
"I pointed her straight toward your camp. I swear, I didn't know." Raina shook her head and backed away. She and Kara had gotten Skye's camp without trouble, she hadn't known. She hadn't known about the terror birds and she didn't think letting Jemma go had been the entirely wrong choice. 

Skye was shaking. She didn’t care at all that the end of the gun was trembling along with her. Her finger was outside the trigger guard at least since Bobbi was standing in her way. Her jaw clenched tight, fighting against the burn in her eyes as her brain continued eating away the last remnants of hope she held of finding Jemma alive. She felt the rush of anger at herself for letting this whole situation happen. Anger that she had given into the desire to let her guard down and let Jemma in so close, so far, so deep past all her defenses when she knew it would lead to losing her. It always led to losing people and Skye knew better. 

Her mind started sending her mental imagines - Jemma in the terminal and on the plane, joking around and trying to ease Skye’s silly fears of flying; That last look they’d shared across the airplane aisles before the plane went down; Jemma drowning, towing her to shore, pounding on her chest until she finally started breathing again; Jemma’s proud little smirk when they’d found her walking through the jungle with Buzz on a tether the first time; Jemma’s terrified shriek and the terror in her eyes when they’d collided in the jungle after she’d broken free from Ward and his group; The near catatonic look on Jemma’s face after Skye had gone feral on Quinn and Donnie and chased Ward off; That last, concerned almost fearful expression on Jemma’s face when she stood blocking Skye’s line of sight on Raina and Kara insisting that she needed to go and help Garrett, that she had a moral code to follow; That very last time their eyes ever locked just before Skye ran away to lure the flock of terror birds away. 

“Skye,” Bobbi said her name in a firm, though slightly cautious tone. “Doing this doesn’t find Jemma.” She motioned with her hand slightly to urge Skye to lower the gun. “C’mon...put it away. We’re losing light.” 

It took some more coaxing before Sky lowered the gun but didn’t put it away, merely aimed it toward the ground. She was unable to stop the fury coursing through her or to stop the tears that welled in her eyes as she locked hers with Raina. “This is not over,” She said to let Raina know that she was coming back for her once they found whatever was left of Jemma in the jungle as Skye was sure it would be bones, assuming they even found those. Skye hesitated a moment and then stalked for the gate entrance of the camp, teeth gritted together, muscles taut and flexing as she gripped the gun and kept her arms aimed downward, wild eyes studying her surrounding to orient herself to the direct of her own camp as her brain reeled.  

\--

In the simplest terms possible, Skye was frantic. As soon as she was out of Ward’s camp, she started running back toward the creek at nearly double her usual pace. The fastest sprinter of all of them, Bobbi and Mack had some trouble keeping up with her. Skye didn’t have the wherewithal to consciously realize that she was outpacing her friends. Her mind was a hazy maze of fear. Her heart pounded out an exceedingly volatile rate and repeatedly felt like it was alternating between lodging into her throat and dropping to the bottom of her stomach. 

“Skye, slow down!” Bobbi tried to call out to her, worried she would run blindly right into another terror bird attack, or worse. Skye either didn’t hear her or ignored her. Frankly, Bobbi didn’t know which it was, but she assumed it was the latter. 

Mack shook his head. “She’s never gonna stop,” he said, winded. 

“Would you?” Bobbi called back to him as they raced after Skye. “F’it were Yoyo?” 

“Not a chance,” Mack shook his head again. “Skye!” He called out even though he knew it wouldn’t get a reply. 

In the very back of her mind, Skye heard Bobbi and Mack calling out to her and she knew she should, at the very least, slow down, but she couldn’t. Even if her overly pessimistic and paranoid brain was working overtime to convince her that this was a fruitless chase for death, that Jemma was dead and there was nothing she could do about it, Skye needed to find her - regardless of whatever state it was that she found Jemma in. She needed to see her, needed to know for sure. So Skye didn’t stop her pursuit. In fact, she ran harder, faster, racing against what her brain kept telling her was the inevitable.  _ You’re too late, _ it taunted her,  _ she’s gone. Just like the rest of them. What? You think you get to keep them? Ha! Have you learned nothing from all the lessons you’ve had? You let them in, you feel for them, you give yourself over to them...and they leave you. _

“She didn’t leave me!” Skye blurted breathlessly to herself, grinding her jaw tight. _Fine,_ ** _you_** _lost her. Does it make you feel better to know it was your fault, then, is that it? Either way, she’s gone...and you’ll never get her back. This is what you get for breaking the rules. Distance equal safety. You burned the safety net, genius._  

Bobbi and Mack slowed and exchanged a glance when they heard a loud, rage-filled, feral growling scream as it filled the air surrounding them. It was Skye. They knew it was Skye. What they didn’t know was how safe it would be to approach her, in the case that they ever caught up to her again.  
  
\--  
  
“Skye, stop!” Bobbi managed to grab Skye’s right forearm in a fierce grip just as she went to race off again.  
  
“We need to stop and think about this,” Mack stepped in to cut of Skye’s path, held his hands up in surrender to let her know he was trying to help.  
  
“Breathe,” Bobbi ordered as if a stern, exasperated glare would be enough to slow Skye down.  
  
Skye struggled to yank her arm free. “We have to-,”  
  
“Yes! We have to find her – do you think we don’t know that?” Bobbi snapped as she motioned between herself and Mack.  
  
“We want to find her too, Skye,” Mack said.  
  
Skye yanked her arm free but found herself blocked by both of them. She balled her fists at her sides and ground her jaw shut tight, fighting the furious urge to start swinging until she was free to race off again.  
  
“We can’t do that if you’re not thinking straight,” Bobbi pointed out.  
  
“If you don’t want to do it for us, do it for Jemma,” Mack finally said her name and Skye glared at him. “If we don’t follow her trail rather than backtracking where we’ve already been, this is going to keep happening and we may never find her in time.”  
  
Skye blinked. _In time –_ ** _ha_** _!_ Her brain taunted her again. _He actually thinks she’s still alive. You’re not that lucky, Skye._ Skye swallowed the rising bile in the back of her throat, inhaled deeply and exhaled a shaky breath, balled fists trembled at her sides.  
“Okay,” Bobbi took a deep breath of her own. “She clearly didn’t come back  through the creek’s path this way, so…”  
  
“So, since we know the path back, we can jog,” Mack paused and looked at Skye. “Jog back toward Ward’s camp and looked for a secondary path to break off so we can trail Jemma’s path.”  
  
Skye didn’t trust her voice so she simply nodded.  
  
“We should watch the trees for more of her carved ‘J’s like she did before when she caught Buzz,” Bobbi spoke.  
  
With a few more comments back and forth, spit balling ideas and plotting before they filled their water bottles and forced down some food from Skye’s bag and then finally were moving again. Skye had to force herself to keep her pace at an even jog rather than her long distance sprinting pace. Their slow pace as they tracked breaks in vines and branches, tracks in the ground made by the pattern of Jemma’s shoe soles, left Skye even more anxious than her frantic racing through the jungle. She repeatedly lifted her wrist and checked the compass, continually orienting them to Jemma’s possible path and how far off from their camp it strayed with increasing alarm the further they diverted.  
  
\--  
  
It felt like hours as they walked. Shortly after they had begun down the proper Jemma path, the sun had begun to make its descent. The longer they hiked, the more the light waned. Skye kept in advertently sprinting across stretches of path, from one indication of Jemma’s path to the next, wanting  - no, _needing_ – to reach her, to find her, before the sun went down. If there was any small chance at all that Jemma was alive, it would be if they found her before nightfall.  
  
The sky was a painted string of hues of pinks and oranges fading into blues and purples in the small patches of openings in the canopy by the time they reached it. Skye stopped in her tracks, cutting sure a small stretch of jogging the group had taken. Bobbi barely managed to stop without running into her.  
  
“Skye, wha-,” Bobbi’s voice caught in her throat as she looked past Skye’s shoulder. She understood immediately what she was seeing.  
  
Skye stepped forward. In front of them, winding back and forth through the stretch of trees far ahead of them was a pale yellow shape, hollow in the center, taller than any of them. She would have probably thought it was a long fallen and rotted tree were it not for the fact that it looked like scales and it twisted and turned through the trees and vines it laid between. Skye gaped at it and immediately pushed forward, her machete gripped tightly in her right hand, ready to swing it, looking for any sign of Jemma whatsoever.  
  
“Is that...?” Mack stammered as he stood inches behind Bobbi, both of them frozen at the sight of it.  
  
“S-Snake skin…” Bobbi stuttered, eyes wide.  
  
“ _JEMMA_!” Skye screamed her name, straining her vocal chords as much as she could, face turning red as she forced the name as loud as her voice would allow. When Lincoln had been eaten by the titanoboa, Skye was still recovering from her scorpion venom induced seizure. She hadn’t been on that water run. Bobbi and Mack, however, had. They had seen this beast up close and probably had barely escaped with their lives, like the spiders. Skye screamed Jemma’s name again, spotted a diversion in her shoe tracks and raced after it. As she moved, she stored the machete in its sheath and pulled her gun from its holster, not at all caring from this moment forward about how many bullets she might spend. Her original magazine held twelve bullets. She had used four of them so far; 1 Terror bird headshot, 1 Terror bird miss, 1 Terror bird shoulder hit, 1 missed kill shot against Raina. That left her with eight bullets in the current magazine and she had fifteen bullets in her extended, extra magazine. There was a box in her lock box that had about six additional bullets in it. All in all on her person she had twenty-four bullets. She intended to use every single one if it meant she’d fine Jemma.  
  
“Skye, wait!” Bobbi raced after Skye. Mack had no choice but to follow, adjusting his grip on the ax and trying not to flinch at the sharp jab of pain in his shoulder blade that resulted.  
  
“You can’t stop me!” Skye called in reply.  
  
“We can’t run right after-,”  
  
“I can!” Skye snapped back. “And I am. If you want to leave and go back to camp, go, I won’t blame you but don’t try and slow me down again!”  
  
Bobbi slowed and Mack caught up. “We’re going to die out here.”  
  
“Maybe,” Mack conceded.  
  
“Mack,” Bobbi sighed, trying her best to pretend she wasn’t ready to shit herself in fear of running into the snake.  
  
“Seems like she diverted to make a wide path,” Mack pointed out.  
  
“So?” Bobbi sighed.  
  
“So,” Mack shrugged his good shoulder. “We stand just as much a chance as Jemma…if not more, we have Rambo,” He nodded in Skye’s direction. Bobbi looked Skye’s way and while she knew Mack was right, it didn’t allay her fears for their safety or Jemma’s safety at all.  
  
Skye stopped only so she could dig through her bag to pull out her LED flashlight as the light kept fading. She wrapped the strap around her wrist and let it swing free as she moved; just wanting it ready for when she needed it. She moved as quickly as following Jemma’s tracks would allow her, her gun poised and aimed but her finger outside the trigger guard as a precaution, so she wouldn’t accidentally pull the trigger if, on the small chance, they did happen upon a living, breathing Jemma. _Keep lying to yourself, toots – whatever it takes to survive, right? You do know you’re back in survival mode right? Do or die. You’re gonna have to make that choice, you know, when you find her body. Do you keep going like you always have…or do you give up?_ “Shut up,” Skye ground out a low growl to her own brain as she raced.  
  
\--  
  
“Skye, you need to stop for a minute, catch your breath,” Bobbi had sprinted up to Skye and slowed Skye’s pace. “We need to reorient ourselves to the dark. The sun was almost all the way down and Skye had the only flashlight. At this point in time, Bobbi and Mack would have two options; One – follow Skye by flashlight and hope they didn’t wind up snake/other beast chow or Two – orient themselves toward the beach and don’t stop until they reach it, then go home. Neither of them were willing to leave Skye alone even though they both knew she would go on by herself if they wanted to.  
  
Skye stopped, only because her muscles were screaming at her, cramped and worn down. She needed to drink some water and she needed to force down some food for more energy. Bobbi and Mack reminded her of these things. Skye forced herself to listen to them. “You don’t have to come with me,” Skye told them as they made their way through some fruit and dried fish, small portions compared to what their stomachs wanted after the exertion of the day, the roller coaster of stress and rigorous exercise.  
  
“We’re staying with you,” Mack said.  
  
“You can’t just send us away,” Bobbi said almost simultaneously.  
  
Skye fell silent, unsure how to respond to either of their loyalty. Did they know that she would have been chasing through the jungle for either of them if they were ones lost? Bobbi and Mack meant a lot to her. Most of the people at camp meant a lot to her. But Jemma…Skye had never lived her life knowing, _feeling_ deep down in her bones that she couldn’t live without another person. There were few people on the list of people Skye would say she really, truly loved. All of them had been wrenched away from her life. She had survived it all. Her parents had abandoned her as an infant. The nuns that she had bonded with were always the first to assign her to a new foster home. The Brodies were taken in a car accident. The few friends she had truly bonded with while living on the streets had died either from their addictions, from being in the wrong place at the wrong time or by their own hands. Skye had survived them all. She had gone on even when it felt, over and over again, like her heart could never break again into a million more little pieces from the tattered state it had been left in by the last. The pains became something she acclimated to; another notch on the belt, another stretch of scar tissue. Jemma was different. Jemma made Skye want to survive. She made her want to keep her promise to get Jemma off this fucking island and back home to her parents. Jemma had given her something Skye had never dreamed she would be allowed to have. Without Jemma, what was the point of even trying? _There_ , her brain nearly snickered at her. _There it is. Your decision. Do or die. You choose the latter. Now you just have to find the body…or whatever’s left of her. Confirmation._  
  
Skye ground her jaw and pushed on once they were finished chugging food and water down. She turned on the flashlight and moved with purpose, gun poised and raised, flashlight in her other hand braced against the gun to give her a line of sight. _One, two, three, four, marching yourself into the belly of the beast. Jonah lived how many days inside that whale? How many days do you think Jemma could live inside a snake bigger than that whale?_ Skye’s vocal chords rumbled in a vicious growl at herself. Bobbi and Mack exchanged a glance but pushed on in Skye’s wake.  
  
\--  
  
Skye blinked once. Twice. A third time. Her fragile mind, which was teetering on the mental edge of a thousand foot cliff current, couldn’t reconcile the sight before her. On the ground – and piled everywhere around it, was the largest animal Skye had ever laid eyes on. She had survived truck-sized spiders but this…this was an entirely different ball game. The gigantic snake she had tried to imagine when Jemma told her what Bobbi had passed long about Lincoln from the botched water run was lying on the ground – larger than Skye had ever been able to fathom in her mind – with dead, open eyes, pools of dried blood around it, a massive back end of its head exploded out and a missing fang.  
  
Skye’s jaw hung almost as slack at the titanoboa’s unhinged jaw. Even in the minimal width-range of the flashlight, Skye could see the unhinged jaw. That meant the beast was in the middle of striking when… _She killed it!! Holy fuck, she fucking killed it!!! Jemma…_ ** _my_** _Jemma…killed a fucking monster snake that was larger than a double-length bus!!_ Skye’s thoughts were racing too fast to process. She moved erratically, shining the light everywhere. The snake’s jaw was unhinged, that meant it was lunging for strike when it was killed – _Because Jemma shot it through the fucking mouth and blew the back of its head off!!!!!!_ Skye shined the light at the ground, looking for any sign of which direction Jemma went off in. She felt a sudden roil in her stomach as she spotted all the disturbed Earth around and below the snake. She began yelling Jemma’s name.  
  
“Hol-y shit…” Mack gaped at what he could see of the carnage on the ground as Skye’s flashlight hit it. “Did…did Jemma do that?”  
  
Bobbi was just as flabbergasted. There was no other explanation. They knew she had the rifle, per Raina’s information. This was proof that Raina was telling the truth about them keeping up the full end of their bargain. Bobbi hadn’t expected that, not from Ward. A small, proud, smirk curled up her lips despite her fear of the beast lying in prone coils before them. “Course she did…she is one scrappy lil’ mama,” she mused.  
  
Mack couldn’t help it. Maybe it was the nerves and anxiety. Maybe it was the relief that Jemma had bested the largest predator any of them had come into contact with thus far on this hellhole of an island. Whatever it was, he laughed at Bobbi’s comment. Bobbi smiled and a chuckle escaped her, right up until two things happened;  they were blinded by the wildly flailing LED light from the flashlight and Skye’s screams echoed shrilly around them.  
  
Bobbi and Mack surged into action, not even thinking about it. They flew around the dead snake, following the light, knives drawn. “Skye!” Bobbi called. Both of them skidded to a stop as they came around the edge of a set of coils and saw what was happening.  
  
Skye was on the ground, writhing in agony. She was covered in coils of baby titanoboas, wrapped around arms, legs, torso, and latched on by their fangs to various parts of her. The babies were two to three feet in length each. The ground, that they could see, was littered in dozens of the writhing snakes. There were dozens more that were dead around them, half eaten, possibly by their siblings. A chorus of harsh hisses rang out as the pale bodies slithered about. Skye’s arums swung wildly. Her hunting knife, gripped tightly in her left hand swung down at the snake bodies. One snake wrapped around her left arm and was latched onto the heel of her hand by her thumb knuckled, constricting the blood flow to her hand. Her hand was slowly turning hues of blue and purple as she struggled to keep her grip on the knife and kill the other attacking boas.  
  
Two other boas were wrapped around Skye’s right arm, one latched at her shoulder and wrapped around her bicep, one latched at her elbow and wrapped around her forearm. One was fruitlessly trying to devour the tip of her booted left foot while wrapped around her shin. Another was wrapped around her right thigh and biting into the cauterized flesh of her side. Some of them were trying to find purchase, slithering around Skye’s torso, wrapping around and squeezing, biting at her randomly, deciding they didn’t like that spot, slithering and shifting, hissing, biting again. Skye’s own wild swings with the knife were often causing her to wound herself. She would stab through one snake's body and nick her own flesh as that snake fell away, only for another to take its place. A couple of times, she slashed a gash open on her own side or leg in her effort to break free.  
  
Skye’s screams had grown muffled and in the swinging light, Bobbi discovered that this was because an enterprising baby titanoboa had latched onto the back of Skye’s jaw on the right hand side and had coiled around her mouth and throat, effectively cutting off her air supply.

“Oh shit!” Mack blurted.  
  
Bobbi rushed for Skye’s head as she thrashed on the ground. She jammed her foot down on a wayward snake’s neck and stabbed it through the head before she rushed onward, trying to dodge attacks as she went. She stopped, perhaps stupidly, to her knees at the top of Skye’s head. Mack grabbed his hunting knife from his belt and started stabbing at writhing snake bodies. He made a path to Skye’s side and caught her left arm to keep her from accidentally stabbing Bobbi. He wrapped a hand around the snake latched to the heel of her hand and twisted sliced through its neck, effectively decapitating it. The head was still attached to Skye’s hand by the fangs by the body fell loose from around her arm and Mack heard Skye’s muffled scream as the blood began to rush back into that part of her limb.  
  
Bobbi did the same thing to the snake around Skye’s neck, grabbed at the back of its jaw to hold it in place and then slinging her knife under the body and upward to cut its head off. It was slow work and each of them sustained multiple bites as they freed Skye and then worked to destroy the remaining snakes. There were nearly thirty of them in total, some not quite able to control their muscles and some as ferocious as the one that had wrapped around Skye’s neck.  
  
When all was said and done, Skye had only the wherewithal to use the flashlight to find her gun and knife again and scrambled clear of the area where the babies were dropped back near the head of the snake, on all fours. She wretched up the minimal contents of her stomach and choked on ragged coughs as she tried in vain to regain her breath.  
  
“Give me the flashlight, we’ll patch you up,” Bobbi said as she patted Skye’s back after a moment and felt the fact that Skye’s whole body seemed to be trembling.  
  
Skye shook her head. “No,” She croaked, the words barely coming out through her taxed vocal chords. “I’m fine,” she insisted. “No more patching.”  
  
“I’d be comfortable with moving on,” Mack muttered as he shuddered. Fucking snakes.  
  
Bobbi frowned and started to argue but something in the dim reflection of the flashlight stream caught her eye. She grabbed Skye’s left wrist as Skye hissed in pain and turned Skye’s arm to point the flashlight to a nearby tree. “Skye, _look_!”  
  
There, dug deeply into the bark of a tree was one of Jemma’s “J” marks, like she’d used when she caught Buzz so many weeks ago now. Tears welled in Skye’s eyes as she realized just what this meant. Jemma was strong enough when she defeated this gigantic snake to be able to carve one of her marks in the tree before moving on. She was mentally with it enough to try and mark her trail now so they could find her! A small sob escaped Skye and in the next moment, she vaulted to her feet and moved to the tree. She traced the letter with her finger and sniffled. “I’m coming, just hold on,” She murmured.  


\--

The trek through the jungle was not significantly slower. The darkness was all encompassing but for the arc of light that Skye’s flashlight produced – which was a godsend to have, honestly as it meant they could walk without tripping at least. Skye had her knife and machete stowed. She had the gun out and poised in the fashion she had been taught with the flashlight. The fang wounds had clotted for the most part but that didn’t mean she was walking easily. Her left arm was purple now from the bruising from the snake. She had no doubt that similar bruises covered her left lower leg, her right thigh and her neck. The stab wounds she had sustained from accidentally stabbing herself trying to get the snakes off were, thankfully shallow and not any deep punctures but they had bled pretty good. At one point, they had stopped for a water break and Skye had plugged some of the gashes with mud just to stop them from seeping blood and to mask some of her scent from predators. Mack and Bobbi covered some of their bite wounds similarly and then they moved on through the dark jungle, searching for Jemma’s “ _ J _ ” markings.

The hairs on the back of Skye’s neck, despite being somewhat caked in mud, were standing on end as they progressed. She couldn’t be one hundred percent positive, but she was pretty sure that they were angling for a part of the jungle Skye wanted nothing to do with in any way whatsoever. Slowly, as they walked, the night sounds of the jungle began to taper off. Skye, Bobbi and Mack all began to slow their pace a bit as the sounds disappeared.

Skye aimed the flashlight upward and ahead of them and they stopped when they saw the edges of spider webs in the closed of canopy of the trees. Shaking from the snake ordeal, from her fragile psyche and from her fear of the spiders, Skye began to frantically search the trees with the flashlight, hoping she would not find one of Jemma’s marks anywhere, that they had missed one that had turned Jemma some other way. That’s when the flashlight hit a patch of red.

Skye stalled the light and aimed it at the tree trunk, followed the line of it up the tree trunk to a large splotch of it covering over one of Jemma’s letter “ _J_ ” markings. This one was clearly carved with much more haste than the others, but it was there and, worse, it and the trunk around it and below it were absolutely _covered_ in blood. There was even a dried puddle of blood on the ground in the girt, grass and vines at the base of the tree. Skye’s whole body shook. She felt the sour sting of bile at the back of her throat. This was Jemma’s blood. This was not the blood of another animal. Jemma stood here and carved this as she bled all over it.  

Skye set her jaw, straightened her arms as tears freely flowed down her cheeks and started to march straight into the area.

“Skye, no!” Bobbi hissed. She lunged, wrapped her arm around Skye’s middle and pulled with all her might to drag Skye back from the spider den zone. 

“Let go!” Skye struggled against Bobbi’s grip and Mack moved in to catch her from the other side. Both of them dragged Skye back and held her.

“Skye-,” Mack began but Skye struggled harder.

“Let go!” Skye croaked. Her mind began playing back a mental reel of the moment the two giant spiders tore Alisha in half;  only this time in her mind’s eye, saw the spiders playing tug of war with Jemma and felt the panic as it surged through her from the tip of her head down to her toes and back again in nanoseconds.

“Skye – Listen to me!” Bobbi didn’t scream now, it was harsh low whisper instead. “Look at her marking!”

“Bobbi-,”

“Skye,  _ no _ !” Bobbi shook her and grabbed Skye’s hand with the flashlight. “Look at her marking,” She turned the light to the tree.

Skye’s eyes widened. With great strength, she suddenly shook both Bobbi and Mack off her, leveled the gun and flashlight, the light suddenly reflecting back at them from giant multifaceted spider eyes. Skye only had time to note that the spider had a wound of some kind, before it started to rush her. Skye squeezed off two round right in the middle of the eyes and the spider screeched and collapsed to the ground. Skye looked at the marking and saw what Bobbi as talking about now. There was a mark below Jemma’s normal marking, an “ _ X _ .” This was new. Did it mean that Jemma got away? Skye shown the flashlight to the ground. She aimed it at the dried puddle of blood and then searched from there and, sure enough, she slowly found a trail on the ground and in the trees of blood spots.  _ Breadcrumbs _ , Skye thought.

“Guys…” Hearing movement in the trees, Mack frowned at them. “We need to get out of

here…” Before this spider’s buddies came. It wasn’t full sized like the one that had destroyed Alisha, but its buddies were probably heading their way to see what was going on right about now.

Bobbi looked to Skye and Skye nodded. They ran. They followed the blood and listened for possible chasing spiders and did what they could to keep quiet. Skye didn’t know if they were getting closer to finding Jemma…or if they were simply getting closer to finding Jemma’s mangled body.

\--   


“We have to go back,” Bobbi said. 

“I’m not going back without Jemma,” Skye paced back and forth, agitated. She was exhausted but her fear kept her adrenaline washing through her, which kept a certain level of nausea ever present in the pit of her stomach and kept her limbs trembling at varying levels. 

“We need to regroup,” Mack reasoned.

“She might be there,” Bobbi added. 

Skye stopped her pacing and looked at them. “She doesn’t know where she’s going. She doesn’t have any light to lead her other than the moon. She doesn’t know  _ where _ camp is and she’s clearly injured and bleeding.” She looked between them both. “If you both want to go back, I get it. I will point you in the right direction. I’m not going with you. I’m not going without her...alive or...otherwise.”

“This isn’t up for debate, Skye,” Bobbi said. “We’re going back. We’ll regroup and we’ll head back out in the light.” 

Skye backed away from Bobbi only to be caught by Mack. “Whoa there, Speedy,” He said, speaking gently. “Skye, Bobbi’s right. We need to see if Jemma’s back. She might have made it. We found the waterfall when running from the spiders. She might have too.”  

“Either way, if no one’s returned to camp, they might send people scouting for us or to Ward’s camp. We need to let them know what happened. We can break down into pairs to search for her.” Bobbi tried her best to convince her. 

It took more than brown beating to convince Skye, however. In fact, they practically had to drag her, fighting the whole way, about the situation. The closer they got to camp, the more realization that she had truly lost Jemma, that Jemma was likely dead in the jungle and if not was bleeding out on her own in the jungle, bore into her. The fight began to seep out of her and with it, the last rushes of her adrenaline. 

Her muscles ached. Her heart hurt, she felt the familiar shattering as it broke apart into shreds of itself and she did nothing to stop it at this point. How could she? Jemma was gone and even if they sent out scout troops, there would be no bringing her back. Skye had lost Jemma. Skye had  _ failed _ Jemma. She had broken her promise to get Jemma off this island and home to her parents. She’d lost the one thing she had always needed most in life, the thing she had never believed she deserved enough to have. 

The sun was almost fully up as they made it onto the path to their camp’s entrance. Bobbi and Mack spoke to May and Mike, who were up on the platform, but Skye couldn’t actually hear the words that were exchanged. Her mind was elsewhere. There was no point in tuning in. She would climbed back through the entrance, she would leave behind her gun and the machete and anything else she thought the group could use and then she would head back out. When she found Jemma’s body, she would join it. 


	16. No Show

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warnings:** second verse, same as the first! gore, monsters, action til you just can't stand it!! 
> 
> <3 <3 <3 to all of you! As always thank you for reading!! Thanks for the kudos, comments and love! We love hearing from you!! 
> 
> Without further ado....have at it!   
> #whereverwednesday, hang onto your butts!   
> <3  
> :D
> 
> ________________

Branches and vines whipped across Jemma's arms and face, she stumbled over roots, and even recovered from two near falls from Raina yanking on her vest to make sure she kept up. The whole while the bird behind them let out squawks, screeches, and varying sounds. Its feet thudded on the ground and Jemma could feel it as deep in her body as she could her thundering heartbeat. There were others, much more faint, as distance between her and Skye stretched. She heard shouting, human shouting, and then two shots in succession. The number of screeches lessened, but they sounded no less hungry.

"SKYE!!" Jemma shrieked, aware she was wasting her breath and she couldn't go back with the terror bird on their tails. Skye could be torn open, bleeding out, dying, and Jemma couldn't do anything about it. Every bit of this was her fault. Skye was the one with the survival instinct, Jemma was not and she should have listened. Jemma's guilty conscience nearly ripped her heart to shreds as they ran for what seemed like forever. She'd never had someone quite like Skye before and now she could be gone because Jemma wanted to help someone else. She should have been more focused on keeping Skye safe and not letting her put herself in so much danger. Jemma's throat felt swollen and her mouth went dry. The backs of her eyes hurt, but she couldn't break down yet or she'd die too. She honestly wasn't sure it was worth continuing without Skye, but she pushed for Kara, Raina, and Garrett's sake. That was a lie, actually. Jemma refused to believe Skye was dead. She had a gun and Mack and Bobbi had been with her. Skye was too strong and too determined to go out by a couple of overgrown turkeys and Jemma was going to make sure she kept herself alive so she could let Skye give her an "I told you so" when they went to bed that night. 

"Don't stop! We're almost to the river! Cross it!" Raina shouted. She sounded like she knew what she was talking about, and stupidly Jemma somehow still trusted her. She seemed to know the area and Jemma did not, so she was apt to stick with her because getting lost most certainly meant death. She wasn't so sure she'd live long enough to get lost, though. The screeches were getting louder behind them and they were all slowing down, out of stamina and chests heaving. 

"Move your ass!" Kara grabbed Jemma's hand, the injured one, and squeezed it as hard as she could. Jemma let out a loud yelp, but it got her moving to catch up so Kara would let go. It was cruel, but it worked and they kept running. Jemma's eyes were locked onto Raina's back and she didn't even know they'd reached the creek until her feet were wet and it suddenly became harder to move. 

"Come on!" Raina reached behind her and Jemma actually grabbed onto the offered hand to help pull her through the thick mud up to her ankles and water up to her waist. Jemma heard a loud clacking noise and turned around, met with the outstretched neck of the terror bird hardly a foot from her face, beak having just snapped close. It was a miracle, but the bird wouldn't cross the water. The three women dragged themselves to the solid ground, never keeping their eyes off of the predator that had nearly gotten them. The ground on the other side wasn't actually solid, it was a muddy bank, but none of them really cared and they all collapsed in it. The mud was cool and it felt like an ice bath compared to the thick, hot air around them. 

"We've found that terror birds-" Raina paused to suck in a labored breath, "don't like water." They laid there silently for another five minutes. The terror bird moved up and down the small river a few paces before squawking at them and dashing off, probably to find the rest of its pack if they were still alive. Jemma hoped they weren't. She laid on her back staring up at the thick trees. Was Skye alright, were Bobbi and Mack okay? She wished she knew, but she had faith in them. They had killed that terror bird when Jemma was stuck up in a tree, and Skye didn't have the gun then. She hadn't heard any screaming. Shouting, yes, but that could have been anything. She would have heard it, she would have felt it if Skye had been killed. Skye was alive and Jemma refused to think otherwise.

As she caught her breath and finally had time to really think, she realized it was a bit strange for Raina to know the jungle other than just the path between the camps. She knew that terror birds wouldn't cross water, and they had been "lucky" enough for them to be near enough to get to the river. 

Raina and Kara pulled themselves up out of the mud and as Jemma got to her feet, her fear for Skye turned into rage. A ferocious shout ripped from her lungs and she surged forward, ramming her shoulder into Raina's torso and slamming them both back into the ground. 

"Wha-" Raina heaved and didn't even have time to recuperate before Jemma straddled her and wrapped her hands around Raina's throat. Now she understood what Skye felt. If Skye was dead Jemma knew it was her own fault, but it was also Raina's. 

"You knew!" Jemma pressed down, since she could only squeeze with one hand, but it was enough to make Raina's face start to redden and a small choking sound to come out of her as she shook her head. "You knew this was their hunting ground and you brought us here!" Jemma pressed harder. 

"Hey!" Kara yelled and rushed over, wrapping her arms around Jemma's stomach from behind and jerking with up and to the side with full force, tossing Jemma to the side. She put her foot down on Jemma's chest and put enough weight on it to hold her, but not hurt her. 

"Calm down! We didn't know!" Kara shouted at her. Jemma held her hands by her head and tried to focus on her breathing, which was difficult with the lingering anger and adrenaline and Kara's pressure on her chest. "If this was our maniacal plan, do you really think we'd risk you getting killed? Or us for that matter?" Kara growled. She had a point. Jemma dropped her head back down into the mud and groaned. Nothing was as it seemed here, even with the people. 

"Are you gonna behave?" Kara asked when Jemma hadn't struggled or replied in almost a minute. Jemma nodded and Kara hesitantly lifted her foot. Jemma scrambled to her feet so she wasn't at a disadvantage with Raina and Kara standing. "Now you can go off on your own, try to get back to your camp and get yourself killed. Or, you can come with us, our camp is closer than yours, and we can finish the deal. You know our place will be the first place Skye will look for you." Kara reasoned. The way she said it was calming, in a way. They weren't forcing her to come with them, and she was definitely right about everything else. She didn't know the way back from here and it was likely she'd run into a creature. She could get to their camp, fix Garrett, and wait for Skye. It was better than getting lost in the jungle and dying alone. It also made her feel immensely better that the way she worded it made it sound like she believed Skye was alive too. They were separated, that was all.

"Well?" Raina questioned. They were clearly antsy to get going. 

"I'll come with you."

__________________

 

"Raina-" 

"I swear if you ask me how close we are one more time I'll leave you here." Raina quipped. Jemma promptly closed her mouth. To her it felt like it was taking longer than it should have, like Raina was taking them around a long way to avoid any run-ins with Skye. That was probably just her paranoia talking though, because they could very well be walking a wide margin to avoid terror birds. Her frustration and exasperation with Jemma was one of her cues that this wasn't a kidnapping. It felt sincere and Jemma spent a split second wondering what Skye would think if Jemma had been right. 

They trudged silently after that. They were all exhausted, covered in mud, and wet. They were soaked from the river and the humidity wasn't allowing their clothes to dry. The air was a soup and it was difficult to breathe. It made them so hot Jemma was sure the water was mostly her own sweat. They had brought enough water for a moderate hike, not a spontaneous sprint through the jungle. Jemma was far too kind and shared the last third of her bottle with Kara, who had run out on her way to Jemma's camp. 

By the time they finally made it, Jemma wasn't positive that the walls she saw were real. She could see the waterfall, and off to the right were walls made of branches all tied together by vines and put up in between trees to make a near hexagon. Other branches had been sharpened to points and stuck into the ground at the base of the wall, pointing out at a forty five degree angle as a pointy first defense against anything trying to get through the wall. They apparently always had someone on watch as well, because as soon as Raina, Kara, and Jemma entered the vicinity, a loud, sharp whistle cut through the air. 

"Look who managed to actually do their jobs! Looks like you two get another meal!" A man Jemma remembered as Creel was calling out to them from the apparent entrance to the small camp. Jemma's insides churned and started burning because of her discomfort with and disapproval of their methods. Sure, some people in Jemma's group contributed more than others, but she would never pressure anyone with starvation. She looked to Raina, but she was avoiding her eyes. This made her a bit worried.

"Come on, Doc, he's over here." Creel waved his hand when they got closer and Jemma was just glad nobody had threatened her, tied her up, or harassed her, but the time was young. The hairs on the back of her neck rose when she entered the small enclosure. There were several small triangle shaped shelters with leaves layered over the top. It almost looked like a boy scout camp with the communal fire pit in the middle. 

When Jemma followed Creel's line of sight, she saw Garret laying on a cot made of a few plane cushions and large leaves. Ward was kneeling next to him and Jemma's mind jumped back to that night. A shiver ran up her spine, but she wasn't going to let him see her fear. 

"Look who the cat dragged in. How are you doing, Sweetheart?" Ward chuckled. He was the one Jemma was sure would never change. Raina and Kara at least had a chance. 

"Touch me and I'll cut it off." Jemma growled when he stood up and took a step closer. He still had a smirk on his unshaven, messy face. 

"Cut what off?" He asked with a laugh. Jemma just raised a brow, as if daring him to ask again. He seemed to get the message and his mouth opened to retort, but Jemma pulled her knife back out of its sheath and he silenced himself. 

"Hey, Doc. Looks pretty bad doesn't it?" Garrett didn't open his eyes as he spoke and grunted in pain. Jemma glanced down at his torso and took her bag off of her shoulder. It was definitely more than she had handled on the island thus far. The area just above his waist was a large, dark bruise.

"Is it my appendix?" Garrett asked after giving Jemma a moment to poke and prod and watch his pained reactions in certain places.

"I think so. It must have burst, you're lucky to be alive right now. It might have clotted, but it needs to come out." Jemma's face was grim. Even if Garrett was a terrible person, it was not a good fate to have to have your insides opened up in the wilderness with no anesthetics.

"Well are you going to take it out?" Ward spoke up.

"I'm no surgeon. I went to med school, but I moved on to biochemistry instead of surgical residency." Jemma shook her head, but the look of panic on the small groups faces made her afraid.

"You have to try." Garrett demanded. Jemma wasn't about to say no. It wasn't specified in their deal what happened if she wouldn't try, but they also wouldn't specify what happened if she tried and accidentally killed him. 

"Are you sure?" Jemma asked. She didn't want a death like this on her hands, even if she knew he had no chance if she didn't try and minimal chance if she did. 

"If I'm going to die anyway. Do what you need to, Doc." Garrett told her. Jemma nodded. This was what she was here for, to try to save his life and repair relations between the two groups. 

"I need three people to hold him down. I need a fire to put a knife in so I can cauterize after I resect." Jemma started ordering. People moved at her command without hesitation and she didn't receive any pushback. It was going to be difficult to pull off the surgery, but she was going to try.

_________

"You did your best." Raina approached Jemma while she was packing up her things. She'd had to wash all the blood off of her surgical knife and it was only after the surgery that the blood made her sick. When she was in doctor mode, she could do anything, treat any level of gore. But after, when she looked at her supplies, the reality of what she had done started to sink in. She was trained to do work in a lab, but here she was, cutting people open and stitching them up. It was hard to comprehend, but she didn't have time to comprehend. Skye was still out there and it was better she wait to let it all sink in. Right now she had more pressing problems. 

"You'll see if it did any manner of good in the next twelve hours." Jemma said gruffly. "Now I need to go." There was absolutely no world in which Jemma wanted to stay here longer than she needed to, alone, while Skye was possibly out in the jungle needing help. "I was promised a rifle?" Jemma reminded her. 

"It's your head if you go alone." Raina shrugged and then jerked her head in Ward's direction. "He's got it." Jemma practically scowled right there. "Hey, be careful." Raina added. "With Ward and the jungle." Jemma just nodded in response and pulled her bag strap over her head as she straightened her legs to go from a crouch to an upright position. 

"Ward." Jemma grabbed his attention by snapping her fingers to get him to stop talking to his buddies about who would be Ward's right hand when Garrett died and Ward took over. It was all disgusting, but it wasn't Jemma's problem. "I need the gun. I'm going after Skye." Yes, Jemma knew she wasn't the best at navigating, but she wasn't going to sit and wait in the middle of danger when Skye could possibly be in need of aid. It was later than they had expected at first, approaching sunset when Jemma finally decided enough was enough. 

"Don't shoot your eye out." Ward joked, but he grabbed at the strap across his chest and removed the long, slender rifle from his back and held it out to Jemma. It was a long, slick, black gun and Jemma hadn't expected it to be so heavy. She pulled it over her head so its strap crossed over her messenger bag's across her chest like an 'X'. "Don't forget ammo." Ward pulled a box from his pocket and tossed it to Jemma so quickly she flinched and nearly missed it. The box rattled in her hands and it was probably just as heavy as the gun. She opened the flap, grabbed a small handful of them, and shoved them into her CDC vest pocket so they fell against her waist. 

"Thank you for being civil." Jemma nodded. Ward just shrugged. Jemma turned on her heel to head toward the exit, but Creel's hand suddenly shot out and wrapped around her bicep, halting her mid step. She turned around and tried to yank away, but he was obviously much too strong for her. 

"You're just letting her go? There was a whole mission to try to get her the first time and you're just letting her walk out?" Creel complained, tightening his grip on Jemma as she leaned away from him. Suddenly everything inside Jemma buzzed with frustration and she flared up, about to protest, but Ward beat her to it. 

"We had a deal. The Doc walks." He said firmly. Creel didn't seem to like this, and several of the others, including Hall, Malick, and Bakshi grumbled similar protests. 

"Her protector is a no show! It's like taking candy from a baby!" Bakshi added his clear opinion and Jemma gave him a glare, but held out on putting down her own words to see what was about to play out, for pure curiosity if nothing else.

"There's no way Skye got herself killed, that girl's a beast herself. She slaughtered Quinn and Donnie with ease, do you really want Jemma here when she does come knocking?" Ward argued right back. It was partially amusing to Jemma that Ward was so afraid of Skye, but she supposed she would be too if she was on the other end of Skye's all encompassing rage. Creel didn't have anything to say. Jemma looked over Ward's shoulder to see what Raina and Kara thought, but they looked more like they were hiding off to the side, either not wanting to or not allowed to participate. Jemma thought about asking them along, but Ward's gang were right about one thing. When Skye did find them, she'd be angrier than Jemma was at the river. There would be no hesitation in taking down Raina and Kara from a distance if Skye thought she needed to. If Raina and Kara wanted to join her, they knew where she lived. 

"Let her go." Ward spoke again after the silence and hesitation from Creel. He slowly lessened his grip on her until Jemma pulled away, but not without giving him a death glare. He squinted back at her and Jemma took a step back. She was done testing the waters and just wanted to leave.

"Pleasure doing business." Ward tipped his baseball cap, always the joker, and gestured to the exit with his hand.  
________

Exhausted, hot, damp, gritty, worried, sad. Jemma smacked another mosquito off her arm and promptly scratched at the back of her head, only getting small, crusty crumbs of the caked on dirt and mud off with each stroke. She had sterilized her hands up to her elbows for Garrett's surgery, but the rest of her was still a muddy mess from her encounter by the river. If there was any time Jemma had reminisced about cool, soapy showers, it was then. The longer she walked, the more convinced she was that she was going in the wrong direction. Raina had pointed her the fastest way back to her own camp before she left, but Jemma figured she must have been turned gradually as she went around trees. Either way it was taking longer than it should have. 

The sun was setting by the time Jemma finally gave in and accepted that something was wrong. Nothing was familiar and the only beaten paths she could find were too small, or even worse, too large, to belong to humans. She was in completely uncharted territory as night fell and that terrified Jemma almost as much as the possibility that she wouldn't see Skye again. Shadows of doubt were starting to creep into her mind and sink their claws in; Jemma's confidence that Skye was alive was waning, and with it when her motivation to get herself together and figure out where she was. Instead she sat down on a fallen tree and cried. 

She should have gone down the river and tried to find where the terror birds had split them up, but instead she took the shortest path back to camp, where she hoped Skye had managed to find herself. It was the only place they would both know to meet each other if they got separated, and they had. But the problem was actually getting back to camp. Jemma's exhaustion outweighed her fear of the unknown creatures of the night and she just wanted to curl up and wait for Skye to find her. This was impossible, however, so Jemma slowly came to the conclusion that if she and Skye wanted to stand a chance at spending a life together, she needed to buck up and do this herself. 

About twenty minutes had been wasted on Jemma's self motivational internal journey, so she had to pick up the pace with her walking if she hoped to get anywhere. She didn't know where exactly she was going, but she angled herself slightly to the left, assuming she had drifted right because it was her dominant side, and set off at a brisk walk, stepping over fallen trees and watching for roots and anything else that might trip her. She wouldn't let even that stop her from getting back to camp, back to Skye. 

With most of the jungle existing at bright shades of green or light to dark browns, it was easy to see the contrasting, pale yellow ahead of her. She sped up to a jog, hoping to find some sign of Skye or any human life, but what she discovered was much more disturbing. The first thing Jemma recognized were scales. Not necessarily scales, but the mold of them. The skin. It laid flat against the ground, but was probably wider than Jemma's arm span and too long for her to find the ends of, winding into trees to the left and the right. In complete awe, her first reaction was to kneel down and touch it. The moment her fingertips made contact with the massive skin, expecting brittle, dry material, she jerked away and moved back so quickly she fell onto her ass and even then she still backpedaled a few feet. It was flexible and damp: anyone would be able to tell it was fresh.

Jemma had no idea how guns worked. She had limited knowledge from watching television shows, but if she wanted half a chance at surviving she needed to be able to use more than her knife. She pulled the rifle's strap over her head and laid it in her lap, just looking it over top to bottom. There was an obviously mobile metal part with a knob sticking out, so Jemma started there and pushed, rotated, and pulled as it was guided until the metal slid back and revealed an open space Jemma assumed was the chamber. She reached into her pocket for a few bullets and, with fumbling hands, shoved them down into the space with the point facing the barrel. She tested it by sliding the metal piece forward and back again, and the top bullet smoothly came up and then popped out to the side like Jemma assumed the shell would when she did the same thing after firing. She put the bullet back in and slid the metal piece forward and rotated it again, locking it in place. She located the safety on the gun and flicked it off. Once she was ready she stood up and adjusted the gun in her grip. It was long and awkward and she had no idea how to hold it. She eventually settled with one hand by the trigger, finger outside the guard, and her left on the neck of the rifle. Her right hand stung pressed against it, but it was minor compared to what could happen if she wasn't holding it. 

Jemma took a moment to just think and decided she would take a wide swing around the skin to hopefully avoid its previous inhabitant. She had no doubts that this was the snake that killed Lincoln, or at least it was one like it. Jemma walked for a solid ten minutes straight away from the skin, turned directly to her left, and started up again at as quick of a pace as she could manage without running. She tread quietly, hoping not to attract any attention. She was sweating even more profusely because of her nerves, and it made the back of her neck slick with mud again as the previously dried layer got wet again. She was itch y, uncomfortable, and quivering slightly. The reality that she still didn't know where she was going and was just moving to be moving was starting to really sink in. Her flawed, illogical thinking was that if she kept moving, eventually she had to run into the camp. It was the only thing she could think, because she didn't know how to navigate and she wasn't about to sit still like a sitting duck and let something follow her scent straight to her. 

Scent, she needed to cover her scent. Jemma had seen people do it in movies, but did it actually work? The thought of covering herself with even more mud was unappealing though, so for now she put the idea aside. It was another half an hour before Jemma started feeling the chill of the jungle as the sun started to dip. It was getting more and more difficult to see. Moonlight was minimal underneath the canopy, but she wasn't about to get out her lighter and attract everything to her. 

The noises of the night came with the temperature. The buzzing of daytime insects died down, but they were replaced by humming sounds of god knows what, but Jemma hoped they were just normal sized bugs. It was difficult to make out anything other than shapes, but Jemma could definitely see movement. It wasn't fast by any means, but it was big and about twenty paces ahead of her. It seemed to cover her whole scope of sight, moving slowly from the left to the right, but not stopping. Jemma knew immediately that it was titanoboa, but she was trying not to believe it so she wouldn't pee her pants on the spot. She followed the movement with her eyes and got a sickening feeling in her gut when she turned right, saw movement and when she turned a little more, the movement continued. She turned all the way around so she was facing what had been behind her seconds ago, and she couldn't help it. A shriek cut through the trees and Jemma stepped back three times before she realized the tail was behind her too, and too tall to climb. She stared up, frozen in fear, and for a moment they both just stared at each other. Wide, dilated, small human eyes and massive, beady eyes with slits for pupils. Its head was currently about ten feet off the ground and Jemma was shaking violently, unable to even bring the gun up to her shoulder to fire. Would it even help against something so massive? 

The giant boa seemed to stare at her, confused about her existence for a moment, but in no time at all it decided she was still edible. Jemma only had a low, rumbling hiss as warning. Its jaw practically unhinged as it lunged and at the same time, Jemma reacted on instinct alone. The rifle came up to her shoulder and her head ducked to look through the sight. She was staring directly down its throat and the gun came up slightly to the roof of its mouth. Jemma's finger slammed down in the trigger and she didn't even feel the kickback of the gun because it instead felt like she was hit by a bus and her consciousness left her with the mouth of the beast being the last thing she saw.

Copper. The first thing Jemma registered was that she tasted something extremely metallic. Her face was wet. She tried to bring her hand up to wipe it, but it was pinned to the ground at her side. Actually, everything was pinned down. Once she made this realization, Jemma could suddenly feel everything at once. Something very, very heavy was crushing down on her. Everything ached and hurt and Jemma's eyes flashed open, but she was met with a pinkish color and a grooved, wrinkly surface. Jemma inhaled sharply as she realized what was happening. She forced her head to turn to the right and her eyes widened. A long, slender, sharp white fang was piercing into the dirt right above Jemma's shoulder, beside her head. She had killed the beast, but had nearly been impaled and was now stuck under it. She sucked in three increasingly labored and panicked breaths and on the fourth, she started screaming. She was screaming for help, for Skye, to the universe, and just screaming because of her horror. The wet, sticky liquid all over her face and chest was blood, draining from the snake's head through the bullet hole. The sheer amount of it told Jemma she had been unconscious for a while, and she knew her body couldn't stand up to the weight for long. She screamed and kicked and shoved, but she couldn't get the snake's head to raise up off of her and it felt like she was drowning in the gradually increasing amount of blood. 

After five minutes of fruitless struggling, Jemma stilled. Her screams died down to whimpers and tears flowed freely and diluted the blood. She had managed not to be eaten by the largest snake to ever live, but she was going to die here pinned under its head. It was ridiculous and Jemma wouldn't allow it to happen. She dug her heels into the ground and pushed. At first it just kicked up dirt, but she did it again and again, barely budging each time. She grabbed onto the base of the fang and pulled as hard as she could. She continued tugging, squirming, and kicking until finally she gasped a lungful of fresh air. She laid there on her back, only her head free from underneath the snake, and just stared up, trying to catch her breath. Her torso was still heavily weighted, but she could see a few stars through the leaves and it calmed her nerves. Despite all odds, Jemma wasn't dead. This wasn't it, not yet. She kicked some more until her shoulder and right arm were free. For once she was thankful for the dense trees because a thinner one was close enough for Jemma to wrap her arm around and hook her elbow. She pulled with all her might, cringing at the scrapes the bark was inflicting on her forearm, but she kept pulling. She reached around blindly for her rifle and when her hand landed on it, she tugged it free until it poked out of the snake's mouth so she could get it once she was out. Her left shoulder freed up, and she pulled herself the rest of the way out using the tree. 

She felt like a baby bird that had just hatched. Weak, soaking wet, pathetic looking, and very tired from a long struggle to be free. She didn't get up for several minutes, she just closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. In, out. In, out. It was time to continue.

Jemma wiped the blood away from her eyes, nose and mouth, but she wouldn't be able to clear her face without wasting water, and she was beyond caring about the mess by now, so she just let it be. She pulled the rifle the rest of the way out and was thankful it hadn't gotten very bloodied. She didn't know how well it would work if it got wet. She rotated and pulled the metal piece back and a feeling of satisfaction washed over Jemma when the empty shell popped out and fell to the ground. She had the strange urge to keep it and she bent over to retrieve it. She put it in her bag to ensure she wouldn't accidentally load it into the gun. 

From her bag she pulled out her notebook and flipped to the page she'd saved for titanoboa. She estimated the length to be forty feet and scribbled a few other notes in. Next she traded it for her camera. She was glad now that she carried all of her documenting materials with her when she went out just in case she found something new. It was very dark and Jemma knew the exposure was terrible and the photo would come out all wrong, but when they got back, this would be a huge deal and she was sure there would be someone who could touch it up to the point where it could be used as evidence of her discovery. She flicked on her lighter and took a closer shot of the head, but she didn't want to waste anymore film on pictures that wouldn't come out. 

She wasn't quite finished collecting data (and souvenirs) so she walked back over to the snake's head, shuddering when she looked into its open eyes. She was hesitant at first because she was afraid it wasn't truly dead and would get up and lunge at her any second. She had shot it in the brain though, the proof was all over her. She unsheathed her knife, crouched by its head, and wedged it up in between the boa's fang and its gums. She went around in a circle, cutting it out of the socket until it was loose enough that she could yank it out. It was roughly a foot and a half long and very curved. Jemma shoved it to the bottom of her bag and stood back up. 

"Ha! Not so tough now are you?" Jemma nearly shouted victoriously. Skye would have a heart attack when she heard this story, but Jemma also thought she would be pretty damn proud of her. It was no small feat, that was for sure. Jemma was proud of herself, much more proud than she had been when she had caught Buzz. She walked over to the nearest tree and carved a deep 'J' into it. She thought that maybe if she left a path, the group could find the way back here at another point to get as much meat as they could carry, if something else didn't get it all first. Jemma liked to think there wasn't something big enough to eat titanoboa, for her own sake.

When Jemma's adrenaline faded about twenty minutes into the continued walk, her energy level crashed, and crashed hard. She collapsed on the ground at the base of a tree, leaned her head back, and stifled a small sob. She seemed to have made every single wrong decision she could make that day. She probably should have stuck it out at the camp and waited until either Skye came looking or someone escorted her home. Instead she had to impatiently leave by herself to get away from something that hadn't even happened yet. She'd landed herself in her worst position yet and had no one to blame but herself. She'd wanted to help Garrett and she'd wanted to try to get home on her own.

Jemma pulled her eyes away from above and hoped looking at the actual ground would help her ground herself. Skye would have had a strategy. Jemma knew at this point that she was walking just to keep moving. She was going uphill, which meant she wasn't going in the right direction at all, and it was too dark for her to see much other than the outlines of trees. She needed a plan. 

It took a bit of rummaging, but Jemma pulled her notebook back out and set the rifle aside (though fully loaded, safety off). First she thumbed through the pages until she was met with Skye's peaceful, sleeping face. She ran her fingers over the page, and if she closed her eyes, she could almost feel her soft skin and the warm, soothing affect Skye had on her, both mentally and physically. After her brief recharge and attempt to channel her girlfriend's survival skills, she flipped to an open page and drew a large circle with two dots inside representative of her own camp and Ward's. She turned it so as she drew a line from hers to theirs, the beach (the nearest edge of the circle) was on the left. This meant that it was on the right coming back. Jemma assumed she'd drifted left because if she had drifted right she would have hit the beach by now. 

This didn't give her any sort of accurate position, but it gave her a sense of direction. The very best she thought she could do was walk straight until she found sand and turn right to walk along the coast until she found Trip's traps, where she could turn back inland and follow the path to camp. It was a good plan, it just didn't add in the important factors like Jemma only having two bottles of water and no food. She could maybe last without the food and get some energy by foraging as she walked, but the water she hoped wouldn't be a problem. The last factor was environmental, whether or not Jemma would be able to survive any attacks.

Jemma snapped the book closed, stuffed it back into her bag, picked up her rifle, and continued. She was covered in mud, blood, and sweat, but her story was yet to be finished. She could not give up. If she wanted to see Skye again, she could not give in to her body, which told her to quit. She couldn't give in to her mind, which told her she'd never make it. Here was Jemma Simmons, biochemist, a woman of science, who for once listened to her heart, which told her that Skye was waiting for her and they would both find their way home.

The next half hour was uneventful, except for maybe a few instances of tripping on roots and getting clotheslined by branches she couldn't see. It was nearly pitch black except for the pale, scattered light the moon provided through the canopy and the dull glow that Jemma's lighter gave off when she flicked the wheel to create a flame by which she could carve her initial into a tree. She would be making a long path, but for the amount of meat she'd left behind, it was worth the extra effort. 

Because her eyes had tired from looking up at the sky to see the light, Jemma kept them ahead of her, not quite able to see, but not keeping tabs on the moon. It was for this reason that she didn't notice until it was gone completely that something was blocking what little light managed to get through. Everything was pitch black, but Jemma tried to take a few more steps. She needed to keep going. There was nothing stopping h-

Jemma shrieked and jumped back when she came into contact with what had to be the largest spider web she'd ever seen, or felt, since it was all over her body and she couldn't exactly see it. Long, thick strands clung to her face, her arms, and her clothes and shivers ran all up and down Jemma's spine. She hadn't exactly enjoyed spiders before now, but Skye's story about Alisha came flashing back into her mind and suddenly she was much more terrified than she had been of the snake, if that was possible. She clutched her rifle at the ready, staring straight ahead. 

Jemma didn't even know how her head hit the ground. Something had her ankle and she screamed, tried to aim, but the rifle was no longer in her hands. Her shirt rode up in the back and bark, dirt, and sharp pieces Jemma could only assume were bones started breaking and shredding the skin on her back. She felt herself moving all too quickly and rolled to her side, unable to move her ankle. There was a sharp pain and Jemma knew something was biting her. It was too dark to see what, but she had an idea. 

She screamed and kicked with her free foot, hitting a firm shape a few times, but it did nothing. She clawed at the ground, but all it did was pull up dirt and hurt her fingers.

Out of nowhere, something strong and just as sharp clamped down on her wrist and Jemma screamed bloody murder. Her movement was suddenly brought to an abrupt stop, but because of an equally strong opposing force. The second spider yanked on her arm and Jemma cried out at the same time a loud pop came from her shoulder and pain ripped through her entire arm and across her chest. Her body was lifted off the ground between the two spiders as they fought over her. Jemma knew she was about to die. She would suffer the same fate as Alisha, torn in half and picked apart by arachnids. Jemma screamed and struggled, to no avail, but the spiders kept pulling from both sides and she could feel her joints stretching apart and her skin barely holding her arm to the rest of her body. She was about to give up, close her eyes and hope it was quick. But then in her mind's eye she saw how distraught and broken Skye had been after she lost Alisha to the spiders. How would she react when it was Jemma?

This was not her time either. It wouldn't be her time until she saw Skye again, and Jemma had nothing else to lose. So she fought. It made her arm feel like it was about to rip off, but she curved at her waist as much as she could, reaching with her free right hand for her knife sheathed at her left side. She grabbed onto the hilt just as it felt like the burning in her stomach meant her insides were about to spill out.

With a furious, feral scream, Jemma brought her arm up and brought it down as hard as she could near her left hand. It made contact with something and Jemma was just glad she hadn't hit her own hand. A pained screech buzzed from the spider in front of her and suddenly the tug of war stopped, but the dragging by her foot started again. Her shoulder hit the dirt and Jemma cried out, but she ignored it. She forced herself to sit up as she moved and lunged forward, stabbing at the monster holding onto her foot. First she missed, but then she hit her mark and the jaws left her ankle. She heard scuttling and screeching as the spiders both dashed off into the oblivion.

Jemma didn't have time to rest like she did with the titanoboa. She dragged herself to her feet and ran straight in the direction she came from, ignoring the pain in her left ankle and her inability to move her left arm. She kept her eyes on the ground and snatched her rifle when she saw it, but didn't stop. She ran for another hundred yards before she finally stopped and began to carve another J. Blood was dripping from her wrist down over her bandages and onto the already bloodied blade, and from her ankle down over her shoe and into the dirt. It all stung and Jemma knew her shoulder was dislocated, but she was alive. She carved her letter into the tree, this one looking quite red from the bloody knife, and added an X underneath to indicate not to go any further past the tree. She stayed put for only a few more moments to check herself. She pulled up her pants leg and grimaced at the marks around her ankle just under the scar from the terror bird. It was bleeding all over her shoe and the ground, but she hardly cared anymore. All she cared about was that she didn't see bone. There was no time for cauterizing or stitching. Jemma just picked a new direction and ran with all the power she had in her.

Jemma's lungs felt about ready to collapse, her wounds were stinging and sore, her ankle, wrist, and back slick with blood. She held her left upper arm with her right hand, pressing it against her body to minimize its movement when it was very clearly out of its socket. It felt like she'd been sprinting all night, but it had probably been about an hour. She didn't even stop to carve any trees. She ran with the foolish belief that if she didn't stop she would eventually get to camp and survive. 

Her feet pounded into the dirt and plant life and she wasn't watching as closely as she had been before. She was blindly fleeing, running from the monsters and her growing sense of hopelessness. Her toe caught under a root and suddenly her face was slamming into the ground. She didn't make a sound, just laid there, as if she was testing out what it would be like to be dead. Tears rolled over her cheeks, making horizontal stripes in the blood across her face. 

She had hit the breaking point. She was tired, hungry, injured, and lost in the middle of the night on a prehistoric island invested with things that hunted her. She had to choose. She had to choose to give up, to lay there until something came and put her down, or she had to get up, collect herself, and push on, which was a lot harder than it sounded. Her fingers dug into the damp ground and she turned her face into the ground and sobbed. She needed to do it, to get it out, but it was better she didn't attract anything with her noises. 

But that alone meant Jemma had already made her choice. The small act of stifling her cries meant she wasn't giving up on herself. It meant somewhere, she still thought she had a chance. There was a lot to do before she got moving. She sat back up and felt around her shoulder, cringing at the clear dislocation. She couldn't fix it with her one bad hand. So she needed to immobilize it. She pulled her bag and rifle straps over her head, unzipped and removed her vest, and reached behind her to grab onto the back neck of her sweater shirt and pull it over her head. She put her vest back on, zipped it up to the neck, and fashioned herself a sling by tying the sleeves of her shirt using her teeth and the minimal movement she had with her right hand. It would be difficult to near impossible to use the rifle with one arm, so she only hoped she didn't need it. 

Next she pulled the small medical kit from her bag. She wrapped her wrist and ankle in gauze and then not only taped it down, but entirely covered it in tape to make it waterproof. Then she dumped half a bottle of water into the dirt and took scoops of it to cover up the tape. She covered her arms, rubbed it on top of the blood on her chest and face, and any bit of skin that showed. She was less able to defend herself, so it was better she mask her scent. She even went as far as to pick some random leaves and rub their juices on herself so she smelled less like a piece of meat.

Jemma pulled her lighter from her pocket and flicked it on just to get a look at her near surroundings. She didn't see any danger, in fact quite the opposite. Her stomach rumbled at the sight of berries and she rushed to them. She was low on energy and needed something, anything to run on. She picked one from the long stalk and looked it over. She was no expert, but it looked edible. She popped it into her mouth and bit into it. It was both sweet and sour at the same time and Jemma took no time in eating them until her stomach felt mildly full, or at least not so empty it felt like her stomach was eating itself. 

She felt a lot better after having a bit to eat and she swallowed down the other half of the bottle she'd dumped in the dirt. She had one whole one left and she hoped to ration it a little better than she had with the first. 

As Jemma walked, the hairs on the back of her neck and on her forearms had risen. It could just be her paranoia because of the sheer amount of trauma she'd been put through, but she felt like someone was watching her. Every rustle of a leaf was a deadly attacker and Jemma swung to meet eat one, but there was nothing there. 

The sounds here were louder. Back near the spider dens, everything had been dark and silent, but now Jemma could hear buzzing and strange communication calls of the varying animals living in the jungle. It was almost more soothing, because the silence meant the small, harmless creatures were hiding from something else. 

There was one sound though, that as Jemma listened to it a few times, sounded distinctly like a human whimper. Alarm bells went off in her head and Jemma went from a decent hiking pace to a sprint. What if it was Skye?! She stopped to listen, trying to pin down its location. It seemed to come from three different directions because of the trees, but Jemma eventually found the source and her jaw dropped. Sitting at the base of a tree was an infant baboon the size of a human toddler. An instant sympathy for it bloomed in Jemma's chest and she knelt next to it.

"Hello there." She whispered. The little primate didn't seem afraid of her and reached out for her with grabby hands, pinching and tugging at her clothes. "Where are your parents?" Jemma couldn't help it. She was grinning, and she wondered how excited Fitz would have been to see this. The tiny animal pulled itself over to Jemma's chest and wrapped its limbs around her, refusing to let go. 

"How about you just come with me to be safe and if we see your parents I can pass you off?" Jemma suggested. It was crazy to be talking to a monkey- baboon, as Fitz would have quickly corrected her- but it was her only company for the moment and she was happy to help him stay out of the jaws of a terror bird or worse. She stood up, wrapping her arm around the baby's back. It continued to cling to her and was currently sniffing and chewing on Jemma's hair. She giggled and shifted her weight to adjust. 

Unfortunately the juvenile continued to make soft noises while they walked and Jemma was afraid he- no, she, she checked- would attract predators. Jemma heard some more shuffling behind her and this time she was much less inclined to ignore it. She spun around and her eyes shot up to the left, where the movement was. A large, dark shape climbed down the rest of the trunk and approached Jemma, but stopped ten paces away. 

"Is that your mum?" Jemma asked. She managed to pull the baboon's left arm off of her shoulder, but when her hand wrapped around her other arm, the mother let out a scared cry and Jemma flinched. 

"No, it's ok, I was trying to help! I'm putting her down!" Jemma knew the baboon couldn't understand her, but it was the only thing she knew to do. She dropped her bag and rifle and used both hands to pry the animal's limbs away from her. A thud rumbled the ground behind her and Jemma's eyes widened. "Bloody hell, not again." Jemma groaned. She didn't turn, but slowly lowered herself to put the mother and presumably father's child down to go back to them. Halfway down the baby started squirming and Jemma almost dropped her, but quickly readjusted her grip so she could lower her the rest of the way down. Apparently the parents took this as aggression, because the mother opened her mouth and screamed again and Jemma felt a jerk so hard from the back of her head that her whole body fell backward. Her injured back hit the ground and Jemma yelped. The baby ran back to its mother and the father brought Jemma's head up by her hair and slammed it down again. Jemma shrieked, stars in her vision. She didn't want to kill this one. He was just protecting his child and Jemma didn't know what to do. She couldn't kill him, but she had to do something. 

The baboon was larger than her though, larger than any modern baboon, and it grabbed onto the back of her jacket, lifted her kicking and screaming over his head, and then threw her away from his mate. She slammed into a tree and the wind was knocked out of her. She curled into a ball and wheezed, but pulled her knife from her belt. She couldn't just let it kill her after everything she'd been through. She got up to feet and the baboon charged her again. Jemma got to her feet and shouted at him, waving her hands and roaring from her throat to try to tell him to back off. He was aware she was much smaller and seemed to take this as a challenge though, because he stood up on his hind legs and shrieked right back at her before charging. It lunged, Jemma thrust her knife out, but the primate never made it to her. Something just under its own size shot out of the bushes and slammed into its side, knocking it out of the air. All she saw was a blur of feathers and fur. There were two different screeches in varying levels of pain before the baboon finally managed to get away and ran away, sufficiently bloodied. The mother had the baby on her back and the family quickly climbed into the trees. 

Perfect, an even higher predator on the food chain. Jemma's head snapped back to the creature that had saved her and would probably also eat her. She assumed it was a terror bird, but when she got a good look at it, her jaw dropped. It stuck its head, all wide eyed and feathery, into her personal space and nudged her so hard she lost her balance and bumped into the tree. There, standing in front of her, was a Troodon. Her favorite dinosaur of all time, the smartest one to ever live, had just rescued her from a massive baboon.

Jemma flattered her back against the tree and sucked in a breath and held it. The troodon kept getting closer and closer and its head was mere inches from her face. Jemma closed her eyes and turned her head so her cheek was against the tree. It was going to eat her. Troodons were omnivorous and it could easily kill her with its powerful jaws, sharp teeth, and massive raptor-like claw on each of its feet. Yet it didn't. It just nudged her in the chest and made a sound that could only be described as a screechy squeak. Jemma peeked out through one eye and when it opened, the smaller dinosaur jumped back and made what Jemma thought almost looked like a smile.

"You've been following me!" Jemma realized. Her paranoia had not been unfounded. With a creature so smart, it only made sense that it would be curious about a new creature it had never seen before. She just hoped its curiosity continued to outweigh its hunger. At the sound of her voice, the troodon, which Jemma decided to call Trudy in her head for short, did a little hop and got even closer. Then it suddenly dashed away, but it was headed toward her bag and rifle.

"Hey, wait! I need those!" Trudy was nuzzling through her things and when Jemma started making her way over, Trudy snatched up her bag and rifle and ran back over, dropping them at her feet. "Oh!" Jemma exclaimed. She bent over and retrieved her things, but not without keeping her eye on Trudy, just in case. She- Jemma just guessed- only seemed curious and excited that Jemma accepted her seeming offer of friendship. 

"Give me a moment." Jemma held up her finger. She grabbed her knife again and Trudy backed up, not quite trusting her. Jemma didn't make a move on her, but kept to her own decision. She pulled her knotted, muddy, bloody hair back into a ponytail with her right hand and held the blade against the bottom of it a few inches from the nape of her neck. Her hair was too long. It was too long to take care of and as she had just been shown, it was a danger and anything could grab onto it. Before she could decide otherwise, Jemma pressed up and sliced through her hair. It came loose in her hand and fell back against her head. Suddenly Jemma felt light and she let go of the hair. Trudy shot around and start sniffing it on the ground. Jemma sheathed her knife and brought her hands up. It was much shorter, going just below her chin. Maybe Skye would like it, but Jemma had to get back to camp before she could find out. 

"If you've been following me, do you by any chance know where I live?" Jemma knew she probably sounded crazy, talking to a dinosaur, but what did it matter when she was in a place where dinosaurs actually existed? Trudy made a clicking sound and started walking. Jemma had nothing better to do than follow her, it wasn't like she knew where she was herself. She inconspicuously pulled out her notebook and started sketching as they walked.

It was peaceful for a while and Jemma felt safer than she had all night with the protection of an actual dinosaur body guard. She did her sketching and they stopped to take a few breaks. She chalked it up to being exhausted, but her breath was short and it was difficult to inhale. Jemma sipped on her water and ran her hand over Trudy's feathers. She couldn't wait to see what Skye thought about her new dinosaur friend.

"Oh my god!" Jemma heard the sound of rushing water. It wasn't close, but it was close enough. "Thank you! Thank you, thank you!" Jemma practically screeched. She threw her arms around Trudy's neck and was careful not to squeeze so hard she thought it was an attack. Trudy nudged her and when Jemma let go, she dashed off into the trees. "Hey, wait!" Jemma called. Trudy stopped, turned her head, squawked, and then took off again. Jemma watched her go, sadly, but thanked whatever higher power sent her to her. 

She turned to face the direction the running water came from. That was home, that was where she and Skye would find each other again. This time out of excitement instead of fear, Jemma ran. She ignored the pain in her wounds and sprinted to the sound like she was sprinting directly to Skye. There was nothing to stop her now, she was on the final stretch, about to finish alive. But then it hit her. 

Jemma crumpled to the ground. She stretched her hands out to catch her fall, but her injured arm collapsed under the weight and she couldn't bear all her weight on her burned palm. She collapsed onto her side, wheezing. It had come on so fast. She couldn't get in a good breath and her throat was closing up, fast. She clawed at the ground, writhing at the pain in her gut and her incapability to breath. Her lungs felt like they were on fire and Jemma was afraid she was about to die here for an unknown reason.

It had to be the berries. It was the only explanation. Jemma surely would have noticed any other physical ailment. This was the only thing that could catch up to her so quickly and hit her so hard. Jemma struggled to her knees, sucked in a tiny, labored breath, and without hesitation, stuck two fingers as far down her throat as she could and pressed them down. Her gag reflex activated immediately and heaved, vomiting what little she had into her stomach out onto the dirt. She fell onto her back and stared up at the trees. What if it was too late? What if whatever it was was already too far into the digestive process? It didn't feel like it was getting better; it was getting harder to breath and her lungs started to burn. 

Jemma clawed her way to her feet and stumbled through the jungle, wheezing and making quite a racket to try to get the attention of whoever was on guard duty at camp. It felt like an eternity before she finally broke from the worst of the trees and collapsed again on a familiar worn in path. 

"H- help," she gurgled. It was supposed to be a yell, but was hardly a mumble. 

"Simmons?!" A scared scream echoed through the trees. "Is that you?!" Everything was going dark. Jemma knew she was safer now, they knew she was here. There were hands on her, but it didn't help and she couldn't breathe. She was safe from predators and had made it back alive at least. She wasn't sure what she had eaten and if she was going to die from it, she wanted to see Skye first.

"S-Skye." Jemma managed to get out. Her throat felt almost completely closed off at this point.

"She's not back yet. Trip, I need help! It's Jemma!" She heard Fitz call. She still couldn't see him. She couldn't see anything, she was just so tired…


	17. Never Safe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **warnings:** gore for descriptions of wounds/wound care, bring the tissues with you, we're cutting onions here! 
> 
> It's almost midnight and I need to be up in about 5 hours and a skunk sprayed somewhere near my house so i might have to put my a/c on in order to breathe even though it's going down to 60 degrees tonight (a day in the life, eh?)....so in summation...sorry for the typos i missed in my distraction! 
> 
> Thank you as always for reading! thank you for the kudos, comments and love! thanks for sticking with us through all the high stress action! Congrats to those who have graduated any level of school, and huzzah for the summer for anyone who's out of school and enjoying your breaks! I'm jealous! :D   
> #whereverwednesday!
> 
> <3 <3 <3 <3
> 
> ___________

Skye blindly pushed through the entrance, barely conscious, moving without actual determined purpose, stiff and zombie like, covered in dirt and mud, eyes haunted and miles away from where her body presently resided. Skye wasn’t mentally home. People approached her and she looked at them and they spoke but she comprehended none of it. Her brain buzzed. Her auditory senses were muffled, dulled and she mostly just heard the hum of voices. She staggered a bit as she tried to make her way toward the section of cave she shared with Jemma. Once or twice, a grunt left her throat, but it wasn’t exactly in response to anything specific. She was practically catatonic. There was no focus. She was exhausted, but it wasn’t time to collapse yet. It was time to rid herself of her burdens and then it was time to go find Jemma and join her in whatever oblivion had claimed her.

Everyone was talking. If it wasn't to Skye, it was to someone about her. The entire camp was up and about even though the sun had hardly risen. No one had slept well worrying about where their friends had gone. But then Jemma showed up. Fitz and Trip had hauled her, unconscious, to the edge of the pond. She had just been opening her eyes and Fitz had just been getting ready to help her get cleaned off so he could access her injuries when excited yelling took over the camp once again. Skye was back!    
  
"Jemma, Skye's back!" Fitz tapped at her cheeks and Jemma's eyes, which had been fading in and out, snapped open at mention of the name. They flicked to Fitz's face, then to Trip's, but it wasn't what she was looking for and Trip helped to lift her shoulders so she could see. Skye, Bobbi, and Mack had just come through the hole in the tree and Skye was walking away from them despite everyone calling her. She looked like a zombie. Fitz got to his feet and sprinted to her.   
  
"Jemma's here, come over here!" He called. Skye clearly didn't understand a word because there was no reaction. He didn't know what had happened overnight, but he knew Skye should be more excited than this. Relieved. They were all alive. He cut off her path to the cave, grabbed her shoulders, and jerked her so she was facing where Trip had Jemma lying (but mildly struggling when she seemed to spot Skye) by the pond.

A wave of dizziness overwhelmed Skye when she was suddenly spun around. She blinked a few times as her vision blurred around the edges. Nothing much changed about her demeanor. She didn’t care all that much what...Fitz had grabbed her, yep, right. She didn’t care all that much what Fitz wanted from her. She wasn’t even sure what he was trying to make her look at at first. She was about to pull away from Fitz when the muddied person on the ground struggled to get up again and Trip stopped her but kept her propped up. Her eyes met the person’s and Skye froze in place. She stood stock still and didn’t move a single muscle for at least the span of five heartbeats. 

There was no way she was actually seeing what she thought she was seeing. Skye took a step toward the pond but hesitated, not trusting her own eyes, assuming it had to be a hallucination. It had to be, right? She started to take another step. “J-Jemma…?” The name barely came out of her dry throat. 

Tears streaked through the layers of muck on Jemma's face and she wheezed. She tried to push away Trip's hands and get to her feet, but he held her down firmly. Just the effort caused her to need to breathe more deeply, but her swollen throat and lungs wouldn't allow it. She was gasping for breath and she didn't know why Skye hadn't come to her yet.    
  
"Sk-" Jemma didn't even get that far. An overwhelmingly nauseous feeling overtook and and Trip finally gave her some slack, if only so she would vomit on the ground and not him. She was sobbing and everything burned, from her muscles to her wounds to her throat and stomach, everything, but she wanted Skye more than she wanted it to stop.  

Skye’s vision blurred again, this time because her eyes welled over with tears. Skye’s knees knocked together and almost gave out on her right there. She blinked to clear her vision and then Jemma started gasping. Skye’s feet carried her before she was conscious of it. She took off at a sprint and stopped only when she landed on her knees next to Jemma. Her hands framed Jemma’s cheeks, unsure if she was really awake right then. “Y-You’re alive,” she stammered. Before she could stop herself, she let go of Jemma’s face and leaned over to draw her in, pulled her into a tight hug, ignoring her own muscles as they screamed at her. Sobs escaped her throat between shocked murmurs that bounced between rapid repeats of, “You’re alive, you’re alive…”, “I love you, I love you so much…” and “Thank you, thank you, thank you…” She couldn’t properly process all of it. Her brain was still too taxed to catch up fully. Her whole body shook as she cried and held on. 

Jemma wanted to tell Skye that she loved her too, but it was too difficult. Then Skye had her up in her arms, squeezing her with a comforting, yet painful and sickening amount of pressure. Her stomach roiled and heaved and Jemma was suddenly vomiting over Skye's shoulder and onto her back. She was sobbing and stupidly tried to apologize. It took too much air and as much as Jemma was happy to hug Skye, it was impossible to breathe and she tried to let her know it by weakly tapping on Skye's shoulder with her palm.    
  
"Skye, I think something's wrong." Trip was finally the one to speak up after he'd been observing Jemma since she'd gotten back. She was injured, very much so, but there was something else going on.

In a normal situation, Skye might’ve been grossed out by the fact that someone had puked on her. Her brain wasn’t quite processing everything in proper order, however, so the alarm bells didn’t start going off when Jemma had tapped her shoulder. They had, however, started to go off first when she finally realized the awful gasping/wheezing she heard was Jemma’s attempts at breathing and then as Trip’s words hit her ears. Skye immediately moved to loosen her grip on Jemma and to help lay her back down as gently as she could. 

Panic set in when she finally took stock of everything in front of her. The muck, the blood, the breathing issues and the vomit. Skye struggled to think. Her voice came out gravelly and raspy from the inflammation in still in her throat from the snake chokehold from earlier, which had left her neck a deep blue/purple color around its entirety, though it was harder to see with the mud and blood smeared about. “Hey,” she carefully pushed some of Jemma’s hair out of her face and stroked her forehead and her face. “Jem, it’s okay now. Just breathe okay? Slow and easy” She rasped, hoping that calming Jemma down would ease the breathing. She took some slow, purposeful breaths of her own, hoping to get Jemma to slowly breathe with her by mimicking it. “Were you stung or bit by anything?” She started there, not sure what she wanted as an answer. Panic, Skye could help her deal with...anything else...it would depend on the nature and if they had anything in the first aid kit. 

Jemma couldn't focus. She was drunk off of just the sight of Skye and for a moment, a dopey smile overtook her features. Then she took a moment to really look. She was distracted by the bruises and puncture wounds and her hand came up and fingers brushed over the bruises on Skye's neck. Her eyes watered even more, knowing that what she could see initially couldn't be all that Skye had suffered from. She knew this.   
  
It wasn't until Jemma's airway was almost closed off completely that she remembered that Skye had asked her something and she combed her brain to find out what. What was it? Berries, it was the berries.   
  
"P-plant." This was the shortest thing Jemma could think of to use her precious breath on. She hoped Skye understood so she didn't have to try anymore. She just wanted to sleep…

Skye reached up to gently take Jemma’s hand. “Don’t you worry about that,” She said. “Just breathe, okay?” She kept talking, ignoring the pain in her throat to try and keep Jemma focused. Her eyes widened, first when Jemma mentioned a plant and then as her eyes started to droop. “No, no, no, no, Jem, hey, Jemma!” Skye reached out and quickly, repeatedly, tapped at Jemma’s cheeks. When that failed, she curled her hand into a fist and pressed it to Jemma’s chest, rolling it in a circle to try and rouse her gain. “Hey, hey, none of that now, you stay awake, stay with me,” Skye’s head snapped toward Fitz, “Go get the first aid case from the cave, run, go, hurry!” 

Turning back to Jemma, she rolled her fist in a circular motion on her chest again and leaned down closer to her face. “Jem, hey, c’mon, Jem just hold on a little longer okay?” The tears had returned full force. “Hey, c’mon...listen...you have to stay with me okay? I need to hear all about what a badass you are, killing that snake,” She forced a smile through the tears, tried to stop her sobs from breaking up her words. “I love you, Jem, I can’t do this without you, please don’t leave me,” Not after everything, not when she was right here! With Trip’s help, he and Skye rolled Jemma onto her side into the ‘recovery’ position, hoping to give her at least a few more seconds of shallow air until Fitz returned. Skye leaned over and leveled her face with Jemma’s touched her cheek and occasionally shook her shoulder. “C’mon, Pyro, it doesn’t end here. It can’t. Just a little longer, please,” She begged. 

It was almost as if Jemma could feel her own lungs swelling up and closing off. The organs that were meant to fill with precious breaths, with life, felt like solid, heavy objects in her chest next to her loudly thumping heartbeat. Skye's voice and touch were the only things keeping her from letting herself drift off. There was nothing she wanted more than a long sleep and time to heal... except there was. She wanted Skye more, and Skye was telling her to stay awake.    
  
Her breaths were shallow and wheezy, more audible attempts to survive than actual, life saving oxygen intake. Her head was spinning and Jemma suddenly remembered why this feeling was so familiar. It was the same struggle she had faced when strapped into the sinking plane. Her eyes widened and she thought,  _ oh god, I'm going to die _ . Her hand shot out and grabbed a fistful of Skye's shirt. She was starting to panic and it made her breaths even more labored and useless.

Skye wanted to bolt. She wanted to race for the first aid case that she’d sent Fitz for knowing she was a faster runner, but she was too afraid to leave Jemma’s side. She blinked repeatedly whenever she needed to clear her vision. She fought the sobs but her brain was in a similar place. This was so much worse than watching Jemma drown. Her hand wrapped around the one that was clinging to her shirt and she leaned closer. “I’m not gonna let you go. I promised, remember? I promised I wouldn’t. You have to stay calm. Fitz will be right back and then we’ll-,” 

Fitz actually returned as Skye was saying it. She squeezed Jemma’s hand and kept talking, rasping out words to Jemma as she pulled the case over next to Jemma’s head and started tossing things out of it to find what she was looking for. In her mind, Skye was counting seconds, just like she had while she was cutting the seat belt.  _ Not again...not again, not again, not again!!  _ “Jemma, don’t you dare give up, we’re almost there, just hang on, just hang on, I just need-,” Her hands landed around a round tube and she yanked it free, blinked away her tears and looked down at it. As moment later she twisted in her spot, tore at one of the holes in the thigh of Jemma’s pants to make a bigger hole, then yanked the safety cap off the top and then struck the EpiPen down into Jemma’s thigh until she heard the auto-injector click. She held it there and slowly counted in her head to fifteen instead of ten just to make sure she held it long enough. 

“Almost there Jem, almost there, just hang on, okay? Just hang on,” Her free hand reached for hers again and when she finished the count, she pulled the pen back, let go of it completely and let it drop to the ground as she moved back up to Jemma’s head and shoulders. She was practically holding her own breath as she waited to see if the medication would work at all. She stroked Jemma’s hair and cheek, blinked away fresh tears, murmured a few more pleas for her to just hold on. 

It took a few noisy, strangled breaths before the medication started doing its job and the swelling gradually started to decrease. Jemma gasped, sucked in as much air as she could the moment she could, and her eyes were wide open. The red in her face beneath all the blood and muck was dissipating as air was finally allowed access into her body.    
  
"I love you." Jemma mumbled. It was the first thing she wanted to say and the only thing that truly mattered. It was the most important part of her life. Skye meant life to her, and not just because the woman kept saving her from death. "We're alive." She breathed. She blinked away tears and reached up with her good arm to cup Skye's cheek and rub her tears and the mud away with her thumb. "You're filthy." Jemma giggled. She could breathe again and she was so proud of Skye for figuring out what to do so quickly even when Jemma knew from experience that emergencies that had to deal with each other were the most terrifying things that could happen.

Skye couldn’t help the sob that escaped her when Jemma started gasping for air. She didn’t care how many people were crowded around watching. She didn’t care that this was a blatantly raw and open show of immense emotion. The sobs came again when Jemma actually spoke and Skye thought she might just collapse right there and then. She leaned into Jemma’s hand and practically laid down in the grass with her just so she could pull her into another hug, although this one was purposefully much more gentle. “Well, you puked on me,” Besides the sobs (which were mixed with strangled snickers when Jemma said she was filthy), she couldn’t stop the trembling that took over her body now that Jemma was, at least for the time being in the clear. She meant to say, ‘I thought I lost you,’ but what came out instead was, “I lost you,” because she still couldn’t believe that Jemma was alive even though she was there before her, breathing and speaking and even giggling. 

"I'm sorry!" Jemma exclaimed for both the unfortunate location of her vomit and their separation. It made her raw throat sting and her body curled up some as she coughed, but she pulled her own short recovery after and took a deep breath. "I'm here. We're both here." She promised. She shifted uncomfortably, suddenly feeling it as all her injuries started catching up to her now that she wasn't in panic mode. She closed her eyes tightly and inhaled sharply. Even Skye's gentle hug felt like a punch to the chest, but she wanted to relish it and not ruin it, so she silenced herself.

Skye sniffled and tried to regain her composure. Jemma had injuries besides the allergic reaction and Skye didn’t know yet how serious. She pulled back, sat back on her heels but still knelt close, didn’t let go of Jemma completely, her right hand staying on Jemma’s arm. Skye wiped at her face with the back of her left hand, which mostly just smeared the tear soaked mud around. She sniffled again. “We need to clean you up and…” she paused a moment as her eyes began to work their way over what she could see of Jemma through the muck. She noticed the not-quite-right angle of Jemma’s shoulder and frowned as she immediately move her fingers up Jemma’s arm and gently pressed her fingers in and around her shoulder socket to find how badly her shoulder might be dislocated. Most of the time, Skye pretty much followed Jemma’s lead for helping anyone (including Jemma) with their injuries, but this was an injury she knew well enough how to find it and what to do to fix it. 

“We’ll start with your arm and you can tell me where the rest of them are...okay?” She moved to help Jemma roll onto her back again and then was up and around, nudging Fitz and Trip out of her way as she went. She sat down on Jemma’s left side and tugged her way out of her boots in preparation. 

Jemma nodded and took a much needed deep breath. She closed her eyes to begin preparing herself, but only for a moment so she wouldn't scare Skye. The homemade sling hadn't held up very well against the baboons and it hardly held her arm in place now. She pulled it off over her head anyway and inhaled sharply when she sat up.    


“As long as you promise not to forget about yourself after.” Jemma bargained. She knew Skye had a pattern of taking care of Jemma and leaving herself to suffer, but she wasn’t going to allow it this time. There was no way Skye would let Jemma take care of her first, and she needed two arms to be able to help Skye at all, so she gave in to the aid. 

"You need to get leverage under my arm to-" Jemma started.

Skye set her boots down out of the way and was about to tell Jemma just to stay where she was but Jemma had already sat up and removed her sling. Skye cringed and reached out to try and gently brace Jemma’s arm so it wouldn’t just fall and jolt her shoulder. “Deal,” she said. She opened her mouth again to tell Jemma to lay back down but Jemma started giving her instructions. 

“Pyro,” Skye cut her off with a small smile, hoping to be as distracting as possible for what was about to happen. “I’ve got this, don’t worry,” Normally, she probably would have dropped her gaze away while trying to tell Jemma something about her past, especially involving the kinds of injuries she’d sustained in her past. “This is not my first dislocation rodeo,” She nodded toward the grass and said, “but I do need you to lay back down.” she added. 

Trust, it all boiled down to trust. Jemma trusted Skye and if she said she knew how to do it, she knew how to do it, no questions asked. She wasn't going to pry and ask what led Skye to learn to relocate limbs, but whatever it was she was both sorry and grateful because it was horrible, but it had led Skye to this point and it was why she had the skills she had that helped her survive.    
  
"Ok." Jemma exhaled the breath she'd been holding and eased herself onto her back once again. She gently rested her arm on the ground and waited to see if Skye had any further instruction.

Skye offered Jemma a small smile as she settled, relieved she didn’t have to explain herself while trying to fix Jemma’s shoulder. “So,” she said as she moved, gently lifting Jemma’s arm up off the ground by her wrist and her elbow. She settled Jemma’s arm in her lap and pressed her sock clad foot against Jemma’s side, high up just below her underarm. “You thought you’d go for a stroll by yourself in the jungle, huh?” She asked as she worked. She wrapped one hand around Jemma’s forearm and the other around her arm just above her elbow. “Because we didn’t have enough adventure in our lives before then, yeah?” She gave Jemma a crooked, severely tiny smirk. 

Bracing with her foot, Skye slowly pulled her arm out straight and then slightly upward at a curve above the shoulder. “And you had to kill a basilisk while you were at it, huh, Hermione?” She didn’t jerk Jemma’s arm in any way, just slowly pulled and did her best not to give Jemma any sudden intense pain. It took about two minutes in total before the combo of pulling Jemma’s arm and pushing against her side with her foot had allowed Jemma’s arm and shoulder muscles to stretch enough so that Jemma’s shoulder popped back into its proper place. As soon as Skye both heard and felt the pop, she released Jemma’s arm to let it settle in her lap for a moment. “Don’t sit up yet,” she said at the same time. She leaned forward from her spot and gently pressed around Jemma’s shoulder to make sure it had gone all the way back into place. “Give it a second and when you think you can, touch your right shoulder with your left hand, okay?” 

"Hermione didn't kill the basilisk." Jemma corrected through gritted teeth. The muscles in her shoulder ached and burned when they were stretched and pulled but when her shoulder popped back into place, she cringed, all her muscles tensed, and then she relaxed. Soreness spread throughout her shoulder blade and the left side of her chest, but it was better than having her arm dislocated.    
  
"Thank you." Jemma crossed her forearm over her chest and touched her right shoulder with her left hand just like Skye told her. She felt like she'd just done a hard workout at the gym instead of having been the rope in a tug of war between two spiders. Just thinking about it made her shudder and the wounds in her wrist and ankle started hurting more now that she wasn't distracted by her shoulder. How deep were they? She had no idea.

Skye let out a snort of laughter through her nose at Jemma's correction. She felt relieved  when Jemma had the proper range of motion to touch her opposite shoulder. Skye  nodded. she moved to kneel next to Jemma, closer and leaned over to kiss her forehead and then sat back on her heels and brushed Jemma's hair back "What hurts the most?" she asked, figuring that was the best place to start. Already she was contemplating what kind of medications they had on hand to be able to counteract whatever pain Jemma was in.

"My chest." Jemma blurted. She didn't even think her chest hurt all that much compared to her bite wounds, but it was the first thing that came to mind and had gone straight out of her mouth. When she thought about it though, it made sense for her chest to hurt much worse. She had been hit with the force of probably at least a bus. The titanoboa had certainly been the size, she had no idea what its power had been. It wasn't just the berries that had made it difficult to breathe. Even now, each inhale was a bit of a struggle.   
  
"I may have broken something. The snake, it struck and hit me." Jemma explained, groaning some at the memory of it and of waking up, afraid she had been eaten but found herself pinned down instead.

That made the alarms bells in Skye’s head start ringing again. Before she could even reply, the others crowded around began to speak up. 

“There’s not much we can do for a broken rib,” May frowned. 

“What if it punctured her lung? Can it do that if we don’t find a way to treat it?” Will asked. 

“If it punctured her lung, she wouldn’t be able to breathe right now,” Yoyo piped up. 

“So what do we do? Do we just find something to bind it?” Fitz asked. 

“No! Binding it isn’t actually a good idea, constricts your ability to cough, can make it take longer to heal, or cause pneumonia,” Victoria offered this information up and multiple sets of curious eyes turned her way. “What?” she shrugged. “I’ve got life experience.” 

Skye cleared her throat. “Could...um...you guys give us some room?” She asked as she looked at the others. “I just want to get a look at Jemma’s torso to see how bad this could be, y’know...under her clothes?” She arched her eyebrows slightly, hoping for some privacy. She stroked her fingers absently over Jemma’s hair again as she looked around at the others, grateful for their help but knowing Jemma wouldn’t want them gawking at her while she was half dressed. 

"That's our cue." Trip silenced everyone and started making hand gestures to shoo them away. Fitz got up from Jemma's side after giving her forearm a gentle squeeze.    
  
"We'll be back to check in around lunch. I'll make sure everyone leaves you alone." Fitz assured Skye. Trip promised he'd do the same and everyone slowly started to shuffle away. Bobbi and Mack went to clean themselves up a little ways down the bank and suddenly they were alone.   
  
"It's really not that bad." Jemma lied, again. She mostly just didn't want someone to have to go poking and prodding and if it was bad, she didn't want to see for herself. She did enjoy the soft petting and affection Skye was giving her though. It almost worked better than a painkiller. Almost.

Skye gave Fitz a grateful nod. "Thanks," she rasped. When she turned back to Jemma, she made a face. "No lying during medical evaluation," she said, a somewhat stern,  almost scold. She leaned over to bring their faces closer. "And stop rebuffing my attempts to get under your shirt, " She attempted a joke and leaned over to gently kiss the corner of Jemma's  mouth.  She wasn't getting out of having Skye tend to her wounds. "Besides, we need to get the dirty clothes off and clean you off anyhow," she reminded her.

"I, too, am filthy." Jemma chuckled. She would have lifted her head to give Skye a proper kiss, but they were both too muddy and Skye probably would have scolded her for getting up. "I tried to think about what you would do and masking my scent was the first thing I thought of." Jemma said, as if muddying herself had been entirely on purpose.

Skye didn't care about the grime at all. She leaned over and kissed Jemma, gently touching her face and pressing their foreheads together.  "I know I've been saying this since we landed here," she began,  "But it bears multiple repeats. You are such an amazing human. I love you." She smiled, though there was still some clear and serious fear lingering in her eyes.  She stroked her hand over Jemma's hair a few more times.  "Be honest with me,  can we get you into the shallows, or would you rather lie still there and we'll get you clean? "

"I love you too." Jemma said it as a promise and she hoped Skye understood. It was a promise to never leave her, dead be damned. She wasn't going to let Skye be alone in the world ever again. So she was determined to be back into performing shape as soon as possible so she could keep that promise.    
  
"I can do it." Jemma grit her teeth together even as she said it. She planted her hands on the ground behind her and held her breath as she pushed herself into a sitting position. All at once, her burn stung, she felt a ripping sensation in her wrist, her chest felt like she had the wind knocked out of her, her vision blurred, and the world tilted. She squinted and ground her teeth together. This was nothing. She survived in the jungle this whole time, surely she could get into the water. Then she actually tried to get up. She pulled one foot back and put the bottom of it underneath her, but when she tried to push up she almost slipped and her arms gave out, landing her right back where she started.   
  
"I can't do it." She admitted, pouting. She laid back down and brought her hands up to cover her eyes and face for a moment so Skye wouldn't see her tears. Everything hurt.

Skye was quick to reach out to try and help Jemma when she insisted she could do it. She tried not to frown at the fact that Jemma clearly couldn’t move into the pond. Skye knew for sure that she didn’t have to strength to actually get Jemma into the pond herself. She stroked her hand over Jemma’s hair again and tried, again, not to frown too much. Skye worried her bottom lip with her teeth as she considered their options. 

“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do,” She said after a few minutes. “I’m gonna go talk to Fitz and Trip,” She nodded to the two who were sitting a distance away but keeping any of the others from bothering them. “We’ll have Trip help you into the shallows and I’ll have Fitz grab some clothes and towels. Once we’ve got you clean, we can have Trip help you out again so we can patch everything up.” It wouldn’t do to try and tend to her wounds while she was as muck covered as she was so this seemed most logical. “Okay?” She asked. It was either that or she’d have to put up with Skye taking the time to clean her off with rags and towels, then patching her up, which would take longer. 

Skye let go of Jemma just so she could turn and rifle through the first aid kit. She pulled the bottle of ibuprofen from the kit and looked down at the mg amount per pill before calculating in her head that three would be the safe amount, four would probably be better. She turned and looked at Jemma. “Do you think you can swallow more than water right now?” she asked. First she could get something for the pain into Jemma, then they could clean her off and patch her up. Afterward, she’d get Jemma set up in bed and would clean off and change her own mess of clothes. 

Jemma nodded along with what Skye said, agreeing to her plan up until she fished out the ibuprofen. She used her good arm to push away the hand with the medication in it.    
  
"I don't want that." She shook her head and protested. They needed to be saved and as long as Jemma could bear the pain, she would. It would be better if she could feel everything anyway, she would be able to tell Skye where she needed medical attention.

Skye shook her head. “I don’t care if you don’t want it. You’re taking it.” This one was not up for debate. “If not now, then as soon as we’re finished patching you up.” And if she refused later too, Skye was not above crushing a couple of them and mixing them into some water. “Especially if you think you have a broken rib.” she added. That was important. Stopping the pain to allow proper breathing and the ability to cough without the added pain restricting her chest muscles would be one of the biggest ways they made sure she didn’t wind up with pneumonia, which they definitely didn’t have the medication to treat. 

"Fine." Jemma grunted. She let go of Skye's hand so she could go get Trip to get started. She loved Skye for caring, but sometimes Skye was more stubborn than her and she didn't always win. Maybe that was a good thing. "Thank you." Jemma grabbed at her forearm before she could get up. Whatever she was feeling, she didn't mean to gripe at Skye and she didn't want to be mad at her.

Skye had no doubt that Jemma would have pushed the medication on her if their situations were reversed. She wished she’d been stubborn enough to stop Jemma from going to help Garrett to begin with but, since she hadn’t won that battle, this was definitely one she could win and it would be something that ease some of Jemma’s pain so it was the most important current battle she could win, in her own eyes at least. Skye put the pills back in the bottle for right now and set it back in the first aid kit. She gave Jemma a nod and started to move to get up but Jemma grabbed onto her arm. Skye stopped and leaned over to kiss Jemma. “I admire your willpower and your stubbornness in regard to saving and sharing necessities,” she told her. “You are part of this group and everything in the kit and our supplies belongs to you too, not just the rest of us. You take care of us...we take care of you,” She kissed her one more time. “I love you.” Rather than getting up, she turned and called Trip over. Trip stepped away from Fitz and jogged to them. Skye told him the plan. First, Trip went to ask Fitz to gather the things Skye asked for: Jemma’s periodic table pajama pants and the shirt that was with it, a stack of rags they’d made out of clothes that would be used, two or three of the clean beach towels from their extras. 

Afterward, Skye peeled her way out of her dirty clothes since she was going in the water with Jemma. She peeled off her jeans and grabbed her shirt by the back collar and pulled it up over her head to bring herself down to just her sports bra and boy shorts, having forgotten about what injuries she’d sustained in the jungle which meant she only wound giving Jemma a view of more puncture scars, much more bruising from the snakes that had wound all around her, and the section of her right side down by her hip that was just above her appendectomy scar which looked similar to Jemma’s hand since it was where Bobbi and Mack had cauterized the gash one of the Terror birds had sliced there with its talon. 

It was then that Jemma really got a view of what Skye had dealt with during the night. She was not the only one who'd suffered, she was just the one who couldn't get back up. Skye still had so many injuries though, so many that Jemma blamed herself for. If she didn't insist on helping those who only helped themselves than the both of them would be fine. Yet somehow Jemma couldn't make herself regret it. It was partly about Raina.    
  
"You're hurt." Tears welled up in Jemma's eyes for the umpteenth time in the last twenty four hours. She couldn't understand how Skye would go through this for her, all of it, and still continue to take care of Jemma when she knew Skye must be hurting herself. Her eyes scanned and analyzed the bruises, the puncture wounds, but they lingered the most on the burn. She knew exactly what that felt like and she knew Skye had to be ignoring the pain, because it was definitely there. She tried to sit up, reach out for her, so she could be useful and actually help, but her air supply felt cut off and searing pain ripped through her chest and her whole body. She couldn't do it. She laid back down and pressed her palm to her forehead just as Trip was coming back over.

Skye knew lying to Jemma when she could see particular wounds, like the burn, would do no good. Jemma knew what those felt like. She opened her mouth to form a reply but Jemma started to try to move and instead went right back into care/fear mode. “Whoa, whoa...hey,” She moved to very carefully brace behind Jemma’s neck and shoulders to sit her up without Jemma needing to strain herself and knelt next to her holding her up. Honestly, if she’d said she didn’t feel her own wounds’ pain right then, she wouldn’t have been lying. Tending to, fussing over and worrying about Jemma right then in light of everything, gave Skye something much more important to focus on than her own ailments. Yes, she had wounds and yes they didn’t tickle, but comparatively, she had significantly less serious injuries than Jemma did so Jemma’s care superseded any of Skye’s needs right then. She reached for a bottle of water someone had left behind and was thankful the cap was only loosely screwed on since she only had one hand to open it with. She undid the cap, dropped that and picked the bottle up, glad it seemed to have been recently filled so it was still cool. 

Skye brought the bottle up to Jemma’s mouth to get her to take a few sips of it and kissed the side of her head. “You’re right, I am,” She said, “but they’re all very minor. Bobbi and Mack took care of me,” she said, very aware that Jemma hadn’t had anyone to tend to her in the jungle. No matter how insanely proud of and impressed she was by the fact that Jemma had survived the titanoboa and the spiders and anything else she encountered, Skye hated the fact that she hadn’t been there to keep her safe. They would have gone out to the beach and made their way back to camp the long way if they hadn’t been split up.

Trip walked over as if this wasn’t the most awkward situation on the planet, kept a smile on his face and said, “So somebody needs a lift to the spa, huh?” He grinned and made a joking show of flexing his muscles for Jemma. “Not to worry, I’m here to be your personal Uber,” He gave her a small wink. 

Skye appreciated what he was attempting to do for the mood of their situation. She let out a still anxious chuckle. “Quit trying to pick up my girlfriend, nerd.” She jokingly shoved his shoulder when he crouched next to her and Jemma. 

“Shit, you’re the one stripping in public for her,”  Trip shot back. He turned to Jemma, falling a little more serious. “Whenever you’re ready, Doc?” He arched his eyebrows slightly

Trip and Skye's joking around brought a small, but still very real smile to her face. She nodded to Trip to let him know he had the go ahead to move her. With one arm gently under her back, Trip moved her arm so it was wrapped around his neck. He then hooked his other arm underneath Jemma's knees and brought her a few steps into the shallows.   
  
"Here is good." Jemma piped up. She was afraid for the water to hit her wounds, but the worst ones were underneath waterproof tape, so it would be in segments. Trip slowly lowered her down until she was sitting in the water, the surface up to her waist. He held her up and supported her until Skye could get behind her and excused himself so they could get cleaned off. Jemma was breathing heavily through her nose, trying not to show how much it hurt all the scrapes, cuts, and scratches on her back.

Skye sat down behind Jemma with one leg stretched out around either side of her. She had to wait for Fitz to return to really start peeling clothes away but, for the moment, she started at least trying to wet and wipe away the mud from the zipper of Jemma’s CDC vest. She was listening to the way Jemma was breathing both because of the possible broken rib and because she of the other wounds that were now submerged, or partially submerged. Skye wasn’t entirely sure where she could touch Jemma that wouldn’t hurt her. When Fitz came back, he left the towels by the pond’s edge where Skye could reach them and set a couple of the rags next to it. Skye would have asked him to bring soap or shampoo, but, this was their drinking water so, she’d have to see what she could do for Jemma’s hair once she was back laying in the grass, after she’d taken care of all of her wounds. 

“I know it hurts,” Skye murmured next to Jemma’s ear. “I’m sorry,” She was sorry that she had to do it and she was sorry that she wasn’t there to protect Jemma when she’d promised so many times that she wouldn’t let anything happen to her. “It’s okay to make noise or whatever you need to do if it hurts,” She said. “Don’t hold it in, it’ll just make it hurt more,” she kissed the side of Jemma’s head and then the slow process of getting her clean began. Skye went one of the rags and started with her face and head, just wanting to get as much dirt, dried blood and grime off of Jemma as she could. She tried to be as gentle as she could but she also tried to be as quick as she could, not wanting to drag out Jemma’s pain. 

“Your Snake had babies,” She said. “It’s not alive but I brought one back in my bag,” The least Skye felt she could do was try to distract Jemma again but talking about something Jemma would engage in and discussing the animals on this island was one of those science topics she knew Jemma could get behind. If not, she would know just how awful Jemma felt by her reply as well. 

"It did? You did?" Jemma couldn't help but turn her head to look at Skye's face and see whether she was serious or not. There was a smile on her face despite the pain twisting her body like that brought. At least there was that. She'd be able to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that titanoboas still existed, just like the compys. "I brought its fang." Jemma grinned. She'd have to show her little trophy to Skye later.   
  
"I saw the spiders." Jemma was in a mood to share, but when she said it the smile dropped off her face and she turned to look straight ahead again, choosing to focus on Skye attempting to clean her off instead of what it felt like to have them trying to rip her to pieces. "I think they were young. It was probably only because of their size that I survived. And kept my arm." Jemma touched her shoulder and shuddered just thinking about how very possible it was that she had almost lost it.

"It did," Skye nodded. "A lot of them. I guess after you killed it? A lot of them were dead. Over a dozen weren't. They were between two and three feet long about. Vicious little suckers," she left that part of the story at that but most of her puncture wounds and bruises were from the snake babies. She kissed Jemma's temple as she worked on cleaning still. "We saw the missing fang," she added.    
  
"I know," Skye fell quiet as Jemma mentioned the spiders. She listened to everything, helped Jemma out of the CDC vest and kept cleaning off her neck, and shoulders. She felt her heartbeat speed up as the fear from the moment they hit the edge of the spider dens and found Jemma's mark twisted a knot in her belly. "We found your mark..." she confessed quietly. "Did you stab one of them?" she asked. Thinking about them pulling at Jemma the way they'd pulled at Alisha made Skye want to puke. Her hands trembled at the myriad of memories that repeatedly flashed through her mind. She fought to resist the urge to wrap her arms around Jemma and squeeze her.

"I did." Jemma swiped at tears and her voice got a bit shaky as she said it. "There were two." She started. She clasped her hands together and gently squeezed to help with the nerves. "It had my arm, the other had my foot." She didn't want to explain it, but she needed to. She needed to get it all out of her head. "That's how it was dislocated, they both- I stabbed them both." Jemma finished.

Skye leaned her head against the side of Jemma’s. She stopped trying to keep cleaning her off and wrapped her arms around Jemma’s middle, trying her best not to squeeze her too tight but unable to stop herself as Jemma described being in nearly the same position as Alisha. “I’m sorry you were alone,” She barely managed to get the words out without her voice cracking. “I couldn’t find you, we tried to catch up. After the spider den marks, we lost your trail, Bobbi and Mack made me come back to camp…” 

"I'm glad they did." Jemma frowned. She turned her head and pressed her forehead against Skye's. They shared a few gentle kisses and Jemma let her hand rest against the arm Skye had around her stomach. "You would have kept searching until you found me, I know you." Jemma kissed at the corner of her mouth. "But you wouldn't have found me because I managed to get back here. Which means you would have died searching." Jemma shuddered just thinking about it. It was the stubborn belief that Skye would be waiting with open arms that made her push herself, even with broken or bruised ribs and all of her injuries.    
  
"I don't know what I would do if you-" Jemma choked on the end of her sentence. Instead she just kissed Skye and thanked whatever higher power she could for making sure Skye got back safely.

Skye was certainly glad they did as well, now that it turned out the way it had. She thought again about what her plan had been up until Fitz had gotten into her path to turn her around to see that Jemma was indeed back in camp. She swallowed those thoughts down, however, and didn’t dare let them out between the things Jemma said and the small, needy kisses. There would be time later. For right now, she needed to finish taking care of Jemma. That was paramount. Her brain could sort itself out later. It had to wait its turn. She sniffled after the last kiss and dropped her eyes. “You don’t have to now,” She said. “We’re okay,” She kissed Jemma one more time quickly and, reluctantly, and slowly, got back to work. “We’ll have you cleaned up and settled in bed in no time,” she said. 

"I just need to-" Jemma struggled to pinch the tape on her left wrist with enough force from her right hand to be able to peel it off. It was a miracle she'd been able to hold the knife and stab at the spiders. She supposed this was different, her life wasn't currently in danger. Except by infection. Even through the tape Jemma could see the blood soaked gauze now that the mud had been washed away. She raised her wrist to her teeth and pulled at the end of the tape. It made a ripping sound as she peeled it off and it only stung a bit as it came off her skin. She cringed at the stinging that pulling away the gauze caused all the way around her wrist and her eyes widened at the still strong flow of blood. What if the spider had hit her vein?

"Shit-" Jemma cursed under her breath and turned her arm over to check. She couldn't tell with all the blood. It initially spurted a tiny bit as the dam was removed and continued gushing out and running down Jemma’s hand in small streams. If it didn't clot on its own she was going to have to go in with a hot blade and Jemma really didn't want to. 

“Hey, why don’t you wait til-,” Skye’s hands came up immediately when she saw the blood on Jemma’s wrist. With the rag, she clamped both of her hands around Jemma’s wrist, unsure exactly where or how many spots it stemmed from. Normally she would have worried about the pressure she was using but in her panic and haste, Skye clamped down as tight as she could to stem the flow of it. “Trip!” She called over her shoulder. He came running and Skye moved so that just one hand was clamped tightly around Jemma’s wrist. She wrapped her other arm around Jemma’s middle and pulled her up from the water and into her lap and started to push them the few feet back to the edge of the pond. 

“What, what do you-,” Trip began but Skye cut him off. Fitz came rushing right behind him. 

“Get a fire started and heat up a blade,” Skye said to Trip, who jumped right into work. Skye looked at Fitz. “Go through the first aid kit - find me anything that has any kind of clotting factor in it. If not, get me a roll of tape.” She said and Fitz went scrambling to the kit. Skye felt her stomach roll at the thought of having to burn Jemma anywhere ever again, but, if they had to do it, they had to do it and she would. 

Jemma's hand shook and she bit her tongue when Skye grabbed her to keep from crying out. Thick, red, warm liquid was still oozing out from between Skye's fingers and Jemma wished she'd practiced more caution when starting to reveal her wounds. At least it had been sealed before.    
  
"Cauterize the vein, stitch the cut." Jemma took a deep breath. Trying to cauterize the circle that was around her wrist would be a long and painful process with a flat blade. They could stop the bleeding with the hot burn but it would be much less painful in the long run to stitch it up. The same would have to go for her ankle. It wasn't until Jemma started feeling woozy that she realized she was probably losing- and had lost over the course of the night- more blood than her body might be able to handle.    
  
"Glad I didn't-" Jemma had to stop and blink a few times to get her vision to come back into focus. "Take that medication. They're blood thinners." Jemma informed Skye, her voice lax and slurred.

Skye felt like she was going to vomit, not because of the blood but because her panic was driving her heart to beat so hard and fast in her chest she was sure she, too, was going to wind up with a broken rib, or possibly the whole cage. “Jem – hey, Jemma, you’re not allowed to sleep yet,” She wanted to climb out of the pond and pull Jemma with her but she knew she couldn’t do that on her own and  even if she could, it would require letting go of Jemma’s wrist and Skye wasn’t about to do that. “I need to hear more about your epic adventure, still,” she heard what Jemma said about the cauterizing and stitching but her main goal was to keep Jemma talking, however slurred it might be. How were they going to fix this? They couldn’t exactly replace Jemma’s blood on an island – and how much of it had she actually lost?? “I haven’t even been able to ask where you found time to squeeze in a haircut,” she said while her brain screamed _Please don’t leave me, please don’t leave me, not after everything, please don’t leave me!_ Over and over, louder in her mind’s ear than the rush of her pulse in her eardrums.  
  
As soon as it was hot enough, Trip returned with the blade. Skye’s hands were shaking initially so she looked up at Trip. “Take her arm and hold it steady,” She said, holding the hot blade above the water. Trip held Jemma’s arm steady by the forearm and her elbow and Skye let go and used the rag to wipe off her wrist just to get a good enough view of what she needed to do. She whispered an apology before she cauterized the proper spots, trying to only hit the small areas she absolutely had to in order to stem the gush of blood. She blinked rapidly to continually clear the tears welling in her eyes that she had to do this again. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” She repeatedly the whole time the had to do it.    


"Skye, 'm fine." Jemma mumbled. "Can't even feel it." And she wasn't lying. Her whole body felt asleep and her brain was getting close to joining it. She leaned back and her head rested against Skye's shoulder. "Hey, 's alright." Jemma slurred. She didn't move as Skye fixed her wrist and she did her best to stay awake like Skye told her.    


Skye used her shoulder to nudge Jemma's head every so often. "I need you to stay with me," Try as she might to stop it, Skye's voice cracked when she said it. "I can't this on my own." What if she didn't know how to treat a particular wound? What if she did something wrong and made it worse? What if Jemma went to sleep now and never woke up again? “I love you," she murmured the words she'd only been allowed to tell the Brodys once before they'd been taken from her. She understood now that this was what that moment would have felt like had she woken up in the car after the accident rather than the hospital.    
  
"Skye-," Trip started to speak but Skye cut him off.    
  
She sniffled quickly. "Get her out," she commanded. "We'll clean the rest as go and finish up when we're done."   
  
Trip stepped into the water as Fitz put the blade back into the fire for later use. Skye felt physical pain twist through her chest as Trip scooped Jemma up out of her arms and carried her back to the grass to lay her down.  Skye took long deep breaths as she frantically scrubbed at her hands and forearms,  ignoring the pain in them,  to make sure they were clean enough now to work on Jemma. She scrambled out of the pond and over to Jemma's side and started peeling her out of her shirt and her jeans to get her down to her under things in order to find any other possible bleed spots.    
  
Her first major find was Jemma's foot/ankle since she mentioned it with the spiders.  The bruising on her torso did not go unnoticed, but Skye thought the ankle took precedence so she worked on cauterizing and stitching and she kept Fitz and eventually Bobbi by Jemma's head to talk to her, shake her, roll a fist over her chest, get small sips of water and coconut water into her - anything to keep her awake even if that meant just groaning at them and keeping her eyes open as much as possible.

"That hurts." Jemma grumbled. She knew it was necessary, but that didn't mean she had to be happy about it. She made sure to stay perfectly still though, because even through the haze she could understand her blood loss situation and she didn't want to mess Skye up or loosen any clots that had formed.   
  
"My back." Jemma moaned. She was lying flat on it and she was pretty sure she was still bleeding unless it was sweat that was giving her that damp feeling.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Skye murmured as she worked. Fitz and Trip stood guard to keep most of the others from gawking. Bobbi and Yoyo tried to keep Jemma talking while scouting for any wounds Skye might miss and May kept by the first aid kit and the fire handing over every item they needed as they called out for them. She handed Bobbi one of the folded beach towels and Bobbi settled it under Jemma’s hed. Skye was just finished with Jemma’s ankle when Jemma mentioned that her back hurt. She hesitated, remembering her own issues stemming from back injuries as the panic flared again. 

“Your back?” Skye asked and then nodded, she knew what she heard. “Okay, we’re going to roll you over, hold on,” She gave a clear spot on Jemma’s arm a gentle squeeze then looked at the others. “On three,” She said as they all moved at once. On the count of three, they rolled Jemma onto her side and then onto her stomach, being careful to help her turn her head on the beach towel pillow. Skye felt the gut punch that sucked all the wind out of her lungs as soon as she saw Jemma’s back. Her eyes widened at all the scrapes, scratches and gashes. Some of them were still bleeding. Some of them were scabbed over. 

Before she could control it, Skye turned away and threw up what little of anything was actually in her stomach at the moment. Bobbi, May and Yoyo exchanged glances with each other. It wasn’t as if Skye had exactly hidden the scars on her back, though none of them had asked about them. They weren’t new scars and it was enough to leave it rather than prying into Skye’s personal life. Obviously her reaction to seeing tons of scrapes and scars on Jemma’s back was a new insight into this. Skye turned back, coughing, and tried to steady herself but her whole body was trembling as her hands hovered over Jemma’s back, unsure where to even start. 

Yoyo leaned over from her spot kneeling at Jemma’s head and shoulders. “Don’t tell Skye I said so,” she said as she stroked Jemma’s hair and gently patted her uninjured shoulder in a comforting manner, “But I think you’ve taken over her ‘official badass of the camp,’ title,” she said. 

“Skye,” May knelt before Skye, who was having trouble blinking her vision clear of tears. Skye couldn’t steady her hands. Her eyes never left Jemma’s back as May tried to speak to her. “Skye, listen to me,” May took hold of Skye’s shoulders and shook her a bit as she turned her to make Skye look at her. Skye blinked, only half present in her gaze as part of her brain was stuck in the past. “Whatever happened to you, whatever happened to either of you in the jungle even, it doesn’t matter right now. All that matters is that we fix this and fast. She’s still bleeding and we need to stop it.” 

May’s stern tone shook Skye from the area of her brain she’d been lost in. sniffling quickly, she nodded and inhaled long, deep breaths to calm herself down. She clenched her fists and did her best to steady her hands. May arched her eyebrows, “Good?” she asked. Skye took a long deep breath and nodded. “Good, now let’s clean these wounds and patch them up. We start with the worst first, okay?” 

Skye took another deep breath. She used May and Bobbi’s help since her hands were only so steady. Slowly they used the water to get the grass and dirt off Jemma’s wounds on her back and then they used the alcohol to clean all the cuts out. Bobbi cauterized some of them, Skye stitched some of them, and they covered her back in as much aloe as Mack and Will could find them to soothe it at least a tiny bit. Without any gauze big enough for Jemma’s back, they made a cut up some of the unused dress shirts into large patches to tape over sections of Jemma’s back, both to bandage the wounds and to cover them properly. Skye flinched every time Jemma made any kind of noise indicating pain and struggled to keep her hands as steady as possible. 

Jemma groaned the whole time they continued moving her, and the pain in her back seemed to go on forever as they patched up all the wounds from getting dragged through the graveyard of animal skeletons. Bobbi seemed to take this as a good sign though, because her sounds meant she was awake and alive.    
  
"I can't." Jemma was so tired. She couldn't keep her eyes open any longer, no matter how urgent Bobbi and Fitz's voices were sounding. She knew it meant she might not wake up. She didn't want to close her eyes, but she didn't have a choice. 

  
"Skye, she's out!" Bobbi exclaimed. They tried everything. They tapped at her cheeks, shook her shoulders, but Jemma's eyes wouldn't open. Bobbi’s fingers shot to Jemma's neck and an audibly relieved sigh escaped her lips. "Weak pulse, but it's there."

Skye had trouble focusing under the new wave of panic. Even after Bobbi said Jemma had a pulse. May looked from Skye's face over to Bobbi. "We're almost done covering her back. Keep your fingers on her pulse. If it changes at all, let us know." she said.    
  
"We need to get her off of her stomach," Yoyo said. "It's too much pressure if there's a bruised or cracked rib," she told them. It had been necessary for dealing with Jemma's back, but now that this was done, they had to think carefully about everything they did for Jemma from here on out.    
  
"Fitz," Skye spoke up, "Find whatever you can to prop up the tip of our bed so she'll be propped up while she sleeps." She waited for him to acknowledge it then looked at the others. "Trip, go grab soap from my suitcase," she told him where in the case it was, "bring it back with one of the plastic buckets," Trip nodded and jogged off after Fitz. "Let's get her on her back, prop her up. We need to get her clean, make sure we didn't miss anything." After that, they could get her into clean clothes and set her up in bed. It was something, though Skye's brain just kept reminding her that, after everything, they were just too late and without Jemma being awake, Skye didn't know what to do about anything else medical wise other than those things she'd already learned from Jemma or minor first aid she already knew. It wasn't enough. It would never be enough. After everything they'd been through together, Skye didn't have the skills necessary to keep Jemma safe and alive. So now it was just down to time in how long it took to lose her.

\--  
  
Trip and Fitz went to take care of their assigned jobs. Mack stood nearby with his back to the group hovering over Jemma, stopping anyone else from crowding, talking to them about what happened. May excused herself so she could go and give updates to the rest of the camp in an effort to try and set them at ease. She got them working on breakfast and distracted from what happened for the moment. Bobbi and Elena worked with Skye, careful as they rolled Jemma onto her back on top of a laid out towel, though Jemma made no noise of protest this time. They were gentle as they cleaned Jemma off with the soapy water from the bucket, washed the muck and mud out of her hair, made sure they had cleaned and cared for every injury to the best of their ability. When she was clean, Bobbi and Elena helped shift and lift Jemma as Skye peeled her out of the last of her dirty clothes and moved pulled Jemma’s periodic table pajama pants and a pajama shirt on her.  
  
When they were finished, Mack came to collect Jemma carefully and Skye moved to follow but Bobbi stopped her. “You need to clean off and we need to clean out your wounds too,” She reminded her. Skye wanted to argue but she knew Bobbi was right. She didn’t want to chance not taking care of herself and then contaminating any one of Jemma’s wounds with her own filth. Skye turned her eyes to Jemma, lying limp in Mack’s arms as he cradled her. She looked almost like a child compared to Mack’s size.  
  
“If anything changes,” Elena gave Skye’s shoulder a squeeze, “you’ll be the first to know,” she promised. Skye gave Elena a small nod and then watched as the two headed toward the cave to settled Jemma in bed where Trip and Fitz were working on propping up the bed properly. Skye turned and made her way back into the pond, she scrubbed all the caked on dirt and muck off with just the water as Bobbi dumped out the soapy bucket in the nearby grass, then refilled the bucket mixed soap in. Skye climbed out and began to scrub herself clean with the soap, allowed Bobbi to clean her back, and to wash her hair, let her cauterize a couple of wounds that were still bleeding and clean all the others. Bobbi coated the cauterized wound on Skye’s side with a thin layer of the burn cream and once that soaked in they coated it with a thick layer of aloe and covered it in a rectangular patch of folded shirt for makeshift gauze and taped it down.  
  
When it was all done, Skye trudged back to the cave, leaving everything but the sports bra and boyshorts she was still wearing behind without looking back. Someone would clean their clothes for them at some point. Skye didn’t care. She didn’t even care about the weapons. When she reached the cave, the others shifted and moved back to their own sections of the cave. Skye was aware of their eyes on her but didn’t care. She turned her back to them and peeled out of her under things, wiped herself off with a wet rag again and pulled on her pajama pants and her sleep sweatshirt, the one with the wide cut top opening and the sleeves cut short. She made a mental note to thank the others later for all their help. For now, she sat down next to Jemma, where they had propped the bed up into a slightly reclined seated position so Jemma would have an easier time breathing. She spent some time very carefully brushing Jemma’s hair so it wouldn’t turn to a mess of knots as it dried. She brushed her own hair back out of her face and when she was done, she tossed the brush back to her suitcase.  
  
She moved her arm around Jemma’s shoulder and pulled Jemma into her side, settled Jemma’s head into her shoulder and closed her eyes tightly as she felt the slow bursts of warm air against her collar. Skye leaned the side of her head down against Jemma’s, reflexively squeezed her arm around Jemma as she brought her other hand up to comb through Jemma’s now short hair and touched her cheek. Despite the heat of the day rising, Jemma was cool to the touch. Skye was unsure if that was because of the blood loss or not so Skye gathered their blanket and tucked it around Jemma up to her shoulders to warm her. She kissed the top of Jemma’s head and sniffled as she laid her head down against hers again, tried to keep blinking her vision clear but gave up after a while and just occasionally let her natural blinking send the tears sliding down her cheeks.  
  
“I don’t know how to fix this,” Skye murmured through another sniffle. The adrenaline was gone, replaced only by her fearful tears and her own exhaustion, the last of which she refused to give into. If Skye was going to lose Jemma, she was going to be awake when it happened. She wasn’t going to sleep through the greatest loss of her existence. “I have too many things to tell you,” she confessed despite knowing she was confessing it to the air around them only. “I love you, Jemma,” she murmured, just as she had only a few short days ago when they were waking up after their first move into the new camp. Only, this time, Jemma wasn’t on the edges of sleep and awake enough to reassure her. Jemma was unresponsive though, even to the shifting or Skye’s impulsive squeezes before she reminded herself to be gentle. A small glimpse of her eyes, or a murmur of any kind, anything that let her knew Jemma was still there, Skye needed it desperately.  
  
There were too many questions and thoughts rolling around her brain to keep up with as the hours stretched on and the light shifted through the canopy. Had Jemma hit her head? Was her brain bleeding? Was there anything they could do if Jemma was bleeding in her brain? What about her rib? Was it broken or just bruised? Had it broken and punctured anything else? Had they caused it to break in their handling of her? What about the blood she’d already lost? How much of it had she lost? Would her body be able to regain all that blood? How could it restore itself if she couldn’t wake Jemma up, get her to drink, get her to eat? What about her wrist and ankle? What about those wounds on her back…Skye swallowed against the thick well of fear and anger in her throat. Seeing the vast field of wounds slashed and scraped all across Jemma’s back had made her stomach roil and just thinking about it again made her stomach churn as if a blender had been turned on in her gut to send whatever remained in her stomach into a violent whirling bile.  
  
Hours passed. The light moved across the island, shifting shadows through the canopy. Everyone busied themselves as they moved throughout the camp on their usual tasks. Bobbi, Trip, Mack, Fitz, the others, everyone tried to keep their distance while also sending one of them or so to check in every so often. They brought water, bottles of coconut water, food. It was for Skye, most of it, to keep her hydrated and fed, but it was for Jemma too, in the hopes that she would be awake. Skye ingested the bare minimum she could. A few times she managed to get Jemma to reflexively swallow down small sips of the coconut water, but she wasn’t awake in any sense of the word and there was no way to get food into her.  
  
Skye remained awake through it all. A couple of times, Jemma tried to shift to get comfortable but only managed to let out what Skye could only describe as a whimper before she shifted back against Skye’s side. Skye did her best to talk to Jemma in those moments, to remind Jemma that she loved her, to beg her to come back, anything that might rouse Jemma from slumber even though Skye knew Jemma’s body needed rest. It was the fear that kept Skye awake, that kept her trying to talk to Jemma. When she started to nod off herself as the sun went down, Skye set up her flashlight as a makeshift lantern and spent most of the night reading Jemma’s book to her. Sometimes Jemma would murmur and Skye would stop everything and hold her breath, listening to see what Jemma was saying.  
  
Skye was left largely alone with her thoughts, even as she read through the book, just wanting to make sure that Jemma heard her voice if she woke up rather than waking up to nothing. Skye struggled through crying jags, pleading jags as she begged Jemma to come back, prayers from her times at St. Agnes that she didn’t even know she remembered rolled off her tongue in the long stretch of hours in the night. Skye made countless bargains – with the devil, with God, with any deity she could think of. She offered her soul, assuming she still had one, her life, she swore up and down that she would give anything without exception if the universe would just let Jemma survive this.  
  
Physical pain, it was fleeting. It could linger as a wound healed but it was something one’s body adjusted to. It became dull and achy but it dissipated as the physical wound healed. This kind of wound? The emotional kind, the one that slowly cut pieces of a person’s heart and soul out with every single second it lasted was the kind that never went away. It haunted a person’s life. It made a person second guess everything they had even survived in life. It felt like suffocation, drowning without ever being near the water. It paralyzed. It slowly decayed its way through organs, tissue and sinew. It ate away at the last vestiges of sanity, turning a person’s mind on them, reminding them of the horrible visions, the sounds, the smells, the repeated mental viewings of painful memories, played on a movie reel of the mind’s eye in the quiet of the night surrounding. Physical pain was bearable. This kind of pain devoured the soul and there was no escaping it. Skye couldn’t fight it. She wanted it to pull her under. She wanted to succumb to it and let it take whatever shreds were left of her.  
  
And then, Jemma stirred against her side and inhaled a deep breath.  
  
Skye held her own breath, counting the heartbeats as they bounded in her chest, waiting to see if this was different than any of the other times. Skye hadn’t slept. There were deep, dark circles ringing her eyes, her face gaunt from only eating and drinking the bare minimum she needed to keep going. She was perfectly still as she waited to see if Jemma might actually rouse rather than it just being a hitch in her breath or a disgruntled grunt about her discomfort, which Skye was powerless to help her with as well. _Please_ , she mentally begged, _Please come back to me._  


A deep shroud rested heavily upon Jemma's chest, or most of her body, actually, and even her mind. She was conscious before she was awake. Her heart was beating, but she was cold and everything was dark. It would have been easy to just slip off again, slide back into deep sleep, but Jemma Simmons was not one to take the easy route. She forced herself to consciously breathe, in, out, in, out. It was starting to hurt, but Jemma figured that was a good sign. She was on her way back, back to Skye. Now that she thought about it, the tiny bit of warmth and comfort that seeped into her was probably Skye's voice and touch. Skye would want her to fight, so she did.    
  
First Jemma's fingers twitched. She was testing out her control over herself before she tried to open her heavy eyelids. She took another breath, tightened her muscles in anticipation (mentally cringed because of it), and opened her eyes. It was slow, drowsy, but they were open and Jemma was met with the beautiful, yet tired eyes of the woman she loved. She had no energy to speak, but her gaze spoke a thousand words as she looked up at Skye with utmost love and gratitude. They were here, together. They'd made it again, despite all odds.

Skye was in no position to think they were anywhere near out of the woods. It had been almost an entire day since Jemma had gone to sleep. When her eyelids moved, Skye whispered her name on an anxious exhale. She saw Jemma's open eyes and then her own vision clouded. She couldn't help it. She dropped the book off the side of her lap and moved her arms to pull Jemma in closer. "Y-you're awake," she blurted, unable to stop the choked sob that followed it. She tried to keep her grip on Jemma loose but her emotions were over wrought and she only had minimal control of herself. The combo of fear, sleep deprivation and overwhelming, if cautious, relief was so intense, Skye thought she might actually be the one to pass out this time. She couldn't focus to ask Jemma how she felt, what hurt most, to make her drink and try to get some food not her. Instead she could only hold on while trying not to squeeze Jemma too hard. She landed some random kisses along Jemma's shoulder, neck and the side of her head between sniffles.

A small exhale that could only be described as an "oof" puffed from Jemma's lungs when Skye hugged her. It was sore, but it hurt to breathe normally, so it was more of a comfort than an added hindrance. She couldn't do two things at once, so her eyes fell shut as her hand came up to rest on Skye's shoulder blade. She grabbed a weak handful of the hoodie and held her close. A few stray tears leaked from the corners of her eyes from happiness alone and not from the pain. She had managed to pull through. One of her worst fears was that either she would lose Skye or she would be lost herself and leave Skye all alone. Skye didn't deserve to be alone. Skye deserved everything and Jemma wanted to give it to her, so she held her close even if she was nearing the unconscious realm yet again.

Skye seemed to gather herself at least a little bit after a moment. She sniffled and reluctantly leaned back, combed her fingers through Jemma’s hair and held onto the side of her face and neck as she did. She kissed her forehead. “Don’t drift off again yet,” she said quickly as she leaned Jemma back into the propped up bed. “You have to eat and drink a little first, hold on, hold on,” she leaned over to grab the edge of her suitcase, which had been turned into a makeshift nightstand of collected things. A moment later, her arm was back around Jemma’s shoulders to help support her to sit up a little straighter. “Ace delivered bottles of coconut water for  _ you _ this time,” She offered a severely tiny smile as she brought the uncapped bottle up to Jemma’s mouth to help her drink from it.

Jemma leaned forward the tiny bit required for her lips to meet the top of the bottle. She would speak, but her throat and tongue were dry, she was exhausted, and she didn't know what to say other than repeated "I love you"s and "I'm sorry"s. So instead she drank the offered gift that practically meant life. She forced herself to go slow, to just sip on the sweetness of of the liquid and not drain the bottle immediately. Her stomach started to feel bloated after drinking about a third of it, so she brought her hand up and pushed against it, but not enough to spill it. She leaned into Skye and her eyes kept fluttering open and closed, conflicted about how they wanted to be. She hoped Skye would let her go to sleep soon so she could wake up later and they could have a true reunion when she wasn't so drained.

Skye pulled the bottle away when Jemma pushed at it. She set it between her knees and capped it and then craned her head to look at Jemma. “Hey, Sleepy, not yet,” She kissed Jemma’s forehead, lingering there a moment. She wanted to let Jemma rest. She really did. At the same time, she was terrified of letting her go back to sleep again. There was no real way to know if Jemma would wake up again after all. There wasn’t much she could do, but she could get a bit of food into her. “You need to eat,” She didn’t know when the last time Jemma actually ate was, as far as she knew, Jemma had no idea she had been out as long as she had. She put the bottle off to the side on the suitcase and grabbed small coconut bowl that had some cooked crabmeat next to some sliced kiwi. She set the bowl in her lap and scooped up some of the meat between in fingers. “Get just a little down and I’ll break you a small piece of the chocolate pretzels for dessert?” she kissed Jemma’s forehead again and waited to see what she’d do. 

Jemma gave her a slow, hesitant nod. Nausea was still very strong in her stomach, but it could have very well been from not eating. The sight and smell of food seemed to perk her up a teeny bit, but she also remembered the heaving that eating the berries had brought and she was slightly turned off. She trusted Skye to take care of her through her clearly obscured thought process, so she was apt to listen. 

"Thank you," Skye said worth another forehead kiss.  "I know you're tired. You lost a lot of blood,  and we need to get you on the mend, " she began to ramble as she slowly coaxed Jemma into taking small, easily chewable bites of crab and bits of kiwi. "We're overloaded with snake jerky thanks to you, ya know. Trip's decided he's keeping you stocked in smoked fish and crab, though.  He says it's gotta be better protein than snake. I think he just wants to spoil you," she put the food down when Jemma seemed to have enough at the moment,  even though she wished she could get her to eat more.  She broke off a small piece of chocolate covered pretzel and brought it up for her. "Have I mentioned that I love you? I love you,  so much." she tried her best to keep her voice steady as her worries coursed through her for the millionth time.

When Jemma found she had a decent enough breath, she mumbled a few words that were hardly coherent. She coughed to clear her throat and formed coherent words. "I love you too." She replied. She reached with her burned hand (which was now her good one, ironically) to grab for Skye's free one. She intertwined their fingers and the warmth and sparks shot up her arm like it was the very first time. She smiled; a small, lazy grin was plastered across her face. She carefully chewed the chocolate Skye gave her until she was certain she couldn't choke on it and as she swallowed, she let her head fall to Skye's shoulder. It was harder and harder to resist sleep, but she wanted the go ahead from Skye before she allowed herself.

Skye very gently squeezed Jemma's hand back.  She kissed the top of her head, knew Jemma was struggling for her benefit and despite it, still didn't want her to fall back asleep.  Selfishly, she wanted Jemma to stay awake,  to be alright,  to know she would be alright. "It's okay to sleep if you need to," Skye spoke carefully,  to keep her voice steady. "If you need anything, I'll be right here, " she kissed the top of her head again,  grabbed an extra blanket to tuck around Jemma to keep her properly warm.  "I love you," she said again before she picked up Jemma's book,  cleared her throat and started reading to her again.

Most of the morning and early afternoon went by without Jemma knowing. She was asleep, but also somehow aware of and comforted by Skye's presence. She was slowly regaining strength, but her breathing was still slightly labored the whole time she slept. At just after noon, Jemma woke up again, but not how she would have liked.   
  
Her body jerked forward, her eyes flashed open, and she coughed violently and suddenly. They were deep coughs from her chest, they both stung in her lungs and made her ribs ache. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes and her hand reached for her chest. Did she just have mucous gathered in her chest from breathing poorly, or was there blood somewhere? Jemma had no idea, but she was terrified as she leaned forward and curled up slightly while coughs shook her body.

Skye was still reading, hoping that if Jemma was only kind of asleep for any part of it, she would be able to keep her as relaxed as possible. She was having a lot more trouble staying awake the whole time, however, as she’d been awake for...actually, Skye forgot how many hours she’d been awake at this point. Her eyes were droopy and her head would loll or her wrist would slack on the book and it would jog her awake again. She was in the middle of slowly dozing midway through a sluggish sentence, when Jemma suddenly started forcefully coughing, enough that her whole body wracked with coughs. 

Suddenly very, very alert, Skye dropped the book off her lap and reached out to pull Jemma into a proper sitting position in the hopes of making it easier for her to cough if that’s what her body needed to do. She wanted to rub Jemma’s back to comfort her but she was afraid to just cause further pain because of all the wounds back there. She didn’t know what to do to stop a coughing fit like this. So reached out and put her other hand over the one Jemma had on her own chest to try and brace her there so she wouldn’t jerk all about as much as she could. “It’s okay, it’s okay...just let it happen, I know it hurts,” Skye felt completely clueless. She was sure if their situations were reversed, Jemma would have done much more than Skye was capable of doing to help her. 

Jemma continued to cough for another minute, but she was relieved no blood came up. It meant she hadn't punctured anything vital and it truly was just coughing and not something more serious. Her chest and lungs felt torn to shreds by the time she finished, but when she did she leaned back into Skye and her eyes fell shut immediately. She mumbled something incomprehensible, but then she was asleep yet again.

It was brutal, having to go through this, watching these awful things as they happened to Jemma without being able to do anything to stop them or fix the problems. She squeezed Jemma’s arm gently as she leaned back to pull Jemma back against the bed. She had no idea what Jemma said, though she tried to strain her ears to listen. She settled for kissing the top of Jemma’s head and gently rubbing her arm with the arm she had around Jemma’s shoulders. She tried to hold back on the tears, fearing that Jemma might hear her even though she knew Jemma was unconscious again by the way she was limp, dead weight against Skye’s side. How was she supposed to help Jemma if she couldn’t even give her any kind of medicine to ease the pain at all for the wounds or if something like that coughing jag happened again. 

Skye tried to pick up the reading again, but her voice wasn’t steady enough. Her vision was blurry, and not just from the occasional tears but from the length of time she spent awake, from not having enough rest after everything they’d gone through in the jungle and afterward. She finally dozed off in the late afternoon, after Bobbi had sat with them and forced Skye to eat an actual meal-sized portion of fish with a salsa-type mixture of fruit, something similar to onions and a tuber that was similar in taste and texture to sweet potatoes, and made her drink a bottle of coconut water and a bottle of water. It would have been a fantastic meal...if she could have happily shared it with Jemma awake and uninjured. Instead, she forced it down and let Bobbi do whatever kind of coddling she thought she could to help by helping Skye since she couldn’t help Jemma. Bobbi figured if she couldn’t help Jemma, she would take care of Skye as much as she could so that Skye would be up to it when Jemma did wake up. 

It did exactly what Bobbi was hoping it would do; the full belly made Skye even sleepier than she already was and Skye nodded off, the side of her head resting on top of Jemma’s, arms around her with them tucked under their blankets. At least asleep, Skye didn’t have to watch the time tick by on her watch or in the changes of light through the canopy. She was so exhausted, even, that she didn’t even have any dreams or nightmares in her sleep, which was definitely a good thing as there was much to have nightmares about right then. 

Around the time the sun started going down, a few coughs from Jemma in her sleep woke Skye up. She kissed the top of Jemma’s head and rubbed her arm gently, tried to tell her that everything was okay, though she knew she was talking mostly trying to console herself. Even having Jemma awake earlier in the day had ceased being a relief by then. Despite having a few hours to nap, Skye’s brain was still taunting her with terrible thoughts of Jemma never waking up again, of Jemma’s wounds winding up infected and being unable to fight off the infection in her weakened state, of the fear she had for her feelings of Jemma and how she didn’t want to survive without Jemma. She went over and over everything that happened in her head, every little word, every little action she could have changed and the whole outcome of this situation could have been averted. She was on her way through another run through of her mental guilt trip over the situation when someone approached the cave and the side of their bed. 

Skye sniffled quickly and lifted a hand to brush her tears away before she looked up and realized it was Victoria. Skye couldn’t stop the frown that fell over her face. She couldn’t even imagine what she could have done at this point to piss Victoria off as all the woman had done was tell her that she was awful and trying to get everyone killed. Skye didn’t need that while she was already beating herself up about this enough for...everyone really. She didn’t speak, just arched her eyebrows to ask what Victoria wanted. 

“I…” Victoria cleared her throat. “I’m not here to...I just wanted…” Victoria looked at Jemma in her current state and then averted her eyes. “Here,” She said and held her hand out for Skye. 

Her brow furrowed in a mess of confused wrinkles, Skye very reluctantly held her hand out toward Victoria’s outstretched hand. Victoria dropped the item into Skye’s hand and then turned on her heel and left as quickly as she could. Skye watched her go, still confused and then looked down at her hand to find an orange prescription bottle with a white lid on it in her hand. Skye blinked. She turned the bottle over until she could see the medication on name on the side, one she recognized - it was called ‘Zohydro’ as the brand name but Skye knew the actual medication name listed on another part of the worn bottle, hydrocodone. It was a painkiller. Better, it was just the painkiller part and it wasn’t paired with aspirin or tylenol. Skye hadn’t forced the aspirin on Jemma in the small span in the morning when she was awake because she was afraid of thinning out her blood. This would possibly provided Jemma with pain relief, easier breathing, and better sleeping. Skye hated that sleeping would be part of it, because she wanted Jemma to be awake for a prolonged period to know she was okay, but she knew that sleep was necessary to heal properly. Skye turned her head to try and thank Victoria but was left just watching her walk away since she was too far to call out. The bottle didn’t have Victoria’s name on it so it must have been something that Victoria had found in the crash and hoarded for whatever reason. As it stood, it looked like there were over a dozen of the pills in the bottle. Skye wouldn’t be sure until she was able to count it, but for now, she held onto the bottle and wondered if they would be something she’d even get to use to help Jemma. It would all depend on whether or not Jemma woke up, actually woke up, not just for a few brief minutes or less at a time. 

"Color me impressed." The voice would surprise Skye when Jemma spoke up behind her. Victoria approaching had jostled her brain back into a conscious state and she'd watched the exchange through cracked lids before she had the energy to open them fully. A cough accompanied the words, but they were clear and comprehensible and Jemma was finally starting to feel a bit more like herself, even if she was dizzy and nauseous. It was probably dehydration and the recovery from blood loss. 

“Wha-?” Skye jumped a bit but her head snapped and turned toward Jemma immediately. “Hey…” She said, trying to gauge if this was a temporary moment of wakefulness or if Jemma might fall right back asleep again. She put the bottle of medicine down in her lap and reached over with her free hand for one of the bottles of coconut water that had been delivered their way. “Thirsty?” she asked as she set the bottle into her lap for leverage so she could uncap it with her free hand. There were many things Skye wanted to say to Jemma, confessions. But if this was only a brief respite of Jemma being awake, getting her to drink and/or eat took precedence over Skye’s wants. Her words weren’t as slurred as before, so that was good right? Skye knew the coughing would last for awhile. 

"Increasingly so." Jemma's voice cracked on the longer word and she swallowed hard, but her throat was so dry it seemed to get stuck in her throat. She found herself reaching for the bottle with her left hand since she wouldn't be able to hold it with her right, but her stinging wrist was an immediate reminder that she needed to put it down. For a moment she was afraid. What if the spider had bitten her in a way that severed something in her other hand? How would she survive without use of them and more importantly, would it burden Skye and ultimately have a negative impact on her chance of survival? She was getting ahead of herself and Jemma paused to just flex her fingers, close her hand into a fist, and open it again despite the stinging pain. She had to know and it was a relief to have complete mobility.    
  
"Help?" Jemma felt pitiful asking, but she also knew there was no world in which Skye would judge her, especially for this.

“Of course,” Fuck no, Skye wasn’t about to judge her for any of it. She was near tears, in fact, at just the fact that Jemma was lifting her own head, moving to reach for anything at all and flexing her hand. She nodded quickly and held the bottle up, as she intended to the whole time anyway, to help Jemma drink from it. She leaned over to kiss her temple as she did. The arm she had around Jemma’s shoulders squeezed her, as gently as she could. “I’ve missed you,” Words did no justice to Skye’s true emotions on this matter. She still felt lost, terrified and at a loss for everything she should be doing. At least now Jemma might be awake long enough to tell her what she’d done wrong or what she needed her to do, hopefully. 

Happy tears managed to escape Jemma's eyes and she had to wait for satisfaction from drinking enough before she could pull back and swipe at them with her right hand. When Skye said it, Jemma's eyes widened and she looked to the mouth of the cave. It looked to be daytime, but Jemma had no idea how long she'd been out. By the tired look Skye had to her, it had been a while.   
  
"How long?" She asked, brows furrowed. How long had she been asleep when Skye was this miserable, and still suffering from wounds of her own? How long had Jemma been asleep when someone else, if anyone, was taking care of Skye? How long had she made Skye miss her?

Skye was more than a little relieved at how much Jemma drank. She was just about to offer her more, even though the bottle only had a bit more in it. They had more and she knew any of the others would bring them more than what they had if they needed. Skye brought her hand up from around Jemma’s shoulders and combed her fingers through her hair. “It’s been a bit over a day and a half,” She said. “I thought you might not…” Skye stopped, shook her head and swallowed the idea of it. They weren’t really in the clear here, were they? She didn’t want to tempt it. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have acted...you shouldn’t have been alone and...I love you,” Skye couldn’t quite get all the things she wanted out in properly comprised thoughts. 

Skye set the bottle aside with its cap and reached for the food pack Bobbi had left with her after making her eat dinner. “We should get some more food in you before you need to sleep again,” She set the pack in her lap and unzipped it to get a look inside. It was packed with dried fruit, smoked catfish, cooked crabmeat, more of the tubers and the onion-like vegetable, and a bag of the airline peanuts. “I hope you’re hungry,” she looked over at Jemma again, trying to fight off the tears welling in her eyes and the fear she knew she couldn’t hide. Skye hadn’t given her own wounds any thought outside of what others had made her pay attention too after she’d cleaned herself off. 

"Hey," Jemma reached out with her burned hand and rested it across Skye's cheek. She brushed her thumb over her cheekbone and leaned over, with great effort, to softly kiss her. "It was my poor judgement that got us into this mess. Don't hold any guilt over it." Jemma pleaded. She knew Skye tended to burden herself and it made Jemma's heart ache for her and the past that caused her to be that way. She wanted everything to be right, especially for Skye.    
  
"I'm okay." Jemma promised. She couldn't guarantee that for certain, but if she was alive right now there was a good chance she'd be alive tomorrow. "You're okay." Jemma added, at least she hoped. "We're okay." She finished and brushed Skye's eyes to clear away tears.

Skye fell silent when Jemma touched her face.  She leaned into the touch,  unable to stop herself even though she knew she shouldn't since it was her burnt hand.  She she returned the kiss and forced herself not to add more kisses of her own in light of Jemma's condition. Dropping her eyes, Skye shook her head. "I thought..." her voice cracked and she had to stop a moment.  "I thought you were," Skye couldn't even make herself say it. Even just thinking about it was too much.  It made her hands shake, so she steadied then on the food pack. "You almost were, even after you were back home, " She closed her eyes as she thought about all the blood coming from Jemma's wrist and the vast field of back wounds from who even knew what. Closing her eyes caused a couple tears to spring free. They slid down her cheeks and Skye quickly sniffled and shook her head again quickly. "You should eat, " she let herself shift gears back into care mode. It was safer there, distracting from her own brain.

Jemma's face softened as Skye spoke. She knew exactly what Skye meant. Even in her firm belief that Skye was alive, there had been a tiny drop of doubt, and even that was too painful for Jemma to bear, so she couldn't imagine what Skye had felt. It had to have been awful and Jemma was sorry she'd put her through that again when she knew about the Brody's. "I'm sorry." Jemma ignored the food. Her primary focus was on Skye right now. She hadn't even been able to take care of her wounds like she'd wanted to, so this was the least she could do.    
  
"I knew you would make it. It kept me going, knowing that we'd find each other again." Jemma told her. This moment, right here, had been what kept her going through the spider attack. She hadn't given up on what the universe gave her with Skye, even if it was making it as difficult as possible. 

Skye couldn't get past the lump in her throat at the moment. She shifted and leaned her forehead against Jemma's. She wanted to focus on getting food into Jemma because it meant she didn't have to let herself feel everything all at once. Her mental/emotional state of mind, as far as Skye was concerned, was secondary. It was less than secondary, even, in Skye's opinion. Her hand settled gently on Jemma's cheek and she kept her eyes trained below Jemma’s, away from letting Jemma's gaze catch her. she swallowed hard against the grown lump in her throat and tried to keep her voice steady between her shaky breaths.    
  
"I've never had a..." Skye frowned and hesitated, blinked her vision clear and tried to rearrange the words in her head. "I've survived for reasons that didn't always make sense, before. Because I was scared of not surviving even though surviving then meant more of what I already knew." She hesitated, steadied herself. "Because I didn't want to lose. Out of pure and complete spite...but I've never..." Skye paused and, maybe with a bit of reluctance and shame for her inability to get the right words and explanation out, let her still watery eyes meet Jemma’s. "I've never had another person as a reason to...and you...and I thought you were...and there was nothing I could...I can't...I don't want to without you," Skye dropped her eyes again and shook her head, as if apologizing for her own inability to convey the information she was trying to give Jemma. It sounded melodramatic, that she could feel this connected and bound to anyone given her past, let alone after such a short amount of time, but the fact remained that it was true. Skye would have gone back out into the jungle if it hadn't been for the fact that Jemma was actually in camp, and she would have stopped only when she found whatever was left of Jemma. And she would have let it end then and there without protest.   


"I love you too." Jemma squeezed Skye's hand and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of her mouth. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise." Jemma assured her. The moment was quiet and serious until Jemma's stomach suddenly growled, interrupting their meaningful moment. She giggled and leaned back into the bed. "I suppose I should eat, hm?" She joked.

Skye closed her eyes as Jemma kissed her, still trying to steady herself and make the most important thing in her brain right now the fact that Jemma was alive rather than the awful things that had befallen them. She sniffled quickly and exhaled a short snort of nervous laughter. She leaned back against the bed and over her arm around Jemma's  shoulders. "Yeah, you should. Trip's left you a ton of goodies," she held the open food pack up for Jemma. "I think I can convince Fitz to grab one of those giant leaves to fan you while I attempt to feed you, y'know... create the whole illusion of...grand...Island spoiling," she knew her joke fell far flat, and not just because she couldn't come up with the word that fit it, but because she was still recovering from the reeling roller coaster of emotions.

"That's not necessary." Jemma chuckled. She coughed once more and it felt like her chest was starting to clear up, so that was a good sign. She closed her eyes, but just for one exhale so she could ground herself and get the world to stop tilting around her. Skye was right about needing to get some food in her stomach so Jemma tried to stay awake for just a bit longer. "I think I can eat on my own." She said. She would feel strange with everyone doting on her, so she hoped she could at least do this. She had a few good fingers on her right hand to grab small pieces of food. She managed a decent number of bites before her mildly upset stomach told her it was time to stop before she threw up.    
  
"I don't know what that plant was that I ate, but I regret it." Jemma groaned and rested a hand on her stomach. The epipen had helped with the swelling, but she had no idea what other effects the plant had and she hoped they were mild and went away soon. "There were massive baboons, by the way. Fitz would have loved them." Jemma grinned remembering it. "It was interesting, even if the male did throw me around like a sack of flour."

Skye frowned and combed her fingers through Jemma’s hair. She leaned over and kissed the side of her head. "Found time for a haircut through all of that, too," she said. There was still a veil of fear in her eyes, even as she tried to let the corners of her mouth tip upward a bit. "Have I not been telling you for weeks now that you're amazing?" she asked. Skye had no doubt Jemma was amazing and a highly capable human before this incident. She hadn't wanted to chance the risk of losing Jemma by bringing her unnecessarily through the jungle, not because she didn't think Jemma was capable of it but because she was too afraid of losing Jemma in the process.

Jemma was about to open her mouth and deny it, but she realized that not everyone would risk their life to save an enemy and then survive attacks by dinosaurs while lost on the way home. It was quite extraordinary really. It made her wish she could tell her father the whole story. He would probably be both proud and horrified. She started to tear up when she thought about him though. She'd never really had time to miss him, to wonder if she'd ever see him again, and to wonder if they had been told she was dead. How were they, what were they thinking? Jemma was suddenly burdened with heavy questions that had heavy, sad answers and she didn't stop the tears.   
  
"You think I could have a few of those?" Jemma nodded toward the pill bottle. Maybe they would be better for more than physical pain. An escape would be nice. She would dream that she and Skye were in Hawaii on vacation instead of god knows where fighting to survive.

Skye finished off one of the bottles of coconut water and ate a few small bites from what was left of the pack. She set it aside when she was done and caught site of the look in Jemma’s eyes. She was about to ask about it when Jemma asked about the pills. She picked up the bottle with her free hand, gave Jemma’s shoulders a gentle squeeze before she pulled her arm free. She popped off the cap and dumped the pills into her palm. One by one she dumped them from the end of her curled hand, quietly counting as each one fell into the bottle. She capped the bottle again and looked over at Jemma. “It says to take one,” She shook the bottle. “There are twenty-three in here.” 

Skye hesitated a moment and looked at the name on the bottle. “I know it’s a painkiller and it doesn’t have a blood thinner with it, but,” she looked over at Jemma. “What will they do to you when you take it, besides dull the pain?” Too many would make her breathing slow down. Skye knew that much from seeing bad shit happen to friends in the past. She was a little worried about Jemma’s want to take a few and her eagerness to take medicine for herself when she had spent their whole time on this island insisting that everything be saved and shared among everyone else but herself. 

"I could get quite sleepy again." Jemma said it apologetically. She could tell it worried Skye, but she couldn't say she wasn't looking forward to dipping out of reality for a bit again. It was a break, if nothing else, and time for her body to heal. It would be difficult to resist going to sleep when she was already so tired, she was just sorry Skye would worry, and Jemma knew she would.  
  
"I'll be fine." Jemma gave Skye's hand another squeeze and tried to smile to show her it was alright.  
  
Skye knew that Jemma had to take the medication. She’d been planning on what she was going to say to convince Jemma to take it once she did actually wake up and was able to eat and drink in fact. It didn’t stop the selfish want to have Jemma awake after all that time and it didn’t quell any of the concern she still felt for Jemma’s condition. It would be cruel to withhold the medication from Jemma, even if they wouldn’t have them if it hadn’t been for Victoria hoarding them this whole time.  
  
Worrying the corner of her bottom lip with her teeth, Skye opened the bottle and pulled one of the tablets from it before snapping the cap back into place. She set them aside in a safe spot in a pocket of her suitcase and grabbed one of the bottles of coconut water. She held her hand out with the pill for Jemma and held the bottle up so she’d be able to drink from it. “There are things I have to tell you,” she said. “So…don’t get any crazy ideas about not waking up again,” She meant for it to sound like a joke but it failed miserably because she couldn’t completely swallow her fear.   


"I'll be sure to be bright eyed and bushy tailed in a few hours." Jemma smiled softly through her own doubt and sadness. She had Skye to wake up to, so she wouldn't be giving up just yet. She took the pill and swallowed it down with some of the coconut water before she laid back and rested her hand on top of Skye's. "Just... don't leave, okay?" Jemma's voice was small and weak. "I mean you can go to the bathroom and everything... but I'd like to wake up to your voice if you wouldn't mind." Jemma said shyly.

"Not a chance," Skye gave her a reassuring smile, took a quick drink from the bottle before she set it aside and settled back next to Jemma again. She squeezed Jemma's hand lightly and then wound her arm around her and kissed the  side of her head as she reached for the book. "I can make that happen," she assured as she held the book up. "Should I start over at the beginning again?" she asked, referring to the hours of reading she'd already done, though she doubted Jemma had been at all conscious of the sound of her reading while she'd been out. There had been nothing else to do but wait, though, so Skye had read the book aloud. She wasn't going to leave Jemma's side at all if she could help it.

"You read to me?" Jemma's voice was higher pitched than she meant it to be. She was touched and she didn't mean to, but she was emotional and more tears were forming. "Just keep going, I know the whole story. You should finish it." She smiled and brushed them away, settling back into Skye's side even if it made her ribs hurt. “Do you like it so far?”

Skye hadn't expected the tears at the revelation, but she, gently, gave Jemma's shoulders a reassuring squeeze. When Jemma settled at her side, Skye ignored the twitch of pain in her side against her cauterized wound and instead dropped a few kisses to the top of Jemma's head. "You read to me, too," she pointed out. It was only fair. She smiled to herself And nodded after leaning her head down against the top of Jemma's. "It's pretty epic," she conceded. "But I think we might have it beat as far as epic adventures go. We'll need a writer to compile our story when we get home," she joked. After a moment, as she flipped to her makeshift bookmark, made up of a section of leaf. "Are you comfortable?" she asked. "As much as you can be, I mean?"

"Mhm." Jemma mumbled. Her eyes were already closed. This was the closest thing to bliss she could imagine besides getting off the island. Even with her injuries, it wasn't so bad when Skye was cuddled up next to her and reading her favorite book. It was strange to hear all the familiar words read aloud as she knew them, but they sounded brand new by Skye's voice with her foreign (at least to her) accent. She was determined to enjoy recovering, and Skye didn't make it very difficult.

Skye focused on the words on the pages.  She affected slightly different voices for different character dialogue. Between pages,  she kissed the top of Jemma's head and murmured a quiet, "I love you," to her before she started reading again. She took her time and kept reading,  occasionally stopping just to listen to Jemma's breathing,  or if she sputtered and coughed in her sleep.    
  
Skye did have to leave at one point in order to go to the bathroom,  but she left Fitz with Jemma then and was soon enough back in bed with Jemma in their angled sleeping position and Skye picked up where she left off reading.  She managed to check her watch less, but was acutely aware of the sound of everyone of Jemma's breaths,  snores and occasional hums.

\------

Unlike each time before it, Jemma woke up with a start. She was in a cold sweat and her eyes flashed open as she lurched forward, wheezing and holding her partially closed fist at her chest. "S-spiders." She gasped, eyes still wide and brow damp with sweat. Her pupils were dilated and she hadn't yet caught sight of Skye behind her. 

“Knife, where’s my knife?” Jemma’s hands were feeling around the bedding, searching for any sort of weapon. She still seemed asleep and her panic only rose when she couldn’t find anything she’d be able to use to defend herself. 

Skye had been around the last quarter of the book when she'd started nodding off and had bookmarked her spot, set the book in her lap and brought her head to rest on top of Jemma's, allowed herself to take a nap. She would easily wake up if Jemma did, she figured, since they were tucked all together and it wasn't like Skye was a very deep sleeper at the moment. Her body needed it, though as she'd only had a couple of hours of sleep over the last two and a half days.    
  
So when Jemma suddenly jolted next to her, Skye stirred and inhaled a sharp breath. She rubbed at her eyes and arched her back and then she fully woke when she realized Jemma gasped. Her eyes shot open wide and she moved to sit up, only realizing Jemma wasn't quite awake as she started asking for her knife.    
  
"Jem," Skye spoke softly at first but as Jemma's panic grew, Skye reached for her shoulder. "Jemma, hey, it's okay, it's-" Skye's hands came up to frame Jemma's face and turned her face to look at her. "Jem, it's okay. you're safe. You're safe." She repeated, trying to remain calm for Jemma's sake to reassure her.

"We're never safe!" Jemma said in a rush. It took another moment for her wild eyes to finally seem to turn back into her own. Her heavy, gasping breaths slowed to long inhales and exhales and she closed her eyes to focus on Skye's touch. Her panic started to dissipate, but what she said still stood. There was no part of this that was safe, it was all still an illusion. Either of them could die at any moment and that had been the fear Jemma woke up to.   
  
"I'm sorry." Jemma's calm state broke once again as a sob shook her body and pained her chest. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks and she clasped her good fingers around her injured wrist, as if the pressure against her wound could somehow calm her or bring her down.

Jemma’s outburst startled Skye and she blinked, temporarily thrown from her attempts to rouse and calm Jemma down. Skye knew this island wasn't safe. She knew the only way they would truly be safe would be if they got off this rotten piece of Earth and made it home, though she wasn't sure how they could do that. She needed to talk with Fitz and check up on his attempts to connect the electronics with any satellite communication signals. Obviously he hadn't been successful with that or they all would have known but, she still needed to check in. Right now, though, she needed to focus on Jemma.    
  
Skye's thumbs swiped at Jemma's cheeks. "I know," she pulled Jemma in to hug her but was careful to restrict herself to a light touch. Rather than stroking along her back, she ran her hand over Jemma's hair and the back of her head and up and down her arm and side. "In any other circumstance, I would tell you to cry as much as you need to, Jem," she spoke slowly and softly, forcing her own anxiety down into the deepest pits of her gut. "But it's going to hurt you worse in the long run...I'm sorry. There are no spiders here with us. I'm here with you and I promise, for right now, tonight, tomorrow, tomorrow night, in this cave, I will not let anything else happen to you." Skye felt like she could suffocate under the constricting painful weight of guilt she felt about letting them get separated. If she hadn't been so insistent that the plan was a bad plan, she could have thought clearer, she could have made contingency plans, anything that could have avoided this outcome. she had already promised Jemma not to let anything happen to her and she had so clearly failed in that promise - not for lack of trying, of course, but even so.

Jemma sniffled and laid back down in the propped up bed so the pain in her chest would go away or at least subside a bit. She scooted closer to Skye and winced for it, but she wasn't about to move back. She took three deep breaths to calm herself down before she spoke again. "You mean I'm going to be stuck bedridden?" Jemma asked. She said it lightheartedly and jokingly, but she was also disappointed. The cave was dark and gloomy for its safety and Jemma hated that she wouldn't be able to see the sunlight and all the life (at least the part that didn't eat her) of the landscape.

This time, Skye smiled. “Payback,” she nodded once and then cleared her throat as she settled back next to her. “And by that I mean...your butt is staying in this bed until you’re better,” She was only partially joking. Skye was sympathetic to just how stir crazy being forced to stay in bed could make people of action like them go beyond stir crazy when there was so much to do on a survival level every day. She leaned over and kissed the corner of Jemma’s mouth to avoid interrupting her breathing. Afterward, she pressed their foreheads together and brought her hand to rest along Jemma’s cheek again. “Once you’re up to it, I  _ may _ be able to be persuaded into convincing Mack or Trip, even Will, to carry you out to the pond to lay out during the day... _ maybe _ ,” she threw in the ‘maybe’s just to try and tease a bit, to ease into the lighthearted joking even while there was so much on her own mind. 

"It's always I being carried isn't it?" Jemma gave a small smile and wiped away the last of her own tears. She knew Skye wouldn't fall for her lies when she said she felt better after a day or two. She was going to be stuck until her ribs were better. It was for her own good, she knew, but that didn't mean she had to like it, so she prepared herself with the jokes. "You should have seen that baboon, it could have carried Will and Trip together." Jemma chuckled. "The infant was the size of a human toddler." She added. "Everything about this place is oversized."

"It's only because we love you," Skye combed her fingers through Jemma's hair and wound her arm around her to bring her closer. Picturing the size of animal Jemma described while simultaneously imagining Jemma being thrown around like a rag doll made Skye shudder. "I can't decide if baby giant baboons are better or worse than baby giant snakes," she scrunched her nose and kissed the side of Jemma's head again. "Have I mentioned, by the way,  that I love you? "

"Possibly a few times." Jemma giggled. “I love you too.” It was a real laugh, however small, and it made her feel infinitely better to know Skye was still here to make her feel this way. She didn't let Skye get too close, however, because now that she was awake and in a better mood, there were things to be done. Less pleasant things.   
  
"It's been over 48 hours." Jemma noted. She pulled back from Skye and absentmindedly grabbed for her wrist, the sharp sting of it a firm reminder. "We need to redress our wounds." Jemma pointed out. "An infection could kill just as easily as a terror bird."

Skye frowned. Cleaning and redressing the wounds was a necessity,  but that didn't mean it was enjoyable at all. "I changed your wrist, hand and ankles ones a couple different times while you were sleeping,  but I couldn't really get to the ones on your back, " She said. The logistics of doing this in the cave at night without disturbing anyone were going to be complicated. Still. Skye reluctantly over to set the book aside on the suitcase. she crawled out from under the blanket and grabbed her LED flashlight. Pulling the end to extend it and open it to prop it as lantern use, she clicked it on and cringed as her eyes tried to adjust to the suddenly light.  After rubbing her eyes, she gathered the first aid kit as she heard Fitz groan nearby at the sleep interruption. He mumbled an unintelligible question and Skye assumed it was to all if Jemma was alright so she told him it was fine and to go back to sleep.    
  
Skye sat back and adjusted the light then looked at Jemma. "So...we'll start with your back, I guess?" It was hard to hide her anxiety about Jemma's back wounds, but she tried her best to prepare herself to take care of all the gashes,  cuts and scratches along Jemma's back without getting lost in her own thoughts about her back scars.

"How bad is it?" Jemma cringed and shuffled to get an idea of how much pain her back was in. It wasn't as bad compared to her wrist and her ribs, but when she thought about it the stinging came to the forefront of her mind and she winced. "I don't think I can roll over on my own." Jemma admitted.    
  
"Do you guys-" Jemma heard Bobbi yawn. "Need help?" Bobbi crawled over, rubbing sleep from her eyes. She got on her knees on Jemma's opposite side from Skye.

"It's..." Skye hesitated. "There's just a lot of them," she squeezed Jemma's shoulder gently to reassure her. Bobbi joined them and Skye felt the sudden urge to hug her. She'd been feeling this urge for everyone that came to check on them throughout the days, everyone who foisted food upon her and stayed until she ate at least some of it, for everyone trying to find things to bring them from the surrounding plant life to help. She resisted the urge and nodded. "Yeah, actually," she said. Normally Skye probably would have insisted that she could handle it, like how she had told Fitz to go back to sleep. She knew her own wounds wound hinder her ability to roll Jemma over without hurting herself. "We need to clean and redress the wounds on her back, can you help us roll her over?" She set the kit next to her and moved to her knees so they could both work together to get Jemma at least over onto her side so she could work with the patches of wounds one at a time.

"We should keep her on her side, don't want to put too much weight on her ribs." Bobbi suggested. She had one hand on Jemma's hip opposite her and the other on her shoulder, ready to pull when Skye was ready to push. Jemma nodded in agreement and closed her eyes to brace herself.    
  
"On three. One, two, three." Bobbi pulled back and tried to ignore Jemma's groan as they rolled her onto her side and all of her weight shifted from one injury to another. Her face was contorted with sympathy, but they got her all the way onto her side. Jemma was breathing heavily, but Bobbi knew it was because of the pain so she gave her hand a little squeeze.

Skye was glad Jemma couldn't see the way her face contorted every time she let out a groan. She worked Jemma's shirt up, easing her loose top arm out of the sleeve so she could uncover all of the spots on Jemma's back she needed to reach and Bobbi held the front of the shirt to keep Jemma covered there. Slye shifted the lantern to get a better view and began to peel of the bandaging one section at a time. She examined every cut, not matter how small, cleaned everything thoroughly, working as delicately as she could while still being effective. Her face was contorted in pain the entire time and she struggled to stop various memories from flashing through her mind’s eye, both from her own past and how she received her own scars, to the various moments along their trek where they'd come across Jemma's "J" notches and bloody markers. She fought to keep her trembling hands still. It took longer in the lamp light than she would have liked, and she stopped every so often so Skye could ask Jemma if she needed breaks to slow her breathing down.    
  
"Almost done," Skye finally assured, speaking quietly to avoid having her voice crack as she finished bandaging up the last patchwork section of the wounds, taping the extra cushioned makeshift bandages into place. "Okay," she said when she was done. "We'll get your shirt back on proper and then we'll settle you on your back again to clean up your other ones, okay?" she asked, waiting to even touch the shirt until Jemma gave her the go ahead.

Jemma just nodded quickly and quietly. She had her bottom lip between her teeth and her eyes were closed, muscles tight. It had stung the whole time and she was glad she couldn't remember the initial treatment of them. She only hoped she didn't have any bone fragments stuck under her skin that nobody had seen. "It was the spiders." Jemma couldn't stop crying, no matter how ashamed of it she was.    
  
Bobbi leaned over Jemma and brushed away the tears since she was on her side and looked up to Skye with concern, both because of Jemma's emotional pain and to see how Skye reacted. They all knew about the scares and Bobbi had seen how she reacted the first time. Now it had the added horror of reminding them of Alisha and Bobbi was struggling to keep her own dinner down.    
  
"There was just one at first, it got my foot and dragged me. It was awful, Skye." Jemma sobbed. The floodgates had opened and she couldn't stop. "There were bones everywhere and my back- and then the second one got my wrist and I thought I was going to die." She cried.

Skye's facial muscles contorted as the sting of sour bile burnt her esophagus as it licked it's way like flames of acid to the back of her throat. She forced herself to be careful in getting Jemma's shirt back on her rather than rushing it. Every sob, every word, each harsh inhale caused another sledgehammer to collide with her heart. Skye wasn't sure she would last through much more without the muscle giving out. She blinked away the tears welled in her eyes and gave Bobbi a nod and motioned for them to roll Jemma onto her back once again, barely able to hold back from reaching to pull Jemma to her just as she lay of only because she knew it would cause Jemma more pain.    
  
Skye had to make herself wait until they had Jemma rolled over before she could hug her, making sure to stroke her hand over her hair and along her side of part of her arm only and not her back at all. She wiped at Jemma’s tears and kissed her cheek. "But you didn't," she didn't care about her voice cracking now. "You didn't die. You're alive, because you're the most goddamn amazing badass there is," She said between repeated apologies for having lost Jemma in the first place and repeatedly reminding Jemma that she loved her. She felt lost on how to fix all of this, how to calm and reassure Jemma, to ease her pain, to just comfort her in some way that had any real lading effect, but there was nothing, or at least Skye had nothing to offer other that what she was already doing. It wasn't enough and Skye hated herself for the fact that it wasn't enough, that she wasn't enough to fix it. Just the same as she wasn't enough to save Alisha from the spiders either.

Jemma sniffled and wiped at her face. She gave Bobbi a quiet thanks before she snuck back off to go to sleep and give them privacy. Once it was just the two of them again, Jemma rested her head on Skye's shoulder and tried to calm herself down with humor.   
  
"So are you admitting I can handle myself in the jungle?" Jemma asked, going back to their first argument when she had gone alone and caught buzz.

Skye's muscles didn't completely relax, remained just a tiny bit tense,  on edge,  unable to settle them. Normally,  she would have allowed herself to give in and laugh at the joke,  return the humor,  attempt to bring them away from the dark thoughts.  Now, she could only see that vision of the spiders tearing Alisha apart, only in the flashes of memory film reel, it was instead Jemma they tore apart, not Alisha. Her voice caught in her throat when she did try to speak and she stifled the strangled sound it made by turning her head down and missing the top of her head.  Her grip around Jemma tightened reflexively at the comment, at the replay of the unwanted vision that she couldn't bleach from her thoughts,  at the fear of how close she'd come,  again,  to losing Jemma. Her heart refused to calm much in the way her muscles wouldn't completely settle from their slight tensing. The lump lodged in her throat felt let an expanding balloon and Skye was afraid that if she tried to speak again,  it might burst and the sobs she fought she viciously to conceal might busy forth,  floodgates she would never be able to again close.  A tremble shook through her on an exhale she tried to regulate.  Much like her guilt issues for all the people she felt responsible for,  Skye felt great disappointment and shame at her inability to control herself, to be strong when she knew Jemma needed it, when they both needed it.

"Just sleep, you must be exhausted." Jemma managed to reach up with her burned hand and combed a few fingers through Skye's hair, brushing a few strands to tuck them behind her ear. She knew Skye must have spent all of her time reading and taking care of her if she judged based on those dark circles around her eyes. She felt guilty for being the cause, but she knew Skye was doting and wouldn't stop. “I’m okay, go to sleep.”

Skye shook her head,  an involuntary action that came before she'd even priced the idea of trying to close her eyes for actual rest as opposed to just succumbing to it. It was only a matter of time before the nightmares caught up to her and Skye didn't want that happening now. When she finally managed to speak,  the words that came out weren't the ones she meant to force out. "I lied to you." A simple set of four words and now that she said them,  she was going to have to tell Jemma about a part of her life she had never honestly told anyone else before.  She was going to have to hope that Jemma understood why she lied and that it wasn't going to be something that drove a permanent we've between them. Either way,  Skye had to lay it bare, no matter the outcome.  She would confess and Jemma could do with the information whatever she seemed fitting and that would simply be that.

"What?" The word popped out of Jemma's mouth just as concerned as the frown that appeared on her face. Her immediate fear was that Skye was suddenly taking back their promise of love, but she corrected herself a moment later. She had no doubt Skye loved her and no doubt she loved her back, but that didn't mean the fear wasn’t there when Jemma knew she kept making stupid mistakes and it had to be difficult to love someone that kept almost dying. It was just hard to think there was anything else Skye could have lied about on the island. Which meant it hadn't been on the island.   
  
Jemma knew there were some strange things about Skye. She was a computer genius, but it didn't explain why Skye carried around a paracord bracelet and a professional sized first aid kit (and somehow had skills in hand to hand combat). There was something else going on, but Jemma hadn't bothered to ask since Skye hadn't been inclined to explain and the past was the past. Suddenly, Jemma was very concerned about why Skye had had the gun. She said she'd found it on the air marshal.   
  
"Are you an air marshal?" Jemma blurted, but it was a whisper so as not to wake anyone else up. That was the only thing that could make sense.

Skye blinked.  She'd existed the initial reaction to her comment,  but not that question.  "No," she shook her head, her time hushed,  though she didn't needed to glance around to know the others were asleep. She didn't care.  What did it matter?  "Coulson was the air marshal." She frowned and shifted, loosened her grip on Jemma so she'd be able to move away if she decided she wanted to. "It wasn't his gun. It was mine.  I knew it was in my suitcase, which is why I had to swim out to get it that morning." she took a slow breath.    
  
"I do work for the government. My work involves computers, I was in the country on business and I did once hack into the CDC systems to find vulnerabilities they didn't know about, as a side project for a friend of my superiors, " she hesitated a moment and looked everywhere but directly at Jemma. "The name of my agency I gave you was fake,  so was the info on my business card,  except for the number and email." How was she even supposed to explain this? 

"I'm confused." Jemma mumbled. She grabbed onto Skye's hoodie and held it tightly, not letting her pull away like she was apt to. "Who do you work for? What do you do?" She asked. What did all of this mean? Did it have anything to do with the crash? Planes don't just spontaneously explode over prehistoric islands. Jemma's mind had taken the possibility and run with it. She was afraid because of how prepared Skye seemed to be and that look on her face scared Jemma more than she'd like to admit.

Skye hesitated, stiffening when Jemma stopped her from retreating. She inhaled a slow breath and tried to explain herself. "I work for one of those agencies, the kind with a three letter initials designed to scare the crap out of people. Only ours is on the black budget. We exist only in conspiracy theories or bad action movies and they never get it right. We're setup to monitor the equivalent of the 'deep web,' the stuff everyday web browsing people don't see; terror plots, engineered coups, hack attacks from one country taking down another's vital systems down. They develop ways to take systems down, I develop ways to prevent them or, if necessary to stop than or repair the damage they've done."    
  
Skye's brow furrowed and she dropped her gaze to her hands which were now down in her lap fidgeting anxiously. "I spent months tracking a hacker down that tipped us off to a massive ongoing plot...it doesn't matter the details. The long and short of it, is that we needed to get him into custody and hide him. We finally caught up in Balikpapan. Miles...the guy who was hitting on Alisha in the terminal? He was a row ahead of you across the aisle. We were still being tracked, we had to arrive separately, couldn't appear to know each other." Skye shook her head and sighed, roughed her fingers through her hair. "We were to land at LAX and rush him into protective custody." Not that it mattered now. Miles died in the crash. She wasn't sure if she should tell Jemma about her suspicions of Ward and Garrett. It was already a lot to take in. She already knew how bad all of it sounded, now that she was trying to explain it out loud.

"I thought there was nothing else that could surprise me after crash landing on an island full of living dinosaurs," Jemma inhaled. "Really, Skye, you've outdone yourself." She joked, but her voice was slightly shaky and her weak grip faltered for a moment. "I'm not upset with you." Jemma assured her. She didn't care that Skye lied to her. It was reasonable considering her job and she didn't blame her for that. What did scare her was the fact that Miles was a target and he ended up dead. Had someone caused this from off of the plane? If it had been on the plane, had the terrorist died in the crash or was he still alive? Just the fact that Jemma assumed it was a he already told her she had her own suspicions.    
  
"Do you think Garrett and his group...?" Jemma started. Did she just risk her life to save a terrorist, the person that crashed the plane and practically killed Coulson, Alisha, Lincoln, Izzy, and everyone else? That was a whole new level of terrifying.

Skye hung her head further, shrunk a bit in renewed shame. She hadn't picked this life for herself and if she thought she could have changed it, she might have, before the crash. But, now there was Jemma and without the life she'd been forced into by the ultimatum they'd given her, she wouldn't have met Jemma. Then again...it was entirely possible that the plane would have landed safely in Los Angeles had she and Miles not been on it. Mace, Izzy, JT, Alisha, Coulson, Lincoln, Kebo - none of them would have died. They'd be home with their families, friends and significant others. They wouldn't have to suffer through these terrible trials.    
  
And then Jemma absolved her, just like that, like an afterthought of no big deal. Jma had almost died - Jemma had died once already - simply because she was on the same plane as Skye and Miles. She had almost died multiple times since then. And all she thought was that Skye assumed she would be upset about the lying. Skye couldn't speak around what felt like her pounding heart jammed ramrod into her vocal chords.    
  
Skye’s frown was etched deeply into her face, drawing everything downward, creasing her forehead, contorting her eyebrows into tense, twisted lines. She only barely let her darkened eyes meet Jemma’s, fearing whatever revelations Jemma might find in them. "I think we're here because I boarded that plane with Miles," she choked on the confession and immediately dropped her face again. She shifted. She wanted to flee. She didn't want to know what Jemma thought of that information. She felt responsible. Every death, every injury, every fear, the very high likelihood that they would all eventually die here...it was all possibly happening because Skye needed to transport Miles on that plane.

"That doesn't make it your fault." Jemma was still absorbing the information herself while she tried to reassure Skye. She may have been involved in more than she had let on and the plane might have been sabotaged because of it, but Skye hadn't done it. She was trying to prevent terrorism, she wasn't the cause.    
  
"Hey, listen to me." Jemma rested her hand over Skye's cheek. "I know you can't believe what I'm saying, but know that I do. I fully, truly believe that this was not your fault and I hold nothing against you." Jemma promised her. "Except maybe myself. Against your wound. Which needs to be taken care of." Jemma moved into doctor mode and poked at Skye's shoulder to tell her to scoot away so she could take care of her injury.

Now that space was being offered to her, it made Skye's skin feel like it was crawling. She quickly shook her head. "No, it's fine. I'm fine," she inhaled a deep breath. "We never finished yours. They were worse than mine, they go first," she tried her best to sound like her usual confident self. Part of her was afraid of what Jemma's reaction might be to the wound when she saw it this time, now that she was more lucid. Part of her preferred to have the discomfort from the wound, both because it helped her stay awake all this time and also because she did feel responsible for so many of the things that led them here. Part of her also knew Jemma would be upset that her bandages, particularly the one on her side, hadn't been changed.

"None of that now." Jemma's lips were pursed in a thin line and her playfulness had turned into sternness. She wasn't upset because Skye lied about her profession, but she would be upset if she didn't let her treat her wounds. "We should be past this. I'm redressing the worst of them and that's that." Jemma nodded and paid no attention to any potential protests Skye could come up with.    
  
"Come on, up with your shirt." Jemma gestured with her hand. "And don't you say it." Jemma tried to ease any tension by playing the inside joke card. She didn't remember much from when she got back, but she remembered her dismay when she saw Skye. The puncture wounds were small and could probably heal on their own, but it was that burn on her side and the laceration on her face that needed some extra attention.

Skye couldn’t quite make it back just yet. She tried to smile at the joke and, under other circumstances, she would have probably made the joke before Jemma could call her on it. As it was, Skye couldn’t make the severely tiny smile reach her eyes. She worried her bottom lip with her teeth and reluctantly reached for the hem of her shirt. She pulled it up and held it about halfway up her torso, just under her chest. “You’re the one who should be recuperating,” She reminded Jemma weakly as she looked down at the bandage and realized that even in the lantern light, it was obviously she hadn’t changed the bandage. 

" _ Skye _ ," Jemma's tone was scolding, yet concerned the moment she saw the bandage. It was dirty, wrinkled, and obviously not fresh. "You need to take better care of yourself." She told her, fiddling with the edges of the tape. She was afraid to remove it, for Skye's sake. When the tape was off and the cloth was still stuck to Skye's side, Jemma knew they were going to have a problem. "You let it fester and stick to the bandage, this is going to hurt. A lot." Jemma's eyes were watering just thinking about what she was going to have to do.

Skye bit into her bottom lip more firmly as Jemma worked on the tape and it tugged on the bandage. She inhaled a long breath through her nose. “I had more important things to tend to,” she grimaced and shifted again. Taking a few long inhales and exhales in an attempt to prepare, Skye reached out and touched Jemma’s cheek when she saw her watery eyes. “It’s okay. Do what you have to,” She closed her eyes and ground her teeth tightly together. Yeah, it was going to hurt but...it was her own fault. So be it. 

"Just... try not to move too much. I'll be as quick as I can." Jemma offered her own hand for Skye to squeeze (not the burned one). She had enough dexterity with her thumb and pointer finger to pinch the makeshift bandage and start to tug it away from the wound. "I'm sorry, just hang in there." Jemma whispered. She couldn't just rip it off for fear of damaging Skye's skin more than it was, but pieces of it were already coming off and sticking to the bandage. Blisters popped and Jemma knew how much this hurt. She had to take a few deep breaths herself before she finally peeled the last of it off, exposing red, irritated skin.

Each time Jemma started to tug at a piece, Skye ground her teeth tighter and held her breath to avoid moving too much just by breathing. A number of groans of pan strangled in her throat as she tried to stop them, but she did not, however, squeeze Jemma's hand because she knew it was injured and she wasn't going to death grip it. Instead she clamped a death grip around the bunched up sweatshirt as she held it up. After each section was pulled, she exhaled long breaths and then did quick inhales and exhales in an attempt to catch her breath She couldn't quite stifle the last groan of pain when the last, worst, section was pulled free. Stray tears sprung from her eyes and she resisted the urge to clamp her hand down against it as if it would stem the throbbing pain. It was stupid, not changing those bandages, but what was done was done. Skye just had to deal with the pain and hope she hadn't caused it to get infected.

"You're very lucky." Jemma concluded after a moment of inspecting the wound. "It doesn't look infected.  _ This time _ ." She chided as she redressed the wound. Even if Skye was unwilling to squeeze back, Jemma still gently closed her fist around Skye's hand and ran her thumb over her knuckles. It was no mystery to her that Skye would put her first, so she had to put it in terms of herself if she really wanted to get through to her, and she did. She didn't know how she would deal if she lost Skye, especially because she was stubborn about something as simple as bandages.    
  
"Don't think you'll be getting away with this again now that I'm awake." Jemma was playful about it so she didn't make Skye feel guilty. "I know you want to keep me safe but I won't allow you to forget about yourself to do it and leave me here alone." This was Jemma's way of getting Skye to really listen to her, because she knew Skye didn't care enough about herself on her own. It was a good thing Jemma cared enough for the both of them.    
  
"Pass me the burn cream." Jemma held her hand out expectantly. She wasn't going to let Skye refuse.

Skye exhaled a long breath, both relieved that it wasn’t infected and that the bandage was completely off finally. She ducked her head again, thoroughly properly scolded and nodded. “Sorry,” she murmured. She really wanted to protest on the burn cream but she knew she couldn’t and she wasn’t exactly in any position to anyway. She leaned away from Jemma toward the first aid kit. Her hand trembled from the lingering pain before it wrapped around the tube and she brought it back, grinding her teeth again as the movement shifted her side. She held it out to Jemma. “You’re more important,” she said as she lifted her eyes, though not quite to meet Jemma’s. “I wasn’t thinking about it…” 

"I'm not more important." Jemma retorted. She was upset that Skye saw herself as so insignificant when she was the very opposite. It would be difficult to sway Skye's thinking, but Jemma had to try. She couldn't let Skye go on thinking she was worthless when it wasn't the case at all.   
  
"If you mean not important to this group, you're wrong. I may have medical knowledge, but without you none of us would have survived the first week, let alone as long as we have." Jemma pointed out. "And if you mean between us, you're even more wrong." Jemma rubbed her thumb over healthy skin as her forefinger applied the burn cream. "We're going to survive this together whether you like it or not. Deal with it." Jemma told her with firmness, but also a loving smile. She looked up at Skye's eyes for a moment before getting back to work. She finished up with the burn cream (she'd used a more generous amount than Skye would have allowed had she been watching) and began taping down a new, clean piece of cloth.

Skye kept quiet, mostly trying to distract herself from the still throbbing pain in her side as Jemma spread the cream over her side. "I mean to me," she said. She honestly wasn't trying to get herself killed, though her thoughts had gone very dark at times over the last few days. But her concern had been Jemma and so her mind hadn't been on it. It had been pretty automatic to reply that she was fine whenever anyone asked he, too, because Jemma was so much worse of than her. Realistically, or perhaps just logically, she knew she had particular worth to the group for survival because of her the combination of her skills (both the fighting ones and the general survival related ones) and her instincts. It wasn’t about the group though. She knew now, for sure, after the ordeal they’d just had (mounted on top of all the other ordeals they’d been dealing with for weeks upon weeks now) that she felt there was no point to even trying to survive without Jemma. So Jemma’s well being had superseded her own, in Skye’s mind, since it meant her own survival. Obviously this was a very flawed mindset, as it meant she failed to pay attention to her own medical needs.

"You have to take better care of yourself." Jemma mumbled as she finished up her work. She tugged Skye's hoodie back down for her and gently pulled her snugly against herself in the bed. She made sure the both of them seemed comfortable. Jemma tried to stay on her side where the pressure on her ribs wasn't as strong, and she made sure she could snuggle against Skye without pressing into her wound.    
  
"You know how you feel about me." Jemma started. "I feel the exact same way about you and don't you forget it. I love you and if anything happened to you because you were too focused on me..." Jemma trailed off. What would have happened had Skye gotten an infection while Jemma slept?

“I will,” Skye replied quietly as she shifted and settled when Jemma pulled her down to bed. For all the time she’d been awake, Skye hadn’t felt pain in the wound in her side as much as she did now, in the wake of peeling off the bandages and redressing it. She kissed Jemma’s forehead and adjusted the covers around them as she tried to ignore the pulsing pain. “I’m sorry,” All Jemma had been through and Skye went confession-happy and then caused Jemma even more worry on top of it. 


	18. Bloody Brilliant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warnings:** There's both sexual assault (threat of rape and unwanted groping) and also talk of sexual abuse in parts of this chapter. 
> 
> HOW ARE Y'ALL DOING OUT THERE?!?!   
> Sorry we had to take the mini-hiatus! Hopefully we won't need anymore in the future but enough about that! Thanks for reading! Thanks for the kudos, comments and love and thank you thank you thank you for all the extra <3 <3 comments during the minihiatus! You guys are awesome! <3 
> 
> Without further ado, hang onto your butts!   
> #WhereverWednesday

Skye woke up for a specific reason. She felt eyes upon her and she wanted to figure out who they belonged to. In the  bare minimum beginnings of blue light of the day,  Skye's eyes popped opened and she suddenly tensed,  her muscles immediately locking rigid. Standing next to Skye's back,  the animal was leaned over,  head cocked at an angle,  string at them. Skye kept her eyes on the animal’s and very slowly leaned to reach across Jemma, toward her weapon belt on the ground.  As if it knew she was racing for a weapon, the thing squeaked in warning and Skye scrambled to try and get her knife, unsure how the thing could have gotten inside to begin with.

"Wha-" Skye's leaning over her had forced Jemma from sleep as well, and she felt the frantic sense of urgency as Skye reached for a knife and suddenly screeches echoed in the cave. Jemma's head swung around and her eyes landed on her Troodon friend from before, in their camp, in their cave, hanging over their bed. Suddenly Skye was swinging her knife and Jemma caught her by the wrist. "No, stop!" She shouted.   
  
"What in ever loving hell is that thing?!" Bobbi's voice came next and soon her, Mack, Elena, and even Fitz were surrounding the thing with weapons. It was shrieking and trying to dart this way and that, but its path was blocked. Mack took a swing at it with the ax, despite Jemma's call, because it was clearly a predator in their midst. The dinosaur jumped back, swinging its tiny feathered arms wildly and showing off its razor sharp fangs as it hissed.   
  
"Stop, she's friendly!" Jemma planted a hand on the ground and managed to get up to her knees before she curled her arm around her chest and grimaced. "Trudy, easy." Jemma stuck a hand, palm out, toward the dinosaur and it quickly hurried over to her, but kept an eye on Skye as it pressed its nose to Jemma's palm, practically growling at the woman in bed with her.

Skye's eyes only snapped away from the animal when Jemma's hand caught her wrist, confusion in her eyes and etched around her face. "Wha-?" Skye's head snapped around as the others circled the animal. She registered Jemma’s cry and managed to reach out and catch Bobbi’s arm when she swung her own knife to keep it from hitting the animal solely at Jemma's words,despite her own misgivings about what looked very similar to a terror bird.    
  
"Jem, wait, dont-," Skye let go of Bobbi and pulled her arm around her back to support Jemma. Her breath caught in her throat when the animal rushed toward Jemma. She frowned. "Doesn't sound friendly to me..." Skye muttered, frowning at the bird and adjusting her grip on her knife, just in case. What the fuck?? - how had Jemma known this thing long enough to name it??? Skye didn't like the idea of its snout being that close to Jemma's skin.

"Put down your weapons, you're making her feel threatened." Jemma said slowly and quietly. Everyone did as they were told except Bobbi and Skye. Mack laid his ax on the ground and Fitz slowly lowered his hand to his bed and deposited the knife. Jemma gave Skye and Bobbi a harsh look. "She helped me. I would have been killed by baboons if not for her. Then she proceeded to show me the way back here, which leads me to think I have a stalker." Jemma actually chuckled. She chuckled with the slender nose and head of a carnivorous dinosaur at her fingertips.

Skye wondered for a moment if she was actually still asleep. She didn't actually release her weapon until Jemma spoke again, started explaining.  She set her knife down to her side, but kept her hand near her hip so it would be within easy reach if necessary.  She felt simultaneously grateful for the animal in light of Jemma's story and anxious by its surprise presence in their camp. It looked at Skye and continued growling and she frowned at it again. "What does she want?" more importantly, how had she gotten into the camp?

Trudy made a small squeaky noise and tilted its head, squinting its eyes at Skye as if examining. It looked back and forth between Skye and Jemma and to Skye's arm that she was holding onto Jemma with. It took a step to the right and pivoted on the foot, shoving its slender head closer to Fitz, who naturally squealed like a little girl and backpedaled until his back hit the wall.    
  
"I think... she's curious about us. Remember when I told you about Troodon, my favorite dinosaur?" Jemma's eyes didn't leave Trudy as she said it, but she moved her hand to give Skye's arm a reassuring squeeze. "Well, I called her  _ Trudy _ for a reason." Jemma hinted. The intelligence of the animal walking around in front of them could be higher than any reptile to ever exist.

Skye's arm reflexively tensed, tightened around Jemma, unsure if it was somehow possessive of Jemma and might challenge her in a similar way that some overly possessive dogs would do to anyone getting close to its owner. Her brow furrowed and she wondered, again, how this place even existed on the planet. She nodded to indicate she knew what Jemma was talking about even though Jemma wasn't looking at her.    
  
"...So how do we know it's not going to decide that we're boring and try to eat us?" Mack asked just before the dinosaur swung his way. His arms were bent at the elbows, hands up and facing palm outward. "Easy..." he said, knowing he was the largest creature in the cave aside from the dinosaur and not sure if that would make it feel threatened despite having put his ax down before.

"Well... I don't. But she somehow managed to get into camp and I don't see the point in attacking and making her aggressive when she seems docile. Having her on our side could be incredibly advantageous." Jemma posed. "She's obviously been watching us for a while and if she was hunting, one of us would be dead by now." Jemma pointed out. Trudy's species was too smart to not have killed them if she wanted.    
  
"Maybe she is hungry." Jemma theorized.    
  
"Oh perfect, just what I wanted to hear." Yoyo cracked the joke, but she was also clearly concerned. Jemma chose to ignore it and since she was on her knees and closer to Skye's side of the bed, she reached into her bag and pulled out a larger piece of fish. With her hand flat, she offered it out to Trudy, who came rushing back and snatched the treat out of Jemma's hand, tilting its head back and swallowing it whole.

Skye  wasn't entirely sure how she felt about this situation. Jemma seemed perfectly at ease with the dinosaur, which Skye could understand since it had helped her out when she was in literal, dire need. Confirming it was a carnivore didn’t set her at ease, though, so Skye mostly observed Trudy and kept her hand hovering near the handle of her knife as a precaution.    
  
"You shouldn't be moving around so much," Skye reminded Jemma, concerned about Jemma hurting herself as well as the new dinosaur possibly hurting her.    
  
"So...." Trip's voice was groggy despite the adrenaline from jumping out of bed in defense mode. "I guess I should make more traps?" he smirked a bit, not quite confident enough to reach out toward the new arrival, though he seemed generally about as relaxed as Jemma was about it. If the thing was eating out of her hand and not eating her hand with it, he saw no reason to get riled up.    
  
Mack was somewhere in between the two. He wasn't totally relaxed but Jemma's interactions with it were slowly dialing down his anxiety.    
  
"Think it tastes better than terror bird?" Hunter hadn't made it out of bed completely but he could see what was happening from his spot, weight resting back on his palms behind him.

"Oh, stop it." Jemma shot Hunter an irritated glance, but her attentions were back on the dinosaur. She completely ignored what Skye said and reached for another fish, which Trudy seemed to appreciate. "I bet, if we do this right, that she would protect us. She protected me before." Jemma pointed out. Killing compys would be no challenge for this dinosaur and there were a lot of benefits to having her as a friend in their camp.

"What?" Hunter shrugged his shoulders up, smirked a bit. "It's a valid question," he reasoned. Once he decided that all was well enough, he flopped back down and threw an arm lazily across his eyes to to go back to sleep.    
  
Skye frowned, mostly now because she was afraid Jemma was going to over exert herself. Rundown and tired herself, Skye's attention left Trudy and shifted solely to Jemma. She kept her arm around Jemma's back and shoulders and lifted the other away from hovering by her knife to lay it on Jemma’s arm near her bicep and the inside of her elbow. "Jem, if she's here to visit you, I'm sure she'll stay even if you're laying down," she urged. 

"Careful, Skye," Jemma said in response to Trudy's attentions focussing on the hand Skye had just put on her. Skye was right though, Jemma needed to lie back down before she hurt herself. She was just slightly afraid of what Trudy would think of Skye helping her. She made sure that she was slow in her movement to a sitting position. Her hand was kept out, telling Trudy to stay back, the whole time Skye eased her back down into the bed.    
  
"Fitz, go tell the others what's going on so they don't startle and attack when they see her." Jemma requested. Fitz nodded and slipped out of the smaller of the two caves, his back against the wall the whole way so as not to upset Trudy, who watched him with narrow eyes.    
  
"She's so suspicious and observant. But what I don't know is why me, specifically." Jemma looked up at Skye. She wasn't quite sure what to do from here. "And how did she get in without the guard seeing? Either whoever was posted fell asleep or she climbed either up the trees or down the cliff." There were so many questions that needed answering.

Skye glanced at Trudy, but put her focus into helping Jemma back into the propped up bed. She tucked the covers around Jemma's lap and watched Fitz sneak away in fear.  She leaned over, slowly, to her bag and grabbed the rest of the bigger food bag before she settled back next to Jemma.  "The only answer of those I know for sure is the first, " she unzipped the bag in her lap and shrugged, flashed Jemma a crooked smile. "Because she can tell Jurassic Jemma is awesome, duh," she turned to look at Trudy. "Think you can convince her that I'm on team awesome so she doesn't take my hands off if I give her more food?" she added, maybe a bit anxious of the idea still.

Jemma blushed and Mack, Yoyo, and Bobbi slowly slunk back to their beds, but they still watched cautiously and kept their weapons close. Bristled feathers along Trudy's body slowly flattened and her muscles visibly relaxed. She padded over to Jemma and started sniffing all around the bed and Skye's bag.    
  
"I think she's trying to tell you something." Jemma giggled. Trudy looked up and cocked her head at the noise, let out a little squawk, and continued sniffing.

Skye's couldn't help but smile a little as the sound of Jemma’s giggles tickled her ears.  She scooped up some food, more of their fish (though she was a bit reluctant to give over the precious bit of food) and bits of fruit and the tubers. She held it out, anxiously, toward Trudy, palm up and flat as she made the offer.  "If you're going to stay awhile, you might as well set a spell, you know," she said, as if it might understand her though she doubted it would.  How could it, if they were the first humans it ever met? 

Once she laid eyes on it, Trudy gobbled up the food at the speed of a mad, starving dog, but still managed not to graze Skye with its teeth.    
  
"So they are omnivores. It was never proven." Jemma noted. Her bag was in her lap in an instant and her notebook and camera came out of it in a flash. She snapped a picture and started scribbling notes with her left hand while Trudy's loud noises asking for more food caused grumbles to escape from the others who still wanted to sleep in peace but were disturbed by the dinosaur. "Of all the things I thought I would do, making nice with my favorite dinosaur was not one of them." Jemma breathed. There were equally horrendous and amazing things on the island and if Jemma came away from this experience alive, she felt she would come out with much more than she fell into it with. She had Skye, the love of her life, she was sure. And she had a potential career change on her hands.

"Shhhhhh," Skye tried to hush Trudy. She leaned over and used her elbow to push her knife back out of the way and then pat the ground next to her leg in an attempt to coax the dinosaur into settling down as she reached into the pack for more food. It was definitely a good sign that Jemma felt up to taking notes. Skye tried to pick and choose when she urged Jemma to rest. Notes and pictures seemed okay while she was resting in bed already.    
  
This time, when Skye offered her palm full of food for Trudy, she rested the bottom of her hand on the ground, where she'd already signaled for Trudy to sit to see just how smart this dinosaur really was, if she could figure it out. She hazarded glancing away from Trudy and over at Jemma. "Think Buzz is gonna be jealous of your new pet?" she asked.

"If dragonflies are capable of jealousy." Jemma smiled. She looked up from her frantic scribbling to watch the interaction Skye was trying to have with the dinosaur. "I think Trudy may be jealous of you." Jemma noted when the feathered dinosaur snatched up the food, but moved around their feet to get to Jemma's side before it settled down, plopping onto the stone and ruffling its feathers like a chicken that had just sat down on incubating eggs.    
  
Skye thought it was entirely possible that Buzz was capable of jealously. He was capable of a lot of other feelings she wouldn't have thought possible for a bug before they met him. Her eyes followed Trudy as the dinosaur moved to Jemma's side. "Easy," she blurted despite knowing that she didn't understand exactly what Skye was saying. Jemma was perfectly comfortable around the animal, but Skye's hand was slowly wrapping around her knife handle, just in case now.

Jemma laughed and Trudy nudged her with her forehead, though it felt more like a strong shove to Jemma, who was much weaker. She grimaced and Trudy squawked, clearly recognizing her pain. A gurgling sound that resembled a purr vibrated in Trudy's throat and she laid her head down on Jemma's thigh. Ever so cautiously and carefully, Jemma held a hand over Trudy's head. The bird eyed it, but didn't move as Jemma slowly lowered it. The moment her hand touched her, though, the dinosaur screeched at an ear piercing pitch and jerked away. She was on her feet in an instant and disappeared out the mouth of the cave. There were a few shouts from the others but it sounded like Trudy got away safely.    
  
"Well then." Jemma said, shocked, heart still pounding from the startle.

Skye was partially spooked and partially relieved when Trudy freaked out and left.  She sighed and let go of her knife.   
  
"There's no way she could have gotten in through the entrance without being spotted," she said.  This meant that they had a serious weakness that need to be discovered and secured. 

Footsteps echoed in the cave when Fitz came darting back in. He was red in the face and looked out of breath.   
  
"Your dinosaur just scaled the bloody cliff!" He exclaimed. Jemma's eyes widened and she tried to guess how tall the cliff was so she could jot it down in her notes. She didn't think this was the last time she'd see her friend though.

Skye’s eyes widened as well. Her eyebrows jumped up her forehead as well as she gaped at Fitz. “Wait, but -,” Skye frowned, unable to believe it without having seen it and this was despite the fact that she had seen so many things on this island that she never would have believed before it. “But that’s...at least thirty feet,” At the very least. Skye paused a moment, staring off in thought and then looked to Fitz. “Did it go up near the waterfall? Did you see its path?” Getting up to the river that fed into the waterfall would be important for fishing purposes since there could only be so many in the ponding area. There could - and likely would - be more fruit trees to forage through up there as well, being near the water and all. The wheels in Skye’s brain were very clearly turning and she was currently trying to gauge how likely it would be that she could get out of bed without Jemma trying to follow her. 

"No human could get up that way... it looked like a lizard climbing!" Fitz exclaimed. Jemma felt a teeny swell of pride for Trudy and amusement for the others' reactions. At least until Bobbi pointed out the inevitable.   
  
"What else do you think could climb up and down those walls?!" Bobbi had rejoined the conversation. "Compys? I think we need to have the lookout keep an eye on more than the entrance." She suggested.

Skye shuddered at Bobbi’s comment. Their ‘safe’ place wasn’t safe. She got that. It was safer than the beach and that was all. Everything else simply boiled down to luck. “Two guards on duty at once means one faces out, the other faces in,” She didn’t like the sound of it but what could they do, really? She turned to Fitz. “Just because we couldn’t take the exact path doesn’t mean that we can’t use her path to our advantage to find ourselves a way. All we need is to get one person up. After that, we can string our way to a ladder.” No matter what, it wouldn’t be an easy climb. If they couldn’t go up that way, they were going to have to go up some other way from outside the camp to go up and then set up a rope ladder of some kind from the top down. 

"Skye." Jemma said firmly. "There are too many ways to die on this island already, we don't need to add rock climbing." She pointed out. What if a rock broke away and Skye fell and broke her own leg? "The cliff can't go across the island, we should try to find a way around."

Skye looked over at Jemma, trying to pick her most convincing argument. “It doesn’t hurt to explore all of our options. We need to. Besides, going the long way around only further exposes us. I mean, sure, it might be necessary at first, and then we make our own way up.” She said. 

"I still don't like it." Jemma shook her head, but she knew she wasn't going to be able to convince her otherwise. It was necessary, both for when they picked their current environment clean of food and if Fitz ever got the tech working well enough to send out a signal. "Be careful when you do go." Jemma sighed. Her best image of the situation was tagging along herself to help, but she knew that wasn't going to happen either.

“No one said I’d be the one attempting a climb,” Skye said even though she knew very well that she’d insist on going along at the very least. “Anyway, we’d need to try and plot out a course before hand, so not like it’s going to happen immediately…” Though she wouldn’t deny that she wanted to go look now. She’d already spent time before now trying to sort out whether it was possible or not to scale it. Anyway, she wasn’t going to go anywhere, at least not anywhere far, when Jemma was still on the mend. Her own aches and pains still needed more time to heal as well. She looked over at Fitz. “Can you mark off where she started her climb?” She asked.  

"I'll leave a pile of rocks at the bottom." Fitz agreed. He left the cave again just as everyone else was starting to get up for the day and slowly shuffle out into the sunlight to get started on another group breakfast.   
  
"Skye," Jemma had a cheshire cat's grin on her face and reached for the front of Skye's sweater. "Trudy's jealous of you for a reason." One hand slid to the back of Skye's neck and she was gentle, but firm at the same time as she used the nape of Skye's neck to pull her over and kiss her. They hadn't had the time nor energy to share much romantic intimacy in the recent past, and Jemma had been starting to miss it.

Skye felt her heart jump when Jemma grabbed her sweatshirt and she had just arched her eyebrow at the giant grin on her face when Jemma pulled her in for the kiss. Still a bit off from her overnight confession, it took Skye just a second to relax into the kiss before she leaned into Jemma and reached up to touch her cheek. She tried to be conscious of leaning too much weight into Jemma and of the fact that Jemma had injured lungs/chest to avoid letting her get too winded, but she quickly lost track of those things the more she gave into the kiss. She had to try and remind herself that she couldn't wind her arms around Jemma because of the wounds on her back, though it was one of the things Skye most wanted to do as her brain tried to kick in some reminders about how close she came to losing Jemma this time.

"In any other world," Jemma breathed between kisses. "This would sound clingy." She murmured. "But I don't ever want to be out of each other's sights again." She mumbled against Skye's lips. They were done being apart and Jemma's fingers curled into Skye's hair, not allowing her to get any further away. Too much had happened for them to trust the universe enough to not protect each other every moment possible. As Jemma had said before, nothing was safe and if they were to die, she wanted to spend every last second with Skye.

Skye kept trying to curtail the round of kisses, she really did, especially while listening to Jemma’s various short breaths between comments and kisses. She really shouldn’t encourage any kind of overexerting right now, right? Her hands made it t to Jemma’s left hip and her right bicep, trying to find anywhere she could that wouldn’t cause Jemma further pain by touching it. She felt her heart constrict at the idea of something happening while they were apart from here on out, but she grinned into their kiss at the little joke she threw in there. “Deal,” She said, though she knew there would likely be times they had to split up. “Once you’re better, at least,” she murmured against Jemma’s lips. 

\--

Eventually, it was time for breakfast. Skye wasn’t kidding about Jemma staying in bed while she was recovering. She made Jemma stay put while she went to gather them some food, moving a bit more stiffly than she intended to herself since her own injuries were still healing. She came back with two full water bottles tucked under her arm and two large leaf plates of food. For a little while, they were by themselves, so Skye attempted to broach a particular subject in the daylight hours now. “I wanted to tell you, by the way,” she swallowed a mouthful of food and looked over at Jemma. “It was never a question of whether I thought you could handle yourself in the jungle or not,” she said. “I didn’t want you in there because I didn’t want to chance losing you, for any reason,” Which is exactly what almost happened this time. “It had nothing to do with my opinions on your abilities to take care of yourself...I mean...haven’t I been telling you since we crashed here that you’re amazing?” she pointed out as she turned her eyes back down to her leaf plate in her lap.  

"Skye," Jemma shook her head and swallowed the bit of fish she'd popped into her mouth before she continued. "I was the one being childish." She told her. All of this had happened by Jemma's hand, she was aware. She felt guilty about it. Skye's wounds were Jemma's fault no matter how much Skye tended to blame herself. It was Jemma's failure to see past her own initial feelings that led her to the false conclusion that Skye didn't think she could handle herself. The assumption had been there since their fight about her actions after Buzz, and it hadn't gone away until she had gotten back from her night of horrors.    
  
"It was myself I needed proof for, I think. My self doubt ultimately got us into this mess and I'm sorry." Jemma apologized. She didn't want any foul feelings to linger between them in any way. She was absolving herself from her need to be reckless and she hoped that she and Skye could work together more instead of constantly undermining the other's wishes.

Honestly, if Skye could avoid going into the jungle ever again herself, she gladly would. Even going out with people she knew had her back hands down, like Bobbi, Mack and Yoyo, Skye never felt at ease about it. She couldn’t. It just wasn’t possible, not after the things she’d seen. Even early on when it was just the compys and the unknown night time shriekers. She shook her head at Jemma’s comments. “I’m not…” she frowned and looked over at Jemma again. “I’m not saying it to guilt you. I just want you to know that I’m aware of how amazing you are and what you’re capable of,” She said. “I very selfishly want to keep you safe because...because there’s no point in any of this if you’re not here with me, so…” She dropped her gaze again and shrugged slightly. 

"Then let it stand that if we could both avoid the jungle forever and go to a land of rainbows, all you can eat buffets, and cold showers, we would without hesitation." Jemma chuckled and ate the last of her small portion of fish, just happy she was able to feed herself. "For now, since I'm so amazing, try some of the snake that I killed in one shot." Jemma feigned bragging and held out a bite size piece of snake jerky. It actually wasn't too terrible, it almost tasted like regular jerky if she didn't think about the taste of all the blood and brain matter after the kill.

Skye used the mouthful of food she was already chewing as a buffer for the involuntary shudder that rolled down her spine at the mention of Jemma’s feat. Yes, she had made it out alive, but that didn’t stop Skye’s brain from flashing right back to discovering that dead snake and all the blood, unsure which of it was the snake’s and which was possibly Jemma’s. She leaned over and let Jemma pop the piece of snake jerky into her mouth. It was better than terror bird jerky, that was for sure. “Do you think it tastes better because you killed it yourself, or just because it’s not terror bird jerky?” she asked. 

“As an objective taste tester,” Mack said as he and Elena appeared in the cave with their own plates and sat down nearby to join them. “I can confirm hands down that this beats terror bird jerky, hands down,” He tossed a piece into his mouth and chewed while wishing it could have been a dozen different food items they no longer had access to, like steak. Mack missed steak most. 

Jemma smiled when their present company joined them and it grew even wider when they complimented her kill, even if she hadn't been the one to cook it. She was about to open her mouth and say that anything was better than terror bird jerky, but Bobbi beat her for the sound space.   
  
"You know we saw that a fang was missing, so where is it, miss snake slayer?" Bobbi teased and finished helping Hunter get back down into a sitting position after walking over. He still wasn't fully recovered from his face to face with the compy swarm, but Bobbi was certainly making up for it. Trip came in next with three meals stacked together, two presumably for Bobbi and Hunter. It made Jemma's chest finally swell in a good way to see their friends gathering around her when they could be outside enjoying the actually nice weather for once instead of sitting in a damp, dark cave.    
  
"Wait, you kept a fang?!" Fitz's voice echoed next as he approached with his own portion of snake jerky and fruit. Jemma felt that same pride again like she had when she had laughed at the snake, because now they were eating it and she could show off her most astonishing piece of evidence of the island's existence.    
  
"It's in my bag- Skye?" Jemma glanced in the direction of her satchel. It was sitting just out of her reach, and nobody, including herself, had touched it since it was all brought into the cave with her after she got home.

Jemma's nicknames were certainly increasing: Jurassic Jemma, Pyro, Snake Slayer. Skye smirked a little crookedly as the others began to join them. She was glad for their company since she knew it was only a short matter of time before Jemma would start going stir crazy. She mentally added to her internal To Do list that she needed to get a seat from the airplane and set it up near the pond with its own little canopy this way they could move Jemma somewhere during the day with regular traffic while still making sure she would rest off of her feet and heal up.    
  
Skye licked her lips from the bit of fish and fruit she tossed into her mouth and let out a superfluous, "Mmm," sound, gave her head a nod to let Jemma know she would grab the bag. She hesitated only a moment when she leaned and reached for the bag because of the blood stains on it. She added 'clean Jemma’s  bag and our bloodied clothes' to her mental to do list as well. When the bag was between them, she flipped it open and pulled out th fang, handed the trophy over to Jemma. "We should weld that to its own spear, make you a fearsome fang weapon," she joked as she tried to push memories of the snake babies out of her head.    
  
"We also put the little snake body into a rucksack with salt," Elena piped up when she saw the fang. "The way you put the compy body in it before on the beach?" she said to Jemma.    
  
"Yeah, we didn't want it to decompose in Skye's bag," Mack wrinkled his nose. He also worried that other snakes might be able to smell it's dead brethren or setting and come looking for it if they didn't do something with it.

"This is a beautiful piece of paleontological evidence! We can't ruin it!" Jemma exclaimed, earning a few giggles and chuckles from her friends, who all enjoyed the nerdiness that was Jemma Simmons. She held it carefully in her hands, the tip and the base each held up by her fingers. It wasn't even cracked, and Jemma was more than surprised it had survived everything with her. She had nearly forgotten about Skye's baby snakes though, and the news about the preserved baby made her even more excited.   
  
"You have a growing collection don't you?" Fitz grinned. They all tried not to think about the blood all over the bag and instead focussed on the fact that Jemma was alive and getting better.     
  
"If we ever get out of here we're all going to be well known for our discoveries, don't laugh." Jemma said, but she was smiling at the same time. She gently placed the fang back in her bag with the rest of her things and took her last bite of jerky.

Skye's  thoughts weren't so easy to wrangle these days. She had made it just over three-quarters of the way through her food before her stomach began to roil a bit at the thought of eating anymore. So when Jemma finished her plate, Skye held what was left of hers out and arched her eyebrows a bit to ask if she wanted it.  
  
"Does this notoriety come with dollar signs and lots of zeroes?" Trip asked with his usual big grin on his face.   
  
"This man knows the questions to ask," Hunter chirped from his spot and clapped Trip on the shoulder as he grinned then went back to eating.   
  
Skye stayed quiet. She had started getting used to occupying the same shelter (the cave) as the others, having them roll out of bed or into the cave to lend helping hands to any and everything they needed. She didn't want to admit to herself that it was starting to feel a bit like she thought a family meal would feel like because that meant she'd have to admit to herself how much she cared about all of them and admitting that meant allowing them in closer. If she did that, she would be admitting she was just as scared of losing them as she was of losing Jemma and if she allowed herself that indulgence, Skye wouldn't be able to concentrate on keeping them safe. She would be too occupied with worrying about when and how she'd lose them.  
  
 _'If we ever get out of here,'_ Jemma's words rang through Skye's brain. What if they never did get out of here? No one would still be looking for them all these weeks later still. They had been off course, though no one knew how far. If the black box beacon was going off at all still, no one would probably be close enough to pick up the signal. When they had been on the beach, they hadn't spotted any passing ships so they likely were not close enough to any shipping lanes to hope to not only spot a vessel but to be able to signal it for help. They had no way off this island. Skye had promised Jemma that she would get her home to her parents. She had to get them off the island to make that happen. How was she supposed to get them off the island?   
  
Right now, Skye was quietly lost in her thoughts as she watched the interaction around her and tried to compile all the information about what they had available to them and how they could use it to their advantage to try and escape.   
  
"Who's making money off of what?" May came to join them with Buzz trailing behind her as she reluctantly tossed him a small piece of fish. He spotted Skye and Jemma and whizzed over to circle them and hover, occasionally landing on their legs, shoulders or heads.

"We're fantasizing about what will come with our discovery of this place if somehow we get back to civilization." Jemma informed her. She pat Buzz's head and glanced at Skye. There was another of those looks on her face, the kind that meant she was deep in thought, but she didn't want to pry and prod when everyone was around.    
  
"How is that, by the way? Turbo, weren't you messing with all that tech again yesterday?" Mack suddenly shifted the conversation. Fitz's face scrunched up and it was like everyone in the room could tell immediately that he knew something.   
  
"What is it?!" Bobbi shifted to her knees and put her hands on her thighs, leaning forward a bit out of excitement. Fitz's eyes widened when he realized what they were thinking.   
  
"Well I haven't gotten anything to work, exactly." Fitz started. "I just have an idea, but not enough supplies."

Skye was still listening, even if her brow was creased in thought. The sudden shift brought her back to the present conversation in full force. She glanced at Jemma and Buzz for a brief moment before Fitz's comment pulled her attention his way. "What kind of supplies are you talking?" she asked.

"If I had the black box from the cockpit and some extra wiring, I might be able to set up a receiver of sorts. If it was high and strong enough, it might be able to pick up radio frequencies from planes and ships." Fitz explained. Jemma had no idea how any of it could work, but if he could build bionic legs for veterans she had no doubt he could find a way to put out a signal.

The gears in Skye’s head were turning, churning up information from her pre-life island until it was a jumbled, soupy mess in her brain. She nodded once and zoned out for a moment, letting it all coalesce together in her brain - options. This gave them definitive options. Skye turned to Jemma. “Can I have your book a sec?” She asked as she nodded toward it on the suitcase they were using as a bedside table. She turned to May and Bobbi next. “Where in the cockpit do I find the black box?” She asked it and once Jemma’s book and pen were in her hand, Skye flipped it to a blank page and leaned it to her thigh to jot things down. She thought better of it though and handed the book and pen to Fitz. “You write down a laundry list of what kinds of things you would need, anything you can think of that might be in there.” She turned next to Trip. “I’ll go with you when you go to check your traps in the afternoon and rummage for everything we need while you’re doing your fishman thing?” she suggested, trying not to frown about the idea of leaving the camp area even if it was for a short stroll to the beach. She could get Trip to help her bring an airplane seat back though for her earlier mental plan. 

"I would say just grab any electronics you can take with you, but there are a few things I think I need." Fitz started jotting things down and drawing small diagrams next to items so Skye could identify them.   
  
"Are you sure?" Jemma asked. She didn't like the idea of Skye leaving camp at all, for any reason, but they had all done the trek between the caves and the beach, and if Trip made it regularly for fish, she supposed their chances of running into anything were lower.  
  
Skye turned to Jemma as the others made up the list and detailed things or for Skye.  "About dragging myself somewhere away from you for any reason? No, of course not, " She answered honestly rather than evading. Even though they were surrounded, she leaned over and kissed Jemma.  "But I promise I’ll only be gone," she looked at Trip and arched her eyebrows for a time frame.   
  
"Oh, uh," Trip blew a thoughtful puff of air out and mulled it over.  "About three hours tops  - back well before sundown too," he assured.   
  
Skye nodded,  not hiding the anxious look that crossed her face.  "There, see, we'll leave in the afternoon and be back before you know it. Trip will even keep me out of trouble, " she smiled and combed her fingers through Jemma's hair gently.

"We can hold down the fort here, huh?" Bobbi piped in when she saw the look of discomfort and fear on Jemma's face. They all just wanted to reassure her that what happened to the both of them that night was over. They couldn't promise that neither of them wouldn't get hurt again, but they could try to pretend, and pretending would be what got them to stay calm. Jemma seemed to appreciate the gesture, shown by the small smile that tugged at the corners of her lips.    
  
"Today?" Jemma frowned again. The idea of Skye leaving was one thing, but it hurt in her chest to realize what these plans actually meant for her day. Even the chance of getting rescued from the island didn't feel like a real enough reason to lose sight of Skye so soon after their separation when there was nothing Jemma could do to help if something went wrong. She swallowed against a hard and growing lump in her throat and released a breath she'd been holding in.

"Actually," Trip spoke, "I already checked my traps for the day.  But I'll be going again tomorrow after breakfast, " he gave Jemma a reassuring smile.  "So you have time to think about anything else you guys might need us to scout for on the way to and from,"he said.   
  
"I promised we'd find a way out of this place,  didn't I?" Skye asked. "This will potentially get us a step closer to making that a reality, " she wasn't pretending anything.  Skye didn't want to go at all. The fact remained, though,  that she knew most of the things Fitz detailed and knew what it would take to gather them. She'd be the quickest one to be able to do it once she gathered her work tools.

"Are you saying that you actually think we have a chance of getting out of this hellhole?" Bobbi asked. They couldn't help the hope suddenly blossoming in their chests. Any possibility of escape was the most important thing any of them could dream for.

Skye hesitated barely a second on her answer. "I'm saying it's worth a shot and it's better than hoping we outlast depleting our resources while seeing whatever else this place tries to throw at us," she paused. "So, yeah, I guess I'm saying there's a chance." However minute of a chance, they still had to try. Right?

"Just imagine, we could be home in a few days." Fitz said. They could get back to their lives, or maybe something different than it used to be, but definitely much better than here. Escape meant a potential future, which meant everything, especially to those that had grown very close to some of the other passengers.   
  
Jemma was afraid to hope, though. It meant that when the device Fitz was trying to build failed or they didn't pick up on any signals that all of their hope would be ripped away just like it was when nobody came to rescue them after a few nights. It was too painful to even dream that she and Skye might be able to grow old together because she knew it would hurt more the second time around to find out that it wasn't likely to happen and that eventually, one of them would die here. So Jemma was hesitant to get as excited as the others, and she could tell Skye was too.    
  
Jemma was suddenly in a very low mood and as everyone grinned around her, she realized that right now, she wanted to be alone, or at least alone with Skye. There was an easy way to do that and Jemma took full advantage. It only took one fake cough to spur on a real coughing fit, and Jemma nearly, but not quite regretted it when her chest heaved and she leaned forward to ease it, upper body jolting with each cough.

Skye wasn't quite as optimistic as Fitz's comment at all, but she could recognize the need for that optimism and hope. It would be a good motivator for morale while she tried to come up with other alternatives for getting off the island in the event that communication attempts could fail. One satellite connection was all they needed. Just one, just long enough to send out a call for help. It was a longshot, but it was a shot. In the event that it didn't happen, they needed to come up with a contingency plan. With all the minds they had at their service currently, Skye was confident that they could come up with something between them. She noticed Jemma seemed a big quiet and thought she could get her opinion on the subject to measure how she was feeling about the new ideas.   
  
Skye never got to voice the cautionary but optimistic thoughts or find out what Jemma thought, however, because all thoughts of them ceased when Jemma started coughing. Skye set her plate and the notebook quickly to the side and moved an arm carefully around Jemma’s shoulders and back to try and support her. There wasn't much she could do but wait it out and frown while trying not to panic at the sudden coughing fit.    
  
"Easy," Skye murmured, feeling appropriately useless as she ran her hand up and down Jemma’s arm. "Too much, too fast for the day, huh?" She asked as the coughs subsided and she helped Jemma lay back against the propped up bed. She grabbed the closest of their water bottles, uncapped it and held it out for Jemma to take whenever she was ready. Skye couldn't pinpoint why she thought so, but she thought this coughing fit was more than just a coughing fit. Something was up.    
  
Elena thought something was up too, so she elbowed Mack in the ribs lightly. "We're going to go grab seconds and work on those traps Trip was showing us how to make yesterday," he said as he moved to stand and reached to help Elena up.    
  
"You two try to stay out of trouble," Elena grinned. Trip's mouth was full to he pointed at them as he chewed and gave a thumb's up as he climbed to his feet to follow. 

"I'm going to look at what I have and write a more thorough list." Fitz described his own plans for the day and recognizing that it was time for the group to dissipate, he gathered the bag of tech and left the cave to work outside.    
  
"You two stay put and rest. You deserve it." May took a bite out of a fruit and gave them an approving blank look instead of her usual stern one. Her facial expressions didn't change much, but everyone had learned to read her a bit better over their time together.   
  
"It still hurts." Jemma's coughing fit died down to occasional little bursts and she rubbed her hand over her chest as if it could somehow ease the pain. The temporary pressure of it actually felt good in a way. The bed felt softer than before when Jemma laid back down in it and took a few breaths. She was glad everything had calmed down again. She didn't want to think very much at the moment, she just wanted recovery time and Skye's comforting presence. She was dreading the next day when Skye said she was going to be leaving, even if it was just for a few hours.

Skye didn't say anything at first. She moved their empty plates and the extra water bottles off to the side on top of their suitcase bedside table and moved the blanket or Jemma's lap since it was a cooler day with a breeze that was even coming into the cave a bit. Finally she settled next to Jemma, moved an arm around her and combed her fingers gently through Jemma’s hair. "Is it the pain, or is it something else?" She finally asked once it seemed like the coughing was done, though Jemma's breathing wasn't totally back to normal. She formed it as a question, picking her words carefully, trying her best to read Jemma as if she could figure it out from facial expression alone if Jemma decided not to answer or to evade answering.

"I'm just tired and hurting." Jemma closed her eyes and leaned her head onto Skye's shoulder. She needed to decompress, to not have to think about her worries for a moment, yet not let her hopes up at the same time. Sleep was the only way to really do that while still staying with Skye, and it wasn't completely a lie. She was still very tired, even if the medication had worn off and the pain was back full force after the coughing fit. She forced herself to swallow against her aching throat and took a deep breath, but it made her chest hurt even more and she just whimpered softly before she could stop herself.

Skye frowned.  She wanted to press Jemma further,  but she couldn't bring herself to do it, not after that whimper she let out.  Skye kisses the top of her head.  She hesitated and then forced herself to ask,  "Do you need another one of the pain pills?" Skye didn't want Jemma to be in pain.  She really didn't. At the same time,  it made her anxious to rely too heavily on those pills. There were a finite amount of them and not only that,  but they more or less knocked Jemma out.  Last time,  she'd woken up in a panic from a nightmare and had a coughing fit.  Also,  selfishly,  she still wanted to spend time with Jemma while they were both awake.  She left the option up to Jemma,  though,  as she combed her fingers through Jemma's hair and ran her hand along Jemma's arm. 

"No, it's manageable." Jemma squirmed a bit to get comfortable, but eventually settled into Skye's side. She'd wanted the pill only a moment ago, but when Skye said it out loud Jemma chided herself for even thinking and wanting something so foolish and selfish. They needed to be saved and even if Victoria gave Skye the bottle, it didn't mean all of them belonged to Jemma. "I just need time." She said. That went for both external and internal pain, physical and mental. She was still going to hold out on opinions until they got the results of Fitz's attempts.

“You sure?” Skye didn’t want to deprive her of actually being able to rest. She needed it. Hell, Skye needed it too, regardless of how much she wanted to get working on helping gather the items Fitz needed to try and finish the tech work. “There are enough of them, y’know, if you need one,” Whether she wanted to keep Jemma wake for selfish reasons or not, she didn’t want her in unnecessary pain when they had a way to fix it. “Or, if you need anything else,” She added just to let Jemma know she could get her anything she wanted, if she wanted. 

"I'm okay, I promise. You're already being perfect." Jemma sighed. Skye was ever so caring and would do anything for her. She would do the same, and that was why she wasn't going to infect Skye with her newfound pessimism just in case somehow Skye had a little hope.

“I love you,” Skye kissed the top of Jemma’s head and reached he hand free, leaned over just enough to grab Jemma’s book. She didn’t think there was a single thing she ever did that could be considered ‘perfect,’ but it was a silly thing to put up an argument about in their current situation. She flipped the book open and began to read from the page she’d left off with its bookmark. They did deserve to rest. Nothing needed to be immediately done right that moment. She could just give them another rest day and then in the morning, she’d do some easy work walking to the beach to get some wires. 

\--

The morning came much too fast. Breakfast was a bit of a mixed bag. Jemma was much more quiet than Skye thought she’d be and she could tell there was still something Jemma wasn’t quite letting out. Fitz, Bobbi, Mack, May, the others, they were all excitedly talking about the device Fitz was working on, gabbing about the things they wanted most if they made it back home. It was a mixed back. Skye was silent as well, just listening and absorbing what she could about each of them based on what they were saying. Turned out, May was married. Skye hadn’t expected that. She hadn’t had a ring or a ring tan line on her hand that Skye had ever seen. Mack and Elena had a business to return to. Hunter was ready to cash in on their experience so he could buy a boat and get back to his treasure hunting…without having to board a plane ever again. Trip wanted to all-you-can-eat pizza and buffalo chicken wings for days. He was quiet about any kind of family that might be waiting for him and no one pressed him for info. Skye listened, but her gaze kept returning to Jemma, curious and concerned, which wasn’t all that unusual considering. 

After breakfast, the group dispersed and Skye changed into her actual clothes, clean boy shorts, pants, her sports bra, tank top, one of her plaid shirts with the sleeves folded up past her elbows and her boots. She had been extremely reluctant to hook her belt back on and to attached the knife and gun holsters to the left and right sides but she did it. She made sure her gun was reloaded from the bullets she’d used when last in the jungle, made sure the safety was flipped on and put it in the holster. It felt heavy against her leg. She felt anxious as she packed up her messenger bag for the short journey, looked through the list and pictures Fitz had made her before she slipped it into her bag. She glanced at Jemma, unnerved that she still didn’t know Jemma’s full thoughts on this whole thing other than that Jemma didn’t really want her to leave camp. Skye couldn’t blame her there, because Skye didn’t really want to actually leave camp. 

“We’ll be back around lunch time,” Skye said. “Hopefully with some crabs to go with whatever fish haul Trip’s grabbed,” She smiled as she zipped up the bag and tried not to grimace at the pain in her side as she pulled the bag over her shoulder crosswise and moved it to rest along her back. She knelt next to Jemma after grabbing her machete. “Just a stroll to the beach and back,” She said. Hopefully no surprises or hiccups. “Last chance to add anything to the list of things you want me to bring back?” she arched her eyebrows and smiled, trying her best to cover up her own nerves.  

"I'm good." Jemma shook her head. She tried to keep the small smile on her face and not reveal to Skye how scared she was that something was going to happen. She was blatantly ignoring all the excited bustle and talk of freedom because she wouldn't allow it to get in until Fitz's device worked and they were actually talking to someone on the outside.

“Hey,” Skye knew Jemma was upset. She honestly wouldn’t be going but she knew a lot of the items Fitz needed and it would take less time for her to go and get them than for someone else to fumble around. She reached out and brought her hand to rest along Jemma’s cheek. “When I come back, we’ll talk about who’s going to play us in the movie they make when we sell our story, yeah?” She made the joke to counter her own nerves and gave Jemma a reassuring grin before she leaned in and stole a few kisses. “I love you,” She said when they broke. 

"I love you too." Jemma answered without hesitation. She couldn't help but smile a bit wider. She could be much more upset than she was and still smile when Skye told her she loved her. There was no way she wasn't going to worry, but if there was one thing she was going to completely, utterly believe in, it was that Skye loved her enough to fight through whatever came her way to get back. "Be safe." She whispered.

“I promise I’ll be back in a few hours,” Skye kissed her a few more quick times then grabbed her machete by its handle and stood. “Save that smile for me for when I come back, yeah?” She turned to go and spotted Trip already waiting for her by the entrance to the camp. 

“Ready to go?” He asked her. 

“Not at all,” Skye sighed. She turned her head and let out a specific whistle and Buzz came flying their way from where he’d been hovering around the pond. Skye reached for a piece of fish from a small pack in her bag and tossed it to Buzz. “Let’s go before I lose my nerve,” She nodded toward the door and Will opened it for them and shut it behind them as they climbed through. Once they secured the other side, they set off for the beach. 

\--

Conversation was a bit forced on their walk, on Skye’s part at least. Trip seemed as relaxed as usual. He might have been playing it up to try and help it rub off on Skye, but she didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until they reached the actual sand of the beach. It was warmer today than the day before but it wasn’t as humid as it usually was and there was a decent breeze on the beach coming off the water. Skye took a deep breath and surveyed their surroundings. 

Trip started down the beach. “I’ll start with the traps here and make my way down toward the plane. If you need anything, just yell.” 

Skye felt immediate anxiety at separating at such a distance from her only other companion but she nodded. “Ditto,” She said before she started off down the beach in the direction of the downed airplane and their old campsite. Skye was cautious as she approached with Buzz flying about above her head. When she was sure she was alone at the campsite, she pulled her flashlight from her bag and climbed into the airplane fuselage. Buzz followed her inside and was soon exploring the plane’s interior on his own. 

Skye was careful to make sure the plane was completely clear  - of any humans and animals before she made her way to the cockpit area. Once she reached the cockpit, she hooked the machete to the back of her belt, put the flashlight between her teeth, grabbed her tool pack and the notebook from her messenger bag and got to work retrieving all of the items on Fitz’s list she could find using the list and Bobbi and May’s notes on the plane as well. She tried to push her thoughts about wanting to be back in camp with Jemma to the back of her mind so she could focus and get everything she needed. 

For a long time, Skye worked in relative silence with only Buzz’s occasional flybys and the sound of the waves crashing on the shore filling her ears. Occasionally, Buzz would land on her shoulder and if it took Skye too long, he would take off and fly back to bump her shoulder so she’d give him a treat from her pack. Other than that, Skye worked gathering wiring, circuitry and pieces from the various electronics and the black box itself, which was actually an orange-y red color and not black at all. Go figure. It took a little over two hours to grab everything plus a few duplicates of a few of the items just in case before Skye put her supplies away and grabbed up her machete from its sheath on the back of her belt and climbed from the pain. 

She spotted movement out of the corner of her eye and brought her machete up but it was just Trip at the shoreline. 

“Easy, Tiger,” He called, putting his hands up in surrender. “I’ve got three more traps to check. Are you all done?” 

Skye nodded. “Yeah, I’m just gonna make a sweep of the camp and make sure there’s nothing around we missed in the move that might be helpful.” 

Trip nodded and Skye turned to start her search. She stopped outside of her and Jemma’s old shelter, however, when she realized the remains of a recent fire were in the center of the stone pit they used to use, she stopped and crouched, touched the ashes to find they were actually still a bit warm. Skye stood and backed up. She wanted to call for Trip immediately, but didn’t want to alert anyone that might be watching. Instead she started to backtrack a step or two, right up until she heard voices coming from the nearby tree line. Skye hooked the machete to the back of her belt and pulled her gun as she stopped and strained her ears to listen. 

The rustling grew louder as one form lunged for the other and a cry rang out accompanied by more rustling and a thump as a figure fell to the ground.    
  
"You thought you'd just hide out here?" Creel grabbed at Raina's sweater and jerked her back up to her feet only to slam her back into a tree and pin her at the throat by his forearm. His other hand slid between her thighs and a growl from him caused a whimper from her. "You know what comes with disobedience-"

Skye recognized one of the voices right away. She flipped the safety off the gun with her thumb when she heard it. Slowly she edged closer toward the tree line but stopped a few feet back when a figured came tumbling out. Raina. Yup, that was the voice. She recognized the second voice as he continued after Raina. Creel. Skye hesitated. In the next second, Creel had Raina by the throat against a tree. Skye felt tightness immediately in her throat as she remembered that feeling from her own dealings with Ward. She felt a sneer as it curled her lip. 

She stepped closer to close some distance and by then, Creel was already moving on to groping. There were a lot of awful memories that experiences on this island had forced back to the forefront of her mind without much warning. The ones that entered her brain as she watched Creel sexually assaulting Raina made the gun shake in Skye’s grip momentarily. She adjusted her grip, steadied her aim and slipped her finger inside the trigger guard of the gun. She whistled loudly. “Let her go.” Skye barked, loud but not a shout. It was an order. “Now.” 

Creel recognized that demanding voice immediately and knew from experience that she wasn't afraid to hurt someone. He had the disadvantage here and it wasn't like they needed Raina to survive. He held his hands over his head and backed away, giving Raina room to wheeze and gasp for air.    
  
"She's all yours." He smirked. He knew how to pick his battles and this was one he was willing to let go for the time being. If Skye didn't kill her, he'd just come back for her. He took a few slow steps back to make sure Skye was going to let him go before he turned tail and stalked back off into the jungle toward his own camp.   
  
"Why?" Raina asked from her tree after a few moments, a hand still on her own throat and the other on her knee as she bent over, trying to catch her breath.

Skye’s lip actually curled this time but she didn’t reply. She merely followed Creel with her gun and didn’t relax her grip. She remained stock still, gun aimed and ready to shoot it well after Creel disappeared. She considered Raina’s question, thought about the last time she’d seen the woman. Skye had been sure that Raina had sent Jemma on a death march on her own. She nearly had. Jemma had barely survived. Animals and insects might have caused the injuries but Jemma never would have been out there if Raina and Kara hadn’t shown up at their camp and then just let Jemma wander away on her own. Skye relaxed her arms, aimed the gun at the sand, rested her finger outside the trigger guard and flipped the safety on the gun. Raina didn’t have a gun and Skye knew she could take the woman with her own hands and her knife if necessary, so she holstered her gun and looked at Raina finally. 

Why was the right question. Why had she bothered? Part of it was Jemma’s voice in the back of her mind, scolding her about morals, telling her about Raina trying to stop Ward. Part of it was the way Raina and Kara interacted, first their particular comments at Skye and Jemma’s camp, then the things that passed while they were in Ward and Garrett’s camp. The biggest part of it, though, had been her own past coming back to her through Creel’s actions. 

“I’ve been in your position before,” Skye said when she finally answered. She pulled her bag around from her back to her right hip and as soon as she did, Buzz came hovering. Skye absently tossed him a bit of cooked fish from her pack over her shoulder as she looked at Raina. “Are you hurt?” She asked as she pulled a bottle of water from her bag and held it out for her. 

"Is Jemma okay?" Raina blurted, ignoring Skye's further question and not wanting to think about anyone else having been in her position. Of course, she didn't think Skye would be standing here right now looking this put together if they had found Jemma dead. Or maybe they hadn't found her at all and Skye was still looking. Either way she wasn't going to take any charity from Skye until she found out if she had inadvertently killed her girlfriend, so she didn't move. 

Skye most definitely wouldn’t be standing here if Jemma wasn’t alive. Skye would have been long gone herself by now if that was the case. She tensed, though, at Raina’s question, braced herself and bit her tongue to avoid saying ‘no thanks to you,’ back at Raina. “She will be,” she answered. “She made it back alive. Just barely.” She said. She wasn’t going to let her emotions spill over in front of Raina. This wasn’t like their last encounter, where Skye was losing her mind. She was very much in control of herself right now. “How long have you been in our old camp?” She asked. 

"Oh thank god. You know I didn't mean for her to get hurt, right? She wanted to leave those assholes behind and I wasn't going to stop her." Raina said, still ignoring Skye's questions and trying to explain herself. She wasn't completely sure Skye wouldn't change her mind and just kill her, so she wanted to explain herself. She also saw the discomfort on Skye's face though, so she shut up and answered the question.   
  
"Uhm..." Raina silently counted the nights since Jemma on her fingers. "Four days. I left soon after Jemma." Raina told her. She had realized how bad things were when she saw how far Skye was willing to go to protect Jemma. She could have done better, so she left her abusers and camped out at the previous site.

Skye felt her jaw clench. She fought with herself internally for a moment, wanting to argue that Raina was full of shit. She did. She really did. A fight would be good right now. She could get out whatever aggression was left and then go home. Raina had tried to help Jemma when Ward kidnapped Jemma. Now Skye had helped Raina. They were square as far as Skye was concerned. Rather than walking away, however, Skye stayed where she was without a clear reason as to why she was bothering. That wasn’t entirely true. She could practically hear Jemma’s voice in the back of her mind, telling her that she couldn’t just leave Raina there alone. It was a death sentence. Either a beast would find her or Ward’s goons would be back for her. 

Skye took a step closer if only to get Raina to actually take the water bottle she was holding out. She didn’t believe Raina would have left just because of Jemma but she chose not to voice that opinion right now. She tried, instead to think of what Jemma might do if she were here to witness this. “When’s the last time you ate?” She asked. 

"About the same time." Raina admitted. She took a cautious step forward, like a frightened animal, and took the water bottle. She guzzled it down in about twenty seconds and had to catch her breath after. For three days she had been huddled by a fire; hungry, thirsty, and alternating between hot in the daytime and cold at night. She was dirty and tired and somehow she had been lucky enough for Skye and Creel to show up around the same time. "Thank you." She handed the water bottle back, not willing to take valuable supplies.

Skye frowned, unable or maybe unwilling to stop it, as she watched not only the way Raina took the water but the way she drank it so quickly. “I’m not going to hurt you,” she said. “If I wanted to, I already would have.” she pointed out as she took the empty bottle back. She pushed the empty bottle into her messenger bag and pulled out another water bottle and one of the two food packs she’d put in there as a precaution for their trek. “If I give you these, you need to eat and drink them a lot slower than that,” She held them both out toward raina. “Otherwise, you’re just going to make yourself sick and will throw it all up.” 

Raina eyed the food, but didn't reach out to take it yet. Skye had a good point about not suddenly attacking her, but it didn't make sense for Skye to be so nice to her either.   
  
"Thank you." She breathed again. She stopped about a third of the way through to give her stomach time to adjust to having something in it again. She didn't understand. Skye hated her, even threatened to come back and kill her if she had heard correctly. “What happens now?” She asked. 

Buzz spotted the food pack and started to hover a few feet over Raina’s head. “Buzz,” Skye said his name and gave a quiet whistle. The dragonfly shifted and flew toward Skye, who reached into her pack for another piece of cooked fish. She held it out and let Buzz take it from her hand this time. “Leave her alone,” she instructed before she turned her attention back to Raina, appraising her. It could be a trick, she supposed, but if it was, they’d actually left Raina out here to starve on her own and just hoped that one of the group came back at the right time? It was too complicated to be a trap. 

Chewing on her bottom lip a moment, Skye considered the question very carefully. “I guess that depends on you,” She answered. She glanced away from Raina and toward the beach where Trip had finished with his last trap and was heading up the beach with his pack full of the day’s haul and his short still wet from being in an out of the ocean. “You can stay here, wait for Creel or the others to come back for you...maybe starve if they don’t…” She took a deep breath and said. “Or you can come back with us.” Skye wasn’t entirely sure of this option herself but she put it out there and would let Raina make the decision. After that, it would be up to the camp to decide if they’d let her stay. 

Raina wasn't sure she could believe it. If it weren't for the feeling of real food and water in her stomach, she'd think this was the heat getting to her, because there was no possible way that Skye was standing there offering for her to come back with them. The idea of shelter and no power hungry tyrants willing to starve her was tempting. It was better than being out here alone, but she knew she wouldn't be warmly welcomed. Maybe she could help Jemma recover from whatever she had suffered through and she'd have made at least one friend.    
  
"I'll earn my keep, I can do whatever you want." Raina said as her way of agreeing. She wanted Skye to know that this was different and she wouldn't take resources without being useful.

Skye watched Raina's face very carefully. This was a serious offer and there would be apprehension from all parties. Trust wasn't easy to win back when it was never forged to begin with between people.  Still. She made the offer and if Raina accepted, Skye would let her return with them.  It was the right thing to do. It was what Jemma would do.    
  
Skye nodded. "Good. The more capable hands we have, the better," she said.    
  
Trio reached them and though he seemed like he was relaxed,  his hand was on the handle of his sheathed knife on his right hip.  "Hey, " he gave Skye a nod.  "What's going on? " he asked, glancing at Raina with Skye's food pack and water.    
  
"Raina here has defected," Skye said.    
  
"Really?" Trip glanced between the two of them.     
  
Skye nodded. "She's coming back to camp with us," she said. Trip's eyebrows hiked higher up his forehead.  "How'd the haul turn out?" Skye changed the subject.   
  
Trip grinned. "Just managed to zip my pack shut fully. Full haul."    
  
Skye turned to Raina. "Think you can handle the hike?" She asked, hoping the food and water were enough to hold Raina over til they made it to camp.

"I got here didn't I?" Raina flashed a small smile before remembering she was the bad guy here and it disappeared. She didn't want to chance coming off as snarky or anything other than grateful. "I'll manage. I can help carry things if you need help... I don't exactly have much of my own." Raina gestured around herself. This was pretty much it. Ward and his crew hadn't allowed her much in the way of material possessions. She pretty much just had the clothes on her back, since everything other than her jeans and flowery sweater weren't exactly practical.

"I think we've got everything," Trip adjusted his backpack and hooked the chest strap.   
  
"I want to gather a few more seat cushions from first class.  There are just a few left. We might as well gather them with us," Skye said. It would give Raina something very light to carry or strap to her with seat belts so she would feel like she was at least contributing in some way. "Let's make quick work of them and head back, " she glanced at her watch.  "I promised Jem we'd be back around lunch."

\-------------------

"Fitz, it's fine-" Jemma was interrupted by her own groan and she curled a bit further into the fetal position, arms around her stomach. Her eyes were watery as she tried to calm Fitz down during her own problems, but he wasn't listening to her.   
  
"You're not fine! What if you're bleeding internally, or-"   
  
"Fitz, I'm fine!" She hissed through gritted teeth. She didn't want him to worry, but she also didn't want to tell him what was really going on. So instead she just held her arm even tighter against her abdomen and held her breath because it made the pain stop for a few short seconds.   
  
"But-" Fitz started, but he heard the calls over the tree that meant Skye and Trip were back and he whipped around. Without hesitation, he sprinted from the cave over to the clearing entrance and was getting there just as the makeshift door opened. "Skye, it's Jemma-" Fitz huffed, bending over and pointing back to the cave. "Her abdomen, I think something's very wrong." He huffed urgently.    
  
"What the hell?" Mack exclaimed when he saw Raina slip through the door with them, all wide eyed in wonder and fear at the same time.

Skye was already a bit apprehensive about how everyone would react to Raina l's appearance, but all worry about that left her mind as soon a Fitz appeared, out of breath and blowing that stuff about Jemma. She was already running as she glanced back at Trip to make sure he could handle explaining what was going on.    
  
"Go, I've got it," Trip assured her. He stuck by Raina's  side and told the gathering group to chill out and let him explain,  that everything was alright and Raina was a friendly.   
  
Skye was a fast runner and sprinter, so she outpaced Fitz by double in making to to the cave. "Jem!" She blurted, dropping her machete and the bag from her shoulders before she was on her knees next to Jemma. "Are you alri-,"

"Skye!" Jemma's cheeks flushed bright red and she startled at the sudden appearance. She honestly hadn't been expecting her to show up right at this moment and the combination of relief that Skye was alright and embarrassment about her situation made her crying start up again. She was fumbling around with her hands, trying to find the affected pieces of bedding and get them away from her so she didn't soil them.   
  
"My pajamas..." She cried weakly. She felt like a child crying over something like this, but she couldn't help it. She was hormonal and this happening right now was the last straw. She moved the blanket some just so Skye could see and understand that the reasons she was crying were that she was hormonal and she'd ruined her favorite- and currently only- pair of pajama pants.

Skye's eyes followed Jemma's movement and it only took a second for the dots to connect in her brain. "Oh," she said, equal parts understanding and relief. "Jem, it's-," Skye cut herself off this time when she heard Fit's footfalls catching up. "Hang on just a sec," she stood quickly and turned as Fitz caught up to them. "Fitz, everything's fine - there's no internal bleeding. I just need a few minutes with Jemma alone, okay?" She spoke in a rush, hoping she wouldn't have to explain to Fitz the exact issue. When it looked like he might argue, Skye shot him a pleasing look. "Need some lady time," she said, hoping he'd catch on. She grabbed the strap of here's sender bag and held it out to Fitz. "Inventory this and let me know later if I got everything you needed?"

"Oh." Fitz said dumbly at the fact that Jemma wasn't dying. He was relieved she was ok, but still concerned about what was going on and why he couldn't see her- " _ Oh _ ." He said again. His cheeks were burning and he quickly snatched the messenger bag and turned on his heels to head to the other cave.    
  
Jemma was still trying to pull herself out of bed so she wouldn't bleed all over the cushions and blankets. She had her forearm over her stomach the whole time, wincing not only from her bruised and/or fractured ribs, but the cramps. She felt dirty and gross and she wanted that red color out of her pajamas. The only way to do it was to wash them immediately, so she tried to start pushing them down over her hips on her own, but it wasn't exactly working.

 

With Fitz scurrying away, Skye exhaled a sigh. She turned to Jemma and frowned right away in sympathy.  "Jem," She knelt back down next to her and reached for her hands very gently to stall them. "Sweetheart, slow down," Her tone reflected the gentle way she tried to pry Jemma's hands free so she could take over her task. "Hold onto my shoulders and I'll get them off," she leaned over and quickly kissed Jemma's cheek before getting back to task. "It's okay. We'll get them clean for you. Don't worry about the cushion, we have more. We'll take care of it,  okay?" Calm,  gentle,  reassuring, Skye tried to keep her tone stay and even, projecting reassuring calm to try and quell Jemma’s hormonal outburst.  She knew it wouldn't take all of it away but if she could alleviate some of it, she'd do what she could. 

"Okay." Jemma sniffled and nodded her head, closed her eyes, and took a few seconds to just breath. This was the lesser of many, many evils and she could deal with it, especially with Skye. Everything was fine just like she said. It was just a period. This was normal. The timing wasn't ideal, that much was for sure and certain, but it was still manageable. She put her hands on Skye's shoulders like she said and tried to get onto her knees to make it easier for Skye to get her pants down over her hips. At least this was less embarrassing than when she had to pee. 

As far as Skye was concerned,  this was all very clinical, just like with the bathroom breaks.  They were necessary,  so they happened. She remembered how embarrassed she felt,  though, when she'd needed help going to the bathroom after the scorpion incident,  so she did what she could to make this as painless as possible - physically and emotionally. She worked with Jemma and got her bottoms off and then helped ease her back down. "Hey, so," Skye flashed her a severely small crooked smile and said,  "I've got good news, you're not pregnant - I was starting to get worried there, after our first night here alone," she made an exaggerated show as exhaling in relief and swiping the back of her hand across her forehead. She reached up and gently wiped at some of Jemma's lingering tears. "Good thing too, I'm not ready to be a tropical dad," she joked. 

Jemma couldn't help the snort of laughter that seemed to restart her system. A goofy smile spread across her face and she had no idea how Skye cheered her up in a matter of seconds with a line off the top of her head. "You're silly." She shook her head and giggled some more, pressing their foreheads together. It was a good distraction, but they did also need to figure out the situation.   
  
"What am I going to use as a pad?" Jemma's eyes widened when she realized they'd already used all the pads in luggage as sterile dressings for wounds. They were going to have to wing it and come up with another solution here. They didn't exactly have a ton of cloth to spare, but the idea of putting anything from the jungle in her pants as padding was horrendous.

Skye smiled and kissed the little nook just next to her nose, cleared the last tear from Jemma's cheek, relieved to hear that snort of laughter.  "Right now I'm gonna get your pajamas soaking so they don't dry.  We’ll clean you up and figure out the rest after that. How bad does it hurt?" She asked. "Fitz was sure you were bleeding internally," and it had scared the shit out of her.  She heard the excited murmurs from out in the camp and added. "We ran into a bit of a hiccup at our old camp," she was going to have to explain it at some point,  might as well distract Jemma now. Skye moved over to their gear pile and found a big enough sand castle toy bucket to handle Jemma's pants. She crammed the pants in, emptied a couple of bottles of water in and some of the homemade salt then reached in and swirled it around, rubbed the material against itself and made sure it was completely soaked and sunken into the water. Her mind was already working for a temporary stop gap until she could do some sewing.

"What? What happened??" The distraction definitely worked. Jemma quickly ran her eyes up and down Skye's body looking for injuries, but she found none so she looked back to Skye's eyes, waiting for an explanation.

Skye shook her head. "No one's  hurt," she said quickly as she turned back to Jemma. "I made a sweep after grabbing the stuff on Fitz's list. Turned out someone was making camp there. It was Raina." Skye cleared her throat and dropped her eyes a second. She hadn't told Jemma about how she'd tried to shoot Raina while they were looking for Jemma at the other camp. "Turns out she left the other camp that night,  after what happened with you. She wasn't alone,  though.  Creel was there too, had her pinned to a tree, threatening her and..." Skye stopped and cleared her throat again. "I gave her some food and water and...brought her back to camp with us." She exhaled a long breath when it was all out and watched Jemma for her reaction. 

It took Jemma a little longer to process it than it did for Skye to say it, so she was silent for a few seconds before she understood the change of heart Skye had experienced. It was not too long ago that Skye was standing on top of that tree threatening to shoot her. Jemma was proud Skye was able to change her opinion because alone, Jemma was sure Raina wouldn't have made it for long.    
  
"Is she okay?" Jemma asked. Skye said Creel had been attacking her and even though Skye said no one was hurt, that didn't mean Raina was okay. Jemma had a good enough idea about what Ward and his crew did to people. "Are you okay?" Jemma knew Skye had a rough past and she didn't know the full extent, but any trauma she had been through could have very well been brought back to the forefront of her mind.

Skye dropped her eyes again but nodded. "She hadn't had anything to eat or drink for a few days, didn't have any supplies even. I'm not really sure how she got a fire started but she'd had one going on our old pit at our shelter," she began to ramble a bit as she moved to grab some of their clothing cut rags. She used one of the water bottles to wet it and squeezed it out over the bucket before she shifted back toward Jemma, hoping if she rambled about Raina she wouldn't have to answer Jemma's other question. "I think she'll be alright now. I had to leave Trip to fill everyone in, though. Fitz ran out talking about you bleeding internally and I kind of took off on them." She said as she pushed the messed blankets away.    
  
"Okay how about for now we clean you off, get you into some clean underwear with a folded up shirt or something for now while we figure out what to do for a pad?" She asked. "That’ll keep you clean while we figure out logistics. We'll put a folded beach towel down on the bed roll until we have a full solution, then we'll replace it. What do you think?" She asked, still pushing Jemma's question about whether she was okay or not to the background.

Jemma didn't miss Skye's usual avoidance tactics and made a mental note to ask again later when nothing was going on. "Okay." She said again. Skye always knew what to do and Jemma had no words to express how much she appreciated it and the way Skye could calm her down and reassure her.    
  
"Oh, and Skye?" She said her name to get Skye to look back up from her hands to meet her eyes. "You made the right choice." She said. Skye would know that she was talking about Raina. "Now it's up to the rest of the group to make the right choice too. She just needs help." Jemma sighed.

Skye didn't always feel like she knew what to do. She thought quick on her feet mostly because it was what she'd had to do her whole life to survive. Thankfully for most her, the basic level knowledge she had was enough to get by here, for now. She looked up from the rag in her hands when Jemma said her name, let her eyes lock to Jemma's.    
  
Skye had enough faith that the group was better than her as far as accepting went. They'd figure it out and Skye could talk to them in a bit if needed. "It wasn't me that made the choice, it was you," she confessed.

"That's just not true." Jemma shook her head. "Was I there?" She smiled at the question with the obvious answer. "You chose to move past anger, whatever your motivation, and I'm proud of you." Jemma reached out and grabbed Skye's hand over the rag. She gave her a gentle squeeze and smiled.

Skye felt the heat the suddenly invaded her cheeks and she bashfully dropped her gaze as they turned a few shades of pink. "C'mon, let's get you cleaned up so we can save the periodic table," she kicked back into gear, back on task. It took a bit of maneuvering in Jemma's condition but eventually they had her in a pair of gym shorts with a wad of a folded and rolled up thirty in them, resting on a folded towel on the bed. Skye cleaned the pajama pants and the blanket and then took them out of the cave to hang them up in the sun to dry.   
  
"How bad are the cramps?" She asked when she returned, still considering options for an actual pad replacement while also wondering if they should give Jemma another of the pills. Having Jemma’s abdomen twisted up and wrenching in pain was only going to exacerbate the bruising and the injured ribs, which would make them take longer to heal.

"It's been scientifically proven that some cramps can be as painful as a heart attacks." Jemma said through clenched teeth, arms crossed over her stomach. "I think it's one of those." Jemma winced as she said it and she tried to roll onto her side so she could curl up, but it made everything hurt even more and she gave up, flopping back on her back.

Skye frowned, reached out to comb her fingers through Jemma's hair and kissed her forehead. "Okay, we’re breaking into the painkillers again," she leaned across Jemma and grabbed the first aid kit, fished around until she grabbed the pills and fished a single one out. Setting the kit aside she grabbed a bottle of water and held that out in one hand and the pill put in the other. "You'll get some relief, more sleep and by the time you wake up, your pajamas will be dry and I'll have a solution for the problem," she flashed Jemma a warm, hopeful smile, though there were clear worry lines all around her face.

"Alright." Jemma wasn't going to suggest taking the pain pills herself, but if Skye was the one to bring it up she wasn't going to say no. She took the pill and tossed it back into her mouth, tilted her head back, and swallowed down some of the water. She knew she was going to get drowsy again and she was sorry she would miss the outcome of Raina's arrival, but the medication would ease her pain and that was much too appealing to pass up.

Skye set the bottle down out of the way, grabbed one of the loose, small first class blankets and one of her own zip up hoodie and settled down next to Jemma for the time being, however long it would take for the medication to kick in. She draped the blanket and the hoodie over Jemma to keep her warm and wrapped her arm around her, stroked her hair and the length of her arm, kissed the top of her head. "Y'know, I don't actually remember how long ago my last period was," she murmured. "You're in the clear but maybe I'm that one about to sing 'Papa Don’t  Preach,' after our island date." She teased.

"I wouldn't worry just yet." Jemma chuckled. She let Skye pull her in and her eyes closed reflexively. It wouldn't be long before she was asleep anyway. "Stress and malnourishment can delay menstrual cycles. I'm guessing that's the case since nobody has seemed to have a problem before now." Jemma voiced her own theory. It was probable that they would have known if the women were on their periods because they would be asking around for pads and tampons.

Skye let out a small chuckle and kissed the top of her head. “Thanks for talking some sense into me, Doctor Simmons,” She joked. She dropped another kiss to the top of her head and ran her fingers in a steady pattern along her arm. “When you wake up, we’ll change your bandages again too,” She added, knowing she would be subjected to the same pain as well. Jemma wouldn’t let her skip a bandage change again, not after what happened last time. 

\--

It didn’t take long for Jemma to fall asleep but Skye didn’t leave her side right away. She waited until she was sure Jemma was really out cold, breathing evenly, if a bit labored. She had stopped clutching at her stomach as much as the painkiller had started to kick in, which was good. Very carefully, Skye unwound herself from Jemma and shifted her to make sure she was in a comfortable position that wouldn’t hurt her neck and was covered up with the temporary blanketing. She left bottle of water and a food pack of dried fruit and snake jerky pinning down a note to explain where she was on the off chance that Jemma woke up before she returned. With a reluctant sigh, Skye headed out of the cave and into the main section of the camp, bracing herself as she did. She angled for Fitz first. “Hey,” She said as she approached. “Did I get everything on the list?” She was certain she had, some of them in doubles as a precaution, even. 

"Yeah, you got everything. I appreciate the extras too." He nodded without looking up at her. His hands were too busy taking apart pieces, sorting them, grouping them, and starting to connect them. He did pause, however, when he remembered what had been going on before. "How's Jemma?" His brow furrowed in concern and he hoped she was ok if Skye had left her alone.

Skye gave Fitz a small smile. She was glad this would occupy him and glad he had better training in rigging it up than she did. She could handle the hardware and was skilled at it but she was much better at the software end of things. She really wanted to feed the hope that this would be their way off this island. “She’s alright,” She said. “I gave her one of the painkillers. Ramping on top of that bruising and her ribs…” Skye shook her head and sighed, ran her hand through her hair to push some strands that fell out of her ponytail out of her face then absently went about untying her hair and pulling it back up into a loose ponytail to get more of it out of her face. “She’s asleep for now. So I wanted to check in before I went to try and calm the rest of the herd,” She nodded toward the area where Trip and Raina stood with the others still crowding around them a bit. “Are you alright?” She asked since he’d been so worried earlier - not that she could blame him for it. 

"Ah, I'm just embarrassed." He shrugged his shoulders and went back to work. He was blushing a bit and he couldn't believe he had mistaken a period for internal bleeding when he'd been friends with Jemma for long enough to know she had terrible cramps. He supposed it was just the stress of everything made a period seem too normal to even assume. "Thanks for asking though. Go, take the mob's pitchforks." He commented after a particularly loud and angry voice stood out from the group. Naturally, it was Victoria opposing Raina's return.

“Don’t be - she was in a panic. Honest mix up,” Skye shrugged nonchalantly. It was no big thing really. She supposed she could see how it might be embarrassing for a guy, though. “If she was reacting like that with me, my brain would’ve gone into overdrive too,” She said. It was true. It had, in fact, on the sprint over to the cave. Thankfully, everything was alright. This was just a minor hiccup, kind of like the one Skye’d brought back to the camp. She gave him a firm nod. “On it, Boss,” She took a deep breath and gave Fitz’s shoulder a quick squeeze on the way by more for her own mental state than his, maybe. She walked for the group with purpose in her stride, shoulders back and straight and head up, surveying everything as she approached. 

“There’s no need to shout,” Skye said without having even heard exactly what Victoria said. She stopped only when she’d made it next to Raina on the opposite side that Trip was standing on, Raina’s left. She put a hand up to stop anyone from blurting anything else out at her. “We’re going to listen to what everyone has to say - including Raina - but,” She made eye contact around the circle with everyone, hoping to calm as many people as she could with her confidence and easy stance next to Raina as well as her calm, not quite commanding, but steady tone and intent gaze. “We can’t just shout over each other. One at a time.” Her eyes hit May’s. “Who’s first?” She’d leave that up to May, knowing the others would wait for her questions and opinions since she usually took charge in camp whenever any of the scouting parties went out. They’d respect whatever May’s reaction was and it could influence them. Skye placed her bets on May in this respect. 

"I think it's risky and it sure as hell makes me uncomfortable, but I would be much more than uncomfortable if we sent a person out there to die alone." May said gruffly. She always used reason and logic, but sometimes a bit of moral responsibility could work its way into her decisions.   
  
"But she won't die, her fellow cronies will pick her up and take her back where she belongs." Victoria piped up again.    
  
"Hey, nobody belongs anywhere they don't choose to be." Will snapped back at her. “Don’t be like them.” 

Skye nodded to thank May for her comments, however gruff. She wasn’t going to sugarcoat anything here. It was honest conversation. All she could do was speak honestly so they could sort through this. Her gaze followed each person that spoke. She didn’t interrupt. She didn’t judge them for their comments, even Victoria. She did, however, shoot Will a grateful look for his last comment.  “If you think this was an easy decision for me considering my last encounters with Raina and her previous camp, you’re wrong,” She said, addressing this to Victoria. In fact, before today, the last time she had seen Raina had been when she’d very seriously attempted to shoot her in the head for sending Jemma off on a death march. “But you didn’t see what I saw - on any of my encounters with the people she was with or at the beach today-,” 

“Which would be what, exactly?” Mike asked. Ace was standing next to him and he had his arm protectively around his son’s shoulders as Ace followed the entire situation closely with open ears and eyes. “I mean, I would just like to be fully informed on this. Last time she showed up you wanted to murder her on the spot and then she nearly got Jemma killed and you, Mack and Bobbi came back in tatters too. So…” He arched his eyebrows. 

Skye opened her mouth to reply but Victoria interrupted before she could. 

"Well Skye hasn't exactly been consistent in her decision making. But it is interesting that one murderer is the most okay with bringing back another." Victoria crossed her arms over her chest and spit the words at them. She may have been kind with the pain pills, but she still hadn't changed.    
  
"Have you ever been starved?" Raina spoke up. Any and all protest was silenced on the spot and everyone was listening quietly. "Not just hungry, but having food intentionally withheld from you? Have you ever been-" Raina's eyes were watery, but she stopped not only because it was difficult to say, but because Ace was still standing right there and she didn't want him to know about any of the horrors people could commit as well as those of the beasts on the island. "I made a bad choice going with them, but I thought my chances of survival were better there. I was wrong. They're wrong. I'm not going back there." Raina said. She bit into her lip and waited to see how everyone would react.

_ I have _ , Skye thought, though she didn’t interrupt to say that either. She felt the muscles in her back stiffen as memories of her past flooded to her mind again. She forced them to the back of her brain as best as she could so she could focus on this moment. She clenched her jaw and bit her tongue against the urge to get a snappy little comeback in at Victoria. She couldn’t really argue much. Technically...Skye had murdered people. She’d done it in self defense of course, but she’d done it. If it hadn’t been for Mack and Bobbi, she’d have done it in cold blood by shooting Raina back at camp asshole, even. Skye was a murderer. She pushed that as far to the back of her mind as she could as well. 

“Raina and Kara were sent here to gather Jemma so she could patch Garrett up. If they didn’t return to her, it would have been meant punishment,” Skye said. She left it vague for the same reason that Raina had; Ace. “After what happened at their camp with our group, Raina left with nothing and camped at our old beach campsite. That’s where we were when I watched Creel pin her to a tree by her neck, assaulting her while he was verbally threatening her.” Skye paused for a moment. 

“And we’re supposed to care about this?” Victoria snapped. “After what she did? I would think you, of all people, would have let that-,” 

Skye took a couple of steps forward and stood two paces in front of Victoria, locked a steely gaze on Victoria’s eyes and asked, “Have you ever been in an abusive relationship you couldn’t get out of?” she challenged. Silence passed between them for the span of almost five heartbeats before Skye went on. “No, I didn’t think so. Consider yourself lucky.” She relaxed her shoulders and stepped back to her previous position standing next to Raina and looked around at all of them as she spoke again. “I hope none of you have ever had to experience the kind of abuse Raina’s had to endure. I have.” She took a breath she hoped didn’t sound as shaky as her racing heartbeat felt as she prepared to give over parts of herself she kept hidden for so very long, even in the vaguest of explanations.  “I lived it nearly my entire childhood.” She went on. “I know what it looks like. I know how impossible it is to break away from the cycle. And I will  _ not _ be party to sending someone away when their only other options are violation or death.” 

Skye let that hang over the group for a moment. She watched as they murmured here and there, shared glances with each other. She thought she could gauge which ones seemed more on her side of the coin than on Victoria’s. “I hope I know you all well enough to know that you won’t either.” Skye had the biggest grudge of all of them with Raina. Her conviction on the matter had to hold some weight right? Hadn’t sure done all she could to protect and safeguard everyone in this camp to the best of her ability? It had been a responsibility she had given herself after they’d crashed. No one had ever decided on it. They were all in this together. Right? 

Two minutes went by in complete silence, the only communication being the looks people exchanged. No one spoke out for Raina, but no one said anything against her either.    
  
"It's settled, then." May broke the silence. It felt like they had all reached a decision and nobody was going to challenge May after Skye's speech. "Raina stays. For now she can help Skye with Jemma until we find something for her to do." May said. They didn't really have a specific job for her, but since she was at least semi responsible for Jemma's injuries, she could help take care of her when Skye needed rest. It would help ease up any tensions between the women as well. "Skye, she's your responsibility for now."

Those two minutes felt like pure agony for Skye. She couldn’t imagine what they must have felt like for Raina. She resisted the urge to reach out for Raina’s arm if only because she didn’t want to do so without asking if it was okay, considering the unwanted touches she must have been subjected to in that camp. She resisted the urge to exhale a sigh when May broke the silence with a final ruling. While she had made the choice to bring Raina here, part of her still felt tense and wary of bringing Raina near Jemma. The other part of her knew that she wouldn’t hesitate this time to take Raina out if she did one thing to prove her change of heart was full of shit, especially if that was by attempting to hurt Jemma in any way. So she nodded without any kind of argument. There was no argument to make. It was the most sensible action. 

“Thank you,” She said to May and then toward the group. “Thank you,” she said again. Jemma, she knew, would approve of this outcome. Skye wasn’t looking forward to having another person encroaching on her space with Jemma, but she’d make do with what she had to. The group slowly started to disperse.

“I’m going to get started on cleaning and cooking these,” Trip pointed to his backpack with his thumb. He reached out and ruffled up Ace’s hair, which Mike had cut recently using some battery operated clippers that had been in the fuselage and used sparingly. “Wanna help me gut some fish, little man?” He asked. 

Ace looked up at Mike, who nodded. “Yeah, we’ll both give you a hand,” he said before they followed Trip off. 

Skye looked over at Raina. “So, your choice first - food or clean clothes and a bucket of soapy water?” Skye now had this task and the task of solving the period/cramp problem. She had a couple ideas for the latter but she’d work with Raina first to get her set up. 

"Can I see Jemma after I wash up?" Raina asked. "I want to apologize. And I have to thank you." She nodded. If it wasn't for Skye she would be back in that camp with her abusers or left alone out in the wilderness. Skye had said Jemma barely made it back alive and Raina needed to see, she needed to see what she had participated in causing before she could forgive herself.

"You don't," Skye shook her head and motioned for Raina to follow her to a main cave section that was for group wide gear. "You don't have to thank me," she said as she opened up two large hard shell suitcases that held the extra clothing that had been salvaged so they could find some clothing. Skye opened a third case and rummage until she came out with a small messenger bag. She gave that to Raina and then grabbed out a tote bag and closed the case. Skye gathered a couple of thick pieces of clothing that she didn't think anyone would use and also stuffed five of the rolled up flotation devices from the plane and a few other items. "She's asleep right now, but you can see her when she wakes up,  yeah," Skye couldn't been that kind of interaction, Jemma wouldn't allow such segregation, and it wouldn't do to display that when she was supposed to be setting an example for the others with Raina.

"I never meant to hurt anyone." Raina said softly. She stared at her hands as she took the clothes so she wouldn't have to look Skye in the eye and face all of her own shame. She never wanted to be the bad guy, but that was how she ended up. "I'll go get cleaned off, go back to her. I know there's no way you'd rather stick with me." Raina waved her off. She could use a little privacy anyway.

Skye recognized the look on Raina's face from ones she'd made herself, ones she'd made after Quinn and Donnie. In the past.  Skye did have her reservations and she wasn't going to apologize for them, but she wasn't going to make Raina suffer now that she was here because, contrary at least to Victoria’s thinking, she wasn't cruel. She was a survivor. It was how she operated. She grabbed one of the small sandcastle buckets, a rag made from the butchered clothes a travel soap case and a shampoo bottle and loaded it all into the bucket, held it out to Raina.   
  
"You're one of us, Raina," she said. "You're welcome to whatever you need in camp, company over solitude included." She offered Raina a small but hopefully reassuring smile.   
  
"If you head to the far side of the pond near where it drains out," Skye pointed to the area she meant as she led the way out of the cave, slinging her own tote bag of items over her shoulder. "It has better cover for cleaning off. Feel free to take a dip in, it's cool, just avoid getting soap/shampoo in there. We have an area a little bit outside the entry door we made for a latrine, just let whoever's on guard duty know you're using it and they'll keep an eye out for your return." She tried to think of anything else she should tell Raina.    
  
"When you're done just put the bucket, rag, soap and shampoo back in this cave. We'll  be in that cave over there," Skye pointed to the cave she and Jemma shared with some of the others. "We'll get you set up with somewhere to sleep and you can see Jemma when she wakes up," she thought that was enough for now. "Okay?"

"Okay." Raina nodded quickly. It was a lot to remember, but she was apt to do exactly what she was told for a while and tread very carefully. The group was being very forgiving letting her come back and she wasn't about to do anything wrong, no matter how insignificant. She and Skye parted ways, Raina to go clean off and Skye presumably to go back to Jemma.  
  
Skye did go back to Jemma, or at least to a spot right outside their cave area. She enlisted Mack and Elena’s help in finding a collection of rocks similar to the ones Trip used for cooking fish. Piled together, they created a flat top surface with a hollow space below it where a fire could be lit so that the rocks worked like a stove top. It took a little longer to cook rather than straight up charring something over a fire but it was worth it and it would help with her plan to help alleviate Jemma’s cramps when she woke up. Once the fire was set up below the stones, Skye got down to work. She could see Jemma from where she was at and Jemma would be able to see that she was still there if she woke up before Skye was finished.   
  
While the fire was heating up the rocks, Skye worked with the baby-sized flotation devices. They had salvaged as many of the life vests as possible. Some of them were used as pillows since they just needed to have air added back into them every now and then by the small port on the side. She managed to rig up the port so she could get water into the inflated vest until it was full and then she could seal it off with some electrical tape from a tool box that had been on the plane. She made sure it was a water tight seal but that it was also removable if she needed to refill it at any point. On top of the flat rock, she laid out a stretch of banana leaf , pinned at the corners by fist-sized rocks and then laid three of these water-filled infant/baby-sized life vests (made, according to their instructions for children under 35 pounds) on top of the banana leaf lining so that she would have a thin layer between the direct heat and the vest so as not to melt any of the plastic while being able to heat up the contents to make hot water bottles. They had no heating pads and even if they had, they had nowhere to plug those in, so this would be the closest she could get.   
  
While she was waiting to test out the makeshift hot water bottle, she began working on some padded underwear for Jemma. She dismantled a regular adult-sized inflatable life vest and worked with two pairs of her own boy shorts. She had enough of them and using a size that was just a smidge bigger than what she thought Jemma would wear would be advantages because it wouldn’t be too constricting, would probably fit just right with bloating and would allow for padding it as comfortable as possible, all things considered. To the outside of each, she cut and carefully sewed a section of the left vest to the outside bottom of the shorts so that the inner waterproof lining was against the fabric and the outer yellow part was on the outside so it would provide as close to a leak proof barrier as possible. On the inside, it was a little more complicated. She had taken a pair of denim booty shorts from the pile of clothes and cut a liner for the inside. She sewed one denim layer to the inside of the underwear then sewed a double layer of cotton t-shirt to a second denim layer and sewed that in all but the back corner of it. Then she cut open the sleeve of a puffy jacket and stuffed cotton into it until it was packed thick and densely. She sewed the open corner shut and then repeated the process on the second pair.   
  
When she was finished, Skye went to gather a few more things; Jemma’s pajama pants, which she had propped up with line branches and some rope so it could dry in the sun and over the fire a little faster with their blanket. She also went and gathered them food for a late lunch; their leaf-wrapped meat plate held two Milkfish fillets, each one almost a half a pound in weight, cooked with the skin on - which was crispy from the rock and Trip told her they should eat the skin with it – as well as good-sized portions of snake jerky to go with it. Their ‘other’ leaf plate held fresh chunks of coconut, freshly cut cubes of papaya and guava that had been cooked with the diced tubers and onion/shallot-like plant that some of the other had foraged into a fruity-carb happy type of hash that was made with the salt they had from cooking off sea water and with some of the pepper packets that Skye and Bobbi had salvaged from the plane’s tail. Skye loaded the plates into her tote bag gratefully and added a couple of wedged limes, lemons and oranges to squeeze onto the fish and the hash. Trip gave her an extra, smaller, wrapped up bundled, which was crab meat he had picked for them from one of the crabs out of the dozen he’d caught that day in his trap.   
  
Skye added it to the haul and went to refill their four empty bottles of water. She grabbed one of the pile of bottles of coconut water to give to Jemma and then went searching through their provisions for a soda and found there was one ginger ale left among the haul. Skye took it and returned to the cave just in time to see Jemma starting to stir in her sleep. Skye folded up Jemma’s pajama pants and the blanket plus the two new padded boy shorts and lifted one of the hot water bottles off the rock, glad to see it had worked temperature wise, and piled that on top of the material in her arms and walked into the cave. She settled into her normal spot next to Jemma, set the tote bag next to her outside hip, the stuff in her arms down in her lap and then she leaned over and began to pepper ghost like kissed all around Jemma’s face; her forehead, closed eyelids, the end of her nose, cheeks, temples, the crook next to her nose, chin and the corner of her mouth.    
  
"Skye," Jemma breathed. Her nose crinkled up in her partial sleep. She wasn't quite awake yet and it was showing by the little mumbled whines she was making because it tickled. Her eyes finally squeezed shut tightly before they opened and a slow smile spread across her face. "Tickles." She mumbled. Her eyes fell shut again; her body wasn't quite sure if it was time to wake up and the medication was still very much with her, probably making her facial expressions and slow speech cause her to seem drunk.

Skye grinned and kissed the corner of her mouth one more time. “M’not sorry,” She murmured against Jemma’s skin before she finally leaned back. She moved her arm around Jemma and combed her fingers through her hair then dropped one final kiss to the top of her head. “Can we get some food in you before I let you go back to sleep?” She asked, more than willing to hear a few more adorable drunk-sounding comments from Jemma. Jemma was gonna be alright so long as they could keep her wounds from getting infected. They could have a nice few days to relax, keep all the wounds clean and bandaged, keep Jemma’s cramps at bay and not have to deal with any major mishaps. That was all they needed. A solid recoup. Afterward, they could see if Fitz’s tinkering would pay off. 

"'M not particularly hungry." Jemma grumbled in protest, knowing all too well that she would probably lose this battle anyway. "Nauseous." She elaborated and rested her hand on her stomach just to show Skye. It was almost humorous how their situations could be so reversed. Jemma could remember not too long ago when Skye was the one acting this loopy and Jemma filled the caretaker role.

Skye didn't mind the back and forth as much as she thought she would. They were in this whole thing together. It was give and take for each of them,  not just slanted one way or the other.    
  
"I actually have a few things to help with that," Skye pulled her arm from around Jemma for a moment so she could grab the smell first class blanket, wrapped it in a single layer around the hot water bottle and then moved the hoodie blanket to lay the hot water bottle on Jemma's lower abdomen. She had no idea if any of the things she brought with her would help - except the periodic table pajama pants,  Skye knew those would make Jemma happy. "How does that feel?"

An unrestrained, probably overly happy moan-like sound twisted from Jemma's lungs and her whole body started to relax one muscle at a time. "Like heaven." She breathed. One hand rested on top the water bottle and the other searched for Skye's hand to hold onto. "You're my hero, you know that?" She asked. The combination of medication and now hot pad was making her even more drowsy and her eyelids stayed closed a little longer than necessary when she blinked, but she wanted to make sure Skye knew how grateful she was before she went back to sleep.

Skye smiled, relieved, at first and then she chuckled. "I haven't even pulled out the big guns yet," she teased, very gently squeezed Jemma's hand and kissed her temple. She reached with her free hand to dig through the food/drink bag and grabbed the soda can. "Think some ginger ale will help with your stomach?" She knew that getting food into Jemma would help her stomach with the painkillers but getting her to actually have the urge to make herself eat was tougher since she already didn't feel well. "Because I may have discovered the last can of it."

"I think, for once, that I would be happy to use the last of a supply." Jemma smiled. Usually it took a lot of convincing to get her to take anything special, but she was so nauseous and if nobody would drink it because it was the last one it would be a waste anyway. She only let go of Skye's hand so she could take the soda in her burned hand and snap open the top with the other. She found a bottle of coconut water on the floor near her and passed it to Skye before raising her own drink.    
  
"Cheers," she joked and tapped the can against the plastic water bottle. The first sip burned her throat since she hadn't had anything caffeinated in a while, but it tasted good, even warm, so she kept drinking it.

Skye smiled at the mini-toast and dutifully took a drink from the coconut water. She set it aside after re-capping the bottle and had to force herself to say, "Whoa, slow down there, Pyro, we don't want to make you feel sicker," since the other part of her wanted to get as much food as she could into Jemma. "Besides, we've got a big lunch packed special for us from Trip today," she added. "And I've come up with a solution to our bloody problem. So," she grinned at Jemma. "Looks like you get to keep on resting for a few more days."

"Did you just use a pun to make fun of the British?" Jemma laughed at the way Skye worded 'bloody problem'. She put the bubbly drink down so she wouldn't overwhelm her stomach too quickly and she pressed the hot pad against her abdomen with a bit more pressure, relieving her pain even further.    
  
"So what goodies did Trip catch for us?" Jemma asked. She didn't exactly feel like eating at the moment, but they couldn't afford not to eat because of a sore stomach when they had all lost so much weight already. They didn't always have such a good supply like they did now, and it showed in the way most of them were just a bit more slender than looked healthy.

Skye grinned. "I think if you give it enough time you'll find that I'm so hilarious, you won't be able to handle all the giggles," she said in the most serious tone she could considering the situation. Acutely aware of their nutritional situation, she wanted to get as much food as she could into Jemma both for their general health but also because Jemma had a lot of wounds to heal from so she needed enough proper food for her body to have what she needed to do that healing.    
  
Skye moved the pile of clothing (their main blanket, Jemma's pajama pants and the modified boy shorts) off to the side next to her thigh. She reached into the tote bag and began to pull put the wrapped leaf plates. "We have snake jerky and also Milkfish with the skin on - Trip said to leave that on and eat it with the fish by the way. She unfolded the leaf to show Jemma the two fillets and scooped out the lime, lemon and orange wedges, set those between the two pieces of fish to squeeze out onto them as they pleased. She pulled the next one out and unfolded that in her lap as well. "Mango-Guava-Tuber-Onion-y type hash thing with some kind of fresh herbs that Will found."she set that plate down, careful not to spare it.    
  
"Plus," Skye pulled the last small leaf plate pouch out and opened it. "Crab." She smiled. It was a regular feast. Skye was sure Trip hadn't given anyone quite this much to eat but she knew he did it for a reason. Even if they only ate a little now, they would steadily eat through the day, small bits at a time and it would help them both with their recuperation.

"This is way too much food." Jemma shook her head as she looked at all of it. She knew she couldn't stomach the snake jerky at this point and the fish would be a bit too much flavor when her stomach was upset, so she decided to go with the crab meat and fruit and she ate a few pieces and paused for a minute or so before she had a few more.    
  
"Let's just hope Will knew what he was doing when he picked these herbs since I seem to have reactions to a lot of plants here." Jemma joked, referring to the time she had an allergic reaction on her leg and the poisoning during her solo trip. She didn't realize until she said it that it might actually worry Skye and her eyes shot up to see her reaction.

Skye hadn’t considered that since everyone else had already eaten it. Her face creased in concern  and panic slowly washed over it. “M-maybe...maybe you should just eat some of the fish with the crab. I can go get you more fruit that’s not cooked with any of the plants-,” Skye definitely went into panic mode. There was only one Epipen, so she had no idea what she was going to do if Jemma’s throat started closing again and she was too afraid to ask Jemma now what to do because she was ridiculously superstitiously afraid that it would jinx them. 

"If it will ease your worrying brain." Jemma smiled apologetically and reached out to brush a strand of hair out of Skye's face. She hadn't meant to make her worry, but she knew that nothing she said now would ease Skye's fears about the plant, so at the moment she would leave it be. She took another bite of crab and pushed the fruit back over to Skye to show her she wasn't going to eat it and everything would be fine.    
  
"Thank you for everything, Skye." Jemma said after swallowing a bite of crab. She was doing more than Jemma ever expected of her and the gesture with the hot water bottle and the soda meant so much more than it would have in civilization, where soda could be found at the grocery store and electric heating pads weren't impossible.

Skye refolded the fruit plate and put it into the bag. She dug out the folded bundle of coconut and papaya she’d forgotten about and set it down in place of the other before she slowly started to dig into a few pieces of one of the fish for herself. She would definitely be watching Jemma extra carefully now, not that she wasn’t spending most of her time staring at Jemma and reassuring herself that she was breathing and safe. She turned her head quickly and kissed the heel of the hand Jemma used to tuck her hair back. 

“I love you,” She kissed the side of Jemma’s head rather than telling her that she didn’t have to thank her. She waited until they’d settled into their lunch to add, “They’re letting Raina stay,” she looked over at Jemma. “Victoria was a total bitch about it. It took some convincing. May has officially classified her as my responsibility.” She said. “She wants to talk to you, when you’re feeling up to it.” 

"Expected on all accounts." Jemma nodded. She didn't think the group as a whole would boot Raina out but she also knew Victoria was one to protest and categorize people into strictly good or bad. Jemma was just glad Skye no longer had this way of thinking. She was sure the ideal of black and white was ingrained in Skye's mind for a while, the product of her survival before the island, but she was glad Skye could change her mind, for Raina's sake.    
  
"I'd like to talk to her, see how she is." Jemma agreed. She wasn't going to hold anything against Raina, in fact, she was grateful for the help surviving the terror bird attack and she couldn't blame her for the things she'd done under duress.   
  


Skye was quiet for a long few moments, intently studying the food on the plate in her lap while chewing her current mouthful purposefully slowly. Her brow creased into frown lines and when she finally did speak again, she said, "I tried to kill her," without looking at Jemma. There had been a small, steady tremble in Skye’s hands that had started after she mercy killed Mace and had grown by tiny amounts each time she killed another person or had to fight Ward or his group. Nerves that she couldn't fully push from her mind. The only time she could make them stop completely were the high stress times she was wielding the gun or another weapon in the heat of a moment, or in instances like when they were patching Jemma up a few days ago. "When we were in their camp, after you'd already left. I would have too, of Mack hadn't rushed me, disrupted my aim at the last second." Skye gave her head a small shake and busied her hands with wrapping and tucking away the food they weren't touching yet.

"Oh, Skye." Jemma sighed. She reached for Skye's hands and took them up in her own to stop the shaking, but she didn't know what else she could do. She couldn't tell her it was okay, because it definitely wasn't okay to try to kill someone, but she couldn't find herself truly blaming Skye either, whether it be because she was influenced by how much she loved her or because she understood what emotions could have been going through her head. The important part was that Skye hadn't killed her, and when she was level headed enough and in control, she made the right choice: to protect Raina and bring her back to partial safety.    
  
"This island does things to our minds." Jemma settled on this. None of them acted how they would act anywhere else, it just seemed more amplified in Skye, especially in high tension, emotion packed times.

Skye wasn't entirely sure that was true. When she was younger, she'd fought back but had also adapted to learn to do what she had to in order to survive and sometimes that had meant submitting to things she wouldn't dare let herself be subjected to if they'd been done to her as an adult. This island might have created these situations to throw at them, but Skye was certain this was her. So maybe Victoria was right. "When we finally reached their camp and couldn't find you I thought..." Skye's  voice cracked a moment and she had to stop and clear her throat. "And then she told us they just sent you off on your own..." Skye looked over at Jemma despite the few tears welling in her eyes. "I thought I'd never see..." her voice broke again and she shook her head and dropped her eyes again. "I told them I'd told them I'd come back for every last one of them if you were..." she couldn't say it, didn't want to say it - didn't want to jinx it.

"Come here." Jemma opened up her arms and waved a hand so Skye would come closer and she could wrap her arms around her shoulders and support the back of her head with her hand. Skye complied and Jemma gently stroked her hair and began rocking them slightly. "I'm not." Jemma shook her head and Skye would feel her cheek move against her as she did it. "I'm okay, we're both okay." She assured her.

Skye was angry with herself again for inadvertently forcing Jemma to coddle her but she turned and let Jemma pull her in, leaned into the crook of her neck, closed her eyes and took a moment just to breathe in Jemma’s scent, let the slight rocking lull her just a bit. “I’m sorry,” she said. She really shouldn’t be taxing Jemma with this when Jemma was not only still healing but dealing with the cramps and all as well. They weren’t okay, though. They needed to get off this island, to get home. Until then...they weren’t okay. But they were alive, and that’s what had to count right now. “I should be taking care of you right now,” She murmured though she didn’t move to sit up just yet. Really, how often did they get moments like these for themselves in this place? 

"We take care of each other." Jemma dipped her head to kiss the top of Skye's and gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze. It was understandable for her to be upset and all Jemma could do was help Skye ride through it and get out the other side safely, so she did so by holding her and whispering "I love you"s into her ear. She managed to stay that way for several minutes before her cramps determined it was time for her to move. She kissed Skye's head one last time and pulled away, but gently lifted the bottom of Skye's chin with two fingers so they could make eye contact. She smiled through her own pain because nothing made her happy like being with Skye did.    
  
"I'm going to quit the CDC." Jemma blurted suddenly. She waited a moment before she elaborated just to make Skye curious. "When we get out of here. I'm going to be a paleontologist." She said. Before she hadn't let herself hope, but that was what Skye needed right now. She needed assurance that this wasn't all there was. "We should settle down somewhere, get a dog." Jemma suggested, trying to get Skye to play along.

Skye took a slow staying breath. Her eyes meet Jemma's when she lifted her chin but then she blinked,  confused with Jemma's announcement. Her eyebrows arched at the career change declaration. Jurassic Jemma would exist officially in the real world,  away from this place (in a much safer capacity). The corners of Skye's mouth curved up a bit. She let out a startled laugh.  "Don't get ahead of yourself with pets until we know for sure you didn't knock me up," she gave in and did hey best to play along,  for both of their sakes. "Besides, we don't know if dogs will get along with Buzz," she added.

"Well I'm allergic to cats, so... maybe a hamster?" Jemma chuckled. A normal pet would be fun. "I've never had a pet." She admitted. She'd always wanted to, but her parents hated the idea of having an animal in the house and she never had the time for one once she moved out. She and Skye should definitely have some kind of normal pet. Or, as Skye suggested, a child. The idea wasn't unpleasant, but Jemma sure as hell wasn't going to be the first one to bring it up, and so soon, even in a fantasy dream.

"How bout all of them, then, except cats?" Skye moved to fully tuck the last of their leftovers away. "I've never had a pet either," she said. There was just the Wheelers' dogs and they were more than frightening for some very specific reasons. "We should add chickens to our zoo, they're dinosaur related right?" She was more than willing to imagine having an actual life with Jemma. It was the only thing she had to hope for as far as surviving this island went. Skye grabbed the blanket, pajama pants and modified boyshorts. "Ready for my next patented invention?" She handed a pair of the folded shorts to Jemma. "Let me know when the water bottle goes cold, I have more heating on a fire," she motioned toward the cave entrance area.

"Maybe we'll just live out our days on a farm." Jemma grinned. "We can sit on the porch in wooden rocking chairs and watch the sunsets until we're old and grey." She said playfully. They had to make it back, because the more Jemma talked about it, the more she wanted to spend forever with Skye. Then Skye handed her the newest creation and Jemma had no idea what she did to deserve the kind of love, attention, and effort Skye gave her. It was incredible, the way Skye was able to make something out of nothing and Jemma was incredibly grateful for her.    
  
"This is bloody brilliant." Jemma told her. "See what I did there?" She nudged Skye with her elbow and giggled. "Help me get these on? Then I can talk to Raina."

A smile she couldn't stop slipped across Skye's lips at the mental imagine of ever being so lucky as to live the kind of life Jemma described in just a few sentences. It was something she'd thought about in abstract ways - in the 'wouldn't that be nice,' kind of way. She had never once believed she would be in a position to think about that kind of future for herself as a potential reality of any kind and now here it was, planted as a seed in her brain that she could either foster into a fully blooming field of flowers or she could let it wither and die like they were bound to do if they didn't get off this island. No, staying stuck here was not an option. The future was rocking chairs on the porch of a home with Jemma, not death by prehistoric wasteland island.    
  
Slye let out a snort of laughter and some chuckles at Jemma’s pun and then the extra nudge. "Yeah, yeah, I see," she smiled blushing bashfully at the praise. "You're the boss," she joked and moved to help Jemma clean up and change into the modified bloody boy shorts and then helped her back into her pajama pants and redid the towel that had been under Jemma and on top of their bed cushion, occasionally stopping to steal a few kisses here and there.    
  
"We'll do your bandages after you're done talking to Raina?" She said once Jemma was settled back in bed again.

"Yours too." Jemma raised her eyebrows. It wasn't a question. Skye wasn't getting out of a bandage change again, and on this she was going to be strict. Even the tiniest of infections could grow and kill without antibiotics. "You can go ahead and find her, I'm ready." Jemma shifted to get comfortable and tucked some of her now chin-length hair behind her ear since it didn't stay out of her face as well anymore.

“Mine too,” Skye nodded because she knew there would be no getting out of it on her end either. She smiled and added. “Have I mentioned yet that I like your haircut?” Before she leaned in and stole a couple more quick kisses and climbed to her feet to to go in search of Raina. It didn’t take all that long to find her, of course. The closer she got to approaching Raina, the more Skye’s insides shifted a bit, struggling to balance the internal tug of war of not wanting to trust anything about Raina while also understanding that her instincts were possibly wrong in this particular case and she had to overcome them. 

“Hey,” Skye said as she approached so as not to startled Raina but just sneaking up on her. Buzz had spotted SKye when she emerged from the cave again and came by to perch on her shoulder. Skye absently reached up to stroke a finger along part of his body to say hello back. 

"Hey." Raina turned around from where she was sitting by the edge of the water, combing her fingers through her knotted, curly hair and staring out at the surface of the water as tiny bugs skittered across it. Skye was supposed to watch her and Raina knew she was supposed to go to the cave Skye was residing in, but she'd wanted to spend a few more minutes outside after cleaning off and getting into fresh clothes.

Skye was maybe supposed to be ‘watching,’ Raina but Raina wasn’t a child. She didn’t need to be leashed somewhere. That was the deal in her previous camp. So Skye decided she was taking this ‘she’s your responsibility’ thing as more of a ‘if this backfires,’ which, Skye was completely on board with that idea. If it backfired, hands down, it would be on Skye’s shoulders because Skye made the decision to bring her back to the camp. “Feeling better now that you’re cleaned up?” She asked. “We’ve got combs and brushes lying about too,” She hadn’t thought of that when they were gathering supplies. Buzz’s wings fluttered against Skye’s ear as he took off and went flying out and making a dive bomb to make a meal of some of the bugs on the water before he circled back and buzzed t Skye’s ear again when he landed on her shoulder. She had no treats to give him right now but that’d be remedied back in the cave later. 

"Great, that will work a lot better." Raina pulled her fingers from her hair and smoothed out her clothes. If Skye was here it meant Jemma was awake because she wouldn't have left her side otherwise. That meant she could finally apologize for everything, but she was also afraid. What if Jemma didn't forgive her? Skye had said she barely made it back alive, so how injured was she?   
  
"Skye, just so I know... what happened to her?" Raina knew it was a sensitive topic but she didn't want to go in the cave not knowing what Jemma might look like or be feeling.

Skye hesitated. Thinking/Talking about Jemma’s injuries made her internal battle of emotions a bit more trying. She steadied herself, took a long slow breath and prepared to give Raina the most direct and concise response she could. “She used the rifle to kill a titanoboa that then nearly crushed her as it fell on top of her, a pair of juvenile mega spiders tried to tear her in half by the wrist and ankle, a baboon threw her around and she ate something that it turns out she was allergic to so her throat closed up.” She spit it out as clearly but as quickly as she could.   

"Oh my god," Raina mumbled before she could stop herself. She figured Jemma had had an encounter with something, but to survive all of that... She would have said Jemma was lucky to be alive, but she knew it had nothing to do with luck, so she settled instead with, "I think you've found yourself a fighter." She commented. "Can I go see her?" She asked again.

A very small, affectionate smile tipped up Skye’s lips. “Understatement,” she nodded. Jemma was much more than just a fighter, but Skye was damn glad she was not only a fighter but a viciously stubborn one at that. She nodded. “Yeah, let’s go,” She motioned for Raina to follow her and led the way back toward the cave. “Hey,” Skye smiled at Jemma as they approached. “How’s the water bottle?” She asked. “Still warm?” 

"For now." Jemma replied automatically, but froze when she looked up. It wasn't in fear, but surprise as she saw Raina standing next to Skye with the least amount of tension between them Jemma had ever seen. Her smile grew and Raina's worried expression started to fade. She stepped ahead of Skye and approached, but didn't sit down.   
  
"Jemma, I want you to know that I'm so very sorry that I came to fetch you for Ward, doubly sorry that I accidentally led you into terror bird territory, and triply sorry for sending you off on your own." Raina said it all in one breath and Jemma's eyes widened as she tried to follow along with it all. She opened her mouth to reply, but Raina beat her to it. "I understand if you can't forgive me-"   
  
"Raina." Jemma said firmly, shutting the other woman up entirely. "I did what I did of my own free will and I don't want you to blame yourself." She assured her. She pat the stone next to the bed and Raina, looking in a state of disbelief, came and sat next to her as if in a trance. "I'm just glad that something good came out of this: we got you away from Ward." As Jemma said it, Raina's eyes started watering and Jemma continued. "For now, this is home. It's all of our home and it's your home too." Jemma told her and looked to Skye with a small smile on her face. Home sounded nice.

Skye had to make herself hang back to avoid interfering. It wasn’t her place to get between Raina’s apology to Jemma. She wasn’t exactly comfortable with Raina being quite this close to Jemma, but she was doing her absolute best to remain as relaxed as possible without completely closing off her instincts to try to always be ready for anything. She watched their interaction and only moved when Jemma spoke to interrupt Raina’s blurted comments. She knew Jemma wasn’t going to hold anything against Raina, so she stepped over and crouched down to dig through her suitcase in search of her brush since she said she’d find one for Raina to use. She stopped her rummaging and looked over when she felt Jemma’s eyes on her. “Yeah,” Skye nodded in confirmation of Jemma’s words. 

"Home." Raina repeated, looking around the cave. "That's a good word for it."


	19. Wingus and Dingus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **warnings: I dont believe we have any this week....**
> 
> warning that's not plot related: recently I had to factory reset my phone...so if you see more typos than normal, it's because my keyboard hasn't fully relearned how to work properly so my apologies! If you see anything really ridiculous, please feel free to point it out in the comments and laugh with me! I'll do my best to fix them! 
> 
> Thank you thank you thank you as always for reading! Thank you thank you thank you for the kudos comments and love! We <3 you all right back! ;D 
> 
> Very well, onward-ho!   
> Hang onto your butts!   
> #WhereverWednesdays
> 
> ________________________

Jemma wiped her brow for the fourth time in the last minute and the back of her hand still came away with sweat. Her breathing was heavy and labored, but no longer because of her ribs. She was feeling a lot better (and her period had finished, so that helped quite a bit) but that didn't mean Skye was letting her out of bed. It didn't particularly matter though since it was so hot and humid that day that everyone came inside the caves for shelter from the heat after Mack collapsed from heat exhaustion. It was too muggy for anyone to work and it was difficult to keep everyone hydrated with the amount of water weight they were losing by sweat.    
  
Jemma had finished all of her water but Skye was lying next to her seeming exhausted, so she couldn't ask her to get up and go to the pond. She also knew that if she tried to get up Skye would be on her in an instant and would do it for her, so she decided she could wait a little longer. She swallowed slowly, took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and repeated. Everything felt heavy and difficult.

The last time Skye ever remembered feeling this much like she was drowning in a giant vat of split pea soup, she had been working in New Orleans. There were things that needed to be done around camp but for the life of her, Skye couldn’t make herself move since she’d laid back down after helping get Mack back into the cave and in bed. That had been the last time she’d refilled their water and, even though she was extremely thirsty, she didn’t even want to sit up to grab one of the bottles for a drink. After all the violent injuries they’d sustained from the plane crash to the in-fighting with humans, to all the beastly run-ins, Skye was sure it was this particular humidity that was going to actually kill them. 

When that thought hit her, Skye began to laugh. It was delirious sound, high pitched snickers that bellowed up from her belly with no external precursor to them and at such a pace that she couldn’t even attempt to explain herself. Sadly, this also expended valuable energy but Skye was powerless to stop the giggles she’d caught from her own dumb thought. 

Jemma frowned and mustered up the energy to turn her head to the side and look at Skye to find the cause of her laughter, and even though there was nothing, Jemma started grinning too and it gradually turned into short giggles along with her. She had no idea why Skye was laughing, but it was infections and Jemma couldn't help but join in. "Why are we laughing?" She finally got out between fits of hysterical giggling.

It took a few minutes of trying to catch her breath and breaking into follow-up hysterical giggles before Skye stammered out between her residual snickers, “W-We survived...everything else…” She looked over at Jemma, “This place is…” She snickered a few more times. “T-trying to kills us....with climate,” She fell into another fit of giggles, as if this was clearly the most hilarious thing she’d ever heard, even coming from herself.

"It ran out of ideas." Jemma added with a laugh. "It hasn't been able to kill us with dinosaurs, so it's trying weather." The laughing heightened again at the personification of the island as some deity that was failing miserably. 

Skye laughed louder at Jemma’s words, her eyes scrunching shut as tears of laughter gathered in them. She swung her hand up to cover her mouth and nose slightly just after she let out what she could only consider to be an obnoxiously loud snort. “C-Climate change gets us in the end a-after all!” she said between the hysterical laughs. She just couldn’t seem to stop them. Not right away at least. It took quite a bit of exhaled post-laughter hums and deep breaths, punctuated with occasional releases of the last little bouts of snickers. “Of course that’s what would happen,” She smirked, breathless, sweaty and thoroughly more exhausted now. Her fingers reached, traced their way down the inside of Jemma’s forearm until their hands were curled together. “Of course,” She murmured, pulling up Jemma’s hand up to her lips to kiss the back of it absently. 

"Don't kiss me, I'm gross." Jemma laughed one last time and squeezed Skye's hand anyway, even if human contact was the last thing that would cool them off.   
  
"Are you two dinguses drinking enough water?" Bobbi propped herself up on her elbows on the other side of the cave and threw her words at them. Nobody else could see the humor and just saw it as an interruption to their cat nap.

Just for that, Skye pulled Jemma’s hand back up and kissed it a couple more times. “Hey now!” Skye retorted as if offended. She pushed herself the rest of the way up and turned to look back over at Bobbi. “We’re not  _ both _ Dingus, y’know - I’m Wingus. This one’s Dingus, duhhh,” She hooked her thumb to point at Jemma and rolled her eyes, showcasing the clear fact that they were indeed not drinking enough water because Skye was very much feeling loopy as hell. She kissed Jemma’s hand one more time then let it go and, with a grunt of effort,  pushed herself to her knees and started to gather up their empty bottles. She felt doubly exhausted just thinking about having to walk the short distance to the pond and back, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to let Jemma get up at all. 

"Go, get water before we start hoping you pass out." Bobbi waved her hand toward the exit and the others all grumbled in agreement. Jemma gave Skye's hand a squeeze and as she got up, teasingly gave her a nudge with her foot to get her going.

Skye sighed. “Shit,  _ I _ hope I pass out soon,” she loaded five empty bottles in total in her arms and felt a small wave of dizziness hit her when she leaned over to kiss Jemma quickly before she forced herself up to her feet. She turned and trudged, not perfectly steady, forcing her feet to move even though each breath was heavy in her lungs. Even New Orleans hadn’t felt this oppressive. Skye had never once in her life wanted to experience breathing swamp water. Turns out the first time she did it had been child’s play. 

When she left the cave, she felt the shift of stagnant air. There was a ‘breeze’ but it wasn’t like the cool breeze off the ocean. It was a swirling mass of the thick, soupy, boiling air they were breathing. Even Buzz didn’t move from his perched on a lilypad in the shallows of the pond when he saw her reach the edge of the pond. “I feel you, buddy,” Skye sighed as she crouched and then knelt with the bottles. Setting the empty bottles down, Skye leaned over and scooped up a few handfuls of water with both of her hands and splashed them over her face and down over the top of her head. She was sweat soaked already so it didn’t make all that much difference, really. She filled one bottle halfway up and drank it down at a steady pace. When she brought the bottle back down to fill it all the way, she spotted the time on her wristwatch and frowned. 

While they’d been camping at the beach still, on the first day they were here after crashing, Skye had reset her watch at noon when the sun was directly above them in the sky. Having some concept of time available to her, she had thought at the time, would give her some kind of mental edge. She realized it was much too dark too dark out for it to only be twelve noon. Skye shook her arm, worried something was wrong with the watch. Then she looked upward, through the break in the canopy and her frown deepened. The patched in the canopy that usually showed off relatively clear sky (but for random passing tropical rain showers here and there) were blocked by thick, deep, dark gray and in some cases, nearly black, clouds. Her brow furrowed. She glanced toward the entrance where Will and Mike were sitting, leaning back against the side trees, looking about ready to pass out and collapse out of the tree itself. That drew a deeper frown from Skye as she checked the cloud cover above again. 

She made the quickest work she could refilling the bottles and screwing their caps back on. Skye loaded all the bottles up tucked tightly into her left arm and stood. She turned to Buzz and gave him a quick whistle, held her arm up. “C’mon, bud, let’s go,” She nodded her head and started toward the entrance first, trying to move at a normal pace rather than her earlier trudge. 

“Guys!” She called up to Will and Mike when she was close enough. Both of them started slightly, surprised by Skye’s approach as Buzz perched lazily on her shoulder. “Can you make it down without hurting yourselves?” She asked. 

“What?” Will asked at the same time that Mike muttered a confused, “Why?” 

“This hot soupy mess is going to open up at us at some point,” She pointed to the clouds. “Thunderstorms come with lightning. You’re in one of the things lightning likes to strike most?” 

Will and Mike exchanged glances. “Yeah, okay,” Will answered for them both. 

Skye nodded. “Fill your water bottles before you hit the caves,” she said. She turned and headed back for the cave. She set the water bottles down next to Jemma and sighed as she pulled her hair free in order to redo it up on her head. “There are some nasty looking clouds in the sky right now,” She said, speaking loud enough to let the others know. She chewed on her bottom lip as the gears in her brain tried to move faster than her exhaustion wanted to allow. Did they have enough food to ride out a storm? Was there anywhere she could get to in her depleted state, without collapsing, that would give her an idea of how big of a storm they had on their hands? She glanced deeper into the cave and struggled to remember if Trip went to the beach earlier or not. No, he’d skipped it because of the humidity. 

"It's not evening?" Jemma's head came off the bed. This had a few of the others at more attention than they had been all day.

Skye shook her head but didn’t get to answer before Will spoke up.    
  
"Those are the darkest clouds I've ever seen and I used to live in tornado alley." Will came into the cave and announced. Suddenly everyone was awake all at once.   
  
"Do you think it'll be worse than the storm on the beach?" Yoyo threw her concern into the growing pile.    
  
"We didn't have shelter then so it shouldn't be as bad now." Jemma pointed out. They didn't have an issue with water, but their snake jerky reserve was running low since they had only been able to carry so much meat and she was sure after the first day that the carcass was picked apart and/or rotting. They didn't have too much fruit left either.    
  
"We need to start saving resources." Mack spoke up.

“It’s noon,” Skye told Jemma before she held up her watch to show her. She looked at Trip. “Think you’re up for a trap check run before it hits?” She asked. 

Trip considered it. He pulled himself up to his feet and went out of the cave to get a look at the clouds and came back frowning. “I don’t know if we’ll beat the storm back or not,” He rested his hands on his waist. 

“Consider it,” She looked a the others. “Talk it over. I’ll grab May,” She pushed back to her feet again and left the cave to go into one of the others. 

Jemma felt a lurch in her chest when Skye left this time knowing that there was a storm coming. How could she not after the danger they'd been put in the last time there was a thunderstorm. They were in the caves, but also surrounded by tall trees.    
  
"I don't like it." Trip shook his head, but they could all see him considering it anyway. "I might have to though. The storm might last longer than our food."

“It’s just a storm,” Hunter said from his spot, propped up on his elbows and not moving anymore than he had to. “Rain hasn’t been  _ that _ disruptive to us before, just minorly.” 

“We had other problems last time we had a big storm,” Mack grumbled as he pulled himself up, swaying slightly in his spot. 

“That’s true,” Hunter murmured. 

“Do we think there’s enough time to take stock before we make a decision?” Mike asked. “We might have enough food to last us until there’s a break in the storm to go and gather more or check traps?” he suggested just as Skye was walking back into the cave with May, some of the others and Ace in tow. 

“What’s the verdict, where are we at?” Skye asked as she moved to crouch down next to Jemma. Her brain was entirely conscious of what happened to the two of them during their last big storm. She reached for a bottle of water, twisted off the cap and brought it up for some steady drinks, reaching with her free hand, then, to hook Jemma’s fingers with her own. 

"I'm getting a bad feeling about all this." Will told them. The silence that had fallen over the jungle was eery and everything smart was hiding from the storm, not considering running out of the shelter.    
  
"I don't think anyone should be leaving the cave and going into the trees when there's a chance of lightning." Jemma added her opinion. As she said it, a low grumble shook the cave and vibrated in the air and the insides of their ears.

Skye looked upward even though she knew the were inside the cave, when she heard the rumbling sound. She gave Jemma’s fingers a small unconscious squeeze. 

“Doc’s right,” May nodded after considering it a moment, factoring in the sounds of thunder. “Let’s fill our water bottles now and bring anything we need to inside the caves. After that, we can inventory and ration what we have food wise.” She looked over at Trip. “If the weather breaks and gives us a lull, we can fish the pond for extra stock.” May looked around at all of them. “Does that sound agreeable?” 

Skye hesitated. She felt a bit anxious leaving their food stocks to chance like this when they didn’t have an idea of the full extent of the storm above them but for the glimpses of clouds through the canopy. She could tell Jemma was unnerved, though, so she agreed with a small nod. “We should check through the extra clothing and luggage now for extra towels, blankets, jackets, anything for when the humidity breaks in the storm.” They didn’t know how much rain would drop the humidity suddenly and they were all sweat soaked and therefore waterlogged. 

"Let's just prepare to wait it out." Jemma tugged at Skye's hand to get her to come closer. A few droplets split on the rocks at the entrance to the cave for only a few moments before a near sheet of rain suddenly fell from the sky and slammed into the ground. It echoed through the mouth of the cave and another roll of thunder sounded above the canopy.    
  
"It's here." Jemma clutched Skye's arm and held on tightly. Like most other things, a thunderstorm was much scarier here than on the mainland.

Skye frowned and glanced over her shoulder to the entrance of the cave, cursing herself for not paying enough attention earlier to better prepare for this situation. She moved closer to Jemma, let go of her hand so she could wrap her arm around her shoulders. “We’ll be okay in here, Jem,” she kissed her temple quickly and watched as Buzz hovered near the wall of water raining down outside the cave before he settled down on the bed near their feet and flapped his wings here and there. Skye finished half of the water bottle she had and held it out to Jemma. 

“Let’s get back to our cave,” May said to Will, Mike and Ace. To the others she said. “Sit tight, catch up on some sleep. Everyone stay hydrated.” She looked them all over and then turned to go with Mike, Ace and Will, all of them jogging as much as they could through the downpour. 

“Anyone find the family packed board games yet?” Hunter asked after a long few moments of silence, or of the echoing sounds of the rain and the thunder. 

Skye looked over at Jemma, trying her best to mask her own nerves. She squeezed her shoulders. “Okay?” she asked. 

"I'm okay. You okay?" She asked. "It's just some rain." That was hopeful thinking. Nothing was "just" anything here. The lightning could spark a tree to flames, the rumbling could collapse the cave if it wasn't stable, any number of things could happen that they couldn't prepare for.

“Yeah,” Skye nodded, not entirely convincing either of them she was sure. She leaned over and kissed Jemma, wondered how likely it would be to attempt to nap after they drank some water and maybe refilled the bottles from the rain. 

\---

The steady rain kept up through the night into the next day. For a short while at night, Skye had turned her phone on in order to distract them with some music without draining too much of the battery. It helped their nerves with how loud the rain and thunder was in the cave. Skye was still able to sleep eventually, though she was sure it was only because Jemma was lying next to her. In the morning there was a break in the storm so Trip, Mack and Will decided to make an attempted run to the beach to pull in the traps and secure them on the beach. When they returned in the afternoon (well after the storm had started downpouring again), the group found out that not only had two trees fallen in the storm, blocking their clear path and causing delays in the trek to the beach because they had to be climbed over, but the storm surge was so large, they couldn’t even step onto the beach because it was all water right up to the edge of the jungle. 

The humidity broke in the afternoon but the rain, lightning and thunder continued as the temperature started to cool. At first it was a relief, but come evening, they were scrambling to create something that would let them keep a fire near the mouth of the cave without it either going out from the rain or gassing them out in the process. Skye was mulling it over while she dug her way through her suitcase, gathering extra layers they could add on. “Maybe we could find someway to hang up part of what’s left of one of the rafts at the cave entrance? We could block some of the cooler air from coming in, maybe,” She murmured, wondering if, now that the humidity hadn’t killed them, that the island was trying hypothermia as its new tactic. They didn’t have anything to hang the raft material on or from, or with, even, to use it as a door flap. 

"You would get soaking wet trying to hang it up and it wouldn't work, you'd just get yourself sick." Jemma said through slightly chattering teeth. It didn't help that their cave was naturally cool compared to outside and everyone was huddled next to someone else. Each little group had at least one airplane blanket to wrap around themselves, but they weren't exactly heavy duty outdoor blankets and didn't hold much heat. "Besides, we need each other's body heat." Jemma held onto Skye's waist even tighter and made sure their blankets were up to their chins.

Skye frowned,  still trying to think of a solution.  She wanted to check the first aid kit to see if the was a solar blanket in there to capture their heat to keep them warm but if there was,  there would only be one and she knew Jemma wouldn't let Skye use it for her only.  "I can think of a few good ways to warm you up,"she teased,  running her hands up and down Jemma's arms to try and warm her up.  When she realized the sweatshirt she given Jemma had a hood, she pulled it up and around Jemma's head to catch some more heat while she kissed the corner if her mouth. 

"Still trying to get under my shirt." Jemma grumbled jokingly. She pulled the strings on the hoodie so the rim of the hood suddenly came down over her face. "This storm better not last much longer or we'll be popsicles." She joked. She was trying to stay lighthearted about the fact that it was a very real possibility that people would become hypothermic soon with no way to warm them up.

Skye's teeth chattered slightly as she chuckled. "I'm always thinking about ways to get under your shirt," she replied before she shifted to pull Jemma close, though they were tucked pretty close together. "Actually, hold on a sec," she reluctantly unwound from Jemma and went digging through a section of her suitcase until she found the rolled up blue tarp that was once their 'door' for the entrance to their shelter on the beach. She unfolded it, shook it out and laid back down with Jemma, working it around then on top of their blankets in the hopes it would keep at least a little bit more heat in. When she wound her arms back around Jemma this time, she started them rocking a bit on the bed since she figured it would generate a little extra heat without making either of them sweat.    
  
"I never thought I'd miss the island heat," Skye quipped. As an almost afterthought, she asked. "Have you ever been camping before? Like, before this island, I mean."

"Not in the traditional sense." Jemma shook her head. Their faces were already pressed cheek to cheek so it created a bit of warmth. "But I was staying in a village without running water or electricity before the plane crash, and it's not the first time." Jemma explained. Camping in a tent with friends or family, no, but roughing it with the less fortunate while she tried to help them or gather samples or stop an outbreak or any number of things, yes.

Skye chuckled, a bit like the delirious laughter from the day before without catching the hysterical giggles. "You have no idea how far out of my league you are," she joked. Okay, she was only half joking, but it was true, at least to Skye. She frowned to herself as she realized how much of a difference Jemma probably made in the world for the actual good of humankind compared to Skye or anyone else among them and how much of a loss it was that they were losing out since Jemma was gone, stuck here in hell. "The Wheelers were really into 'camping.' I use the term loosely because they had an RV that they slept in, but they made us build our own shelters, we weren't allowed to help each other or anything. We had to gather, catch and cook our own food too without help, after being taught the bare minimum basics. They insisted it 'built character,' or whatever but mostly it just meant a stretch of days of not eating because you were too afraid you'd pick the wrong plant and die, or eating raw squirrel or fish,  if you were lucky, because you couldn't get a fire started to cook it, or with itchy rashes in bad places because you crouched in the wrong place or wiped with the wrong leaf and got poison ivy or oak or whatever else." Skye did not mean to ramble, it just happened, maybe to distract them, or...for whatever reason. "It's one of the reasons I pack for the end of the world. And have bracelets with rope, compasses and flint strikers on them. Or solar charging things, mega first aid kits, all that. I'd rather have minimal items to work with across the board or to make into new things as needed than be caught empty handed while stranded."

"Hey," Jemma squeezed Skye a little more tightly and turned to kiss her cheekbone a few times. She didn't know what to say, so she just held her and rocked with her as the rain continued to beat down on the camp outside the cave. "There are a lot of us that would be dead if you didn't carry that first aid kit." Jemma pointed out. She didn't mean to say that what happened to Skye was a good thing, but she hoped making Skye aware of the lives she'd inadvertently saved would help her.

"Yeah," Even Skye could hear the skepticism in her tone despite knowing that Jemma would have been dead without that kit because of the epipen. "I guess I have a set of very particular skills designed to keep scraping by just enough to stay alive even when you don't know why you want to keep going," she murmured before she realized how it sounded. "Not that I don't, I mean, I have a reason now, but before, when I was younger, I mean, I didn't back then, it was just...I don't know, something made me do it I guess. I'm gonna shut up now,"  she pulled her bottom lip in and lightly bit down on it to stem the word vomit coming out of her mouth as she mentally kicked herself for it. It definitely wasn't the time to lose it and start rambling about crazy things.

"I've never done anything for myself." Jemma suddenly blurted. If Skye was sharing her personal thoughts, it was only fair Jemma did too, and maybe it would help her feel better. "I've done everything I've done because I'm smart. 'You owe it to the world to use your skills for it', my professors used to tell me. Science is interesting, but nothing has truly made me happy but you." She told Skye. "And dinosaurs." She practically snorted.

Skye was quiet as she listened, surprised not by the suddenness of the words but the actual confession itself. Her arms wound tighter around Jemma, though she was careful of her sides and back as usual. She felt the fluttery little leap in her chest as her heart went on one of those skittering little jaunts at the assertion that she made Jemma happy. Would that angle of things have happened if it wasn’t for their situation? Skye wanted to believe it would, but, really there was no way to know for sure right? She let out her or snort of laughter. “Can’t fault you there,” She said. “Though I’d like to think dinosaurs are scarier than me,” She meant it as a joke but she supposed she’d had quite a few moments on the island where she’d been a rather scary person in particular situations. “So you don’t enjoy being a disease superhero, huh?” she asked. 

"I helped a lot of people." Jemma nodded. And it didn't feel bad, but it never felt exactly like it was what she had chosen to do. She'd done all her schooling and the whole thing fell into her lap, really. How could she not take the job and deny those people what she had to offer? "But my passion lies in paleontology, I think." She confirmed. If signs existed, this was definitely one of them. It was the holy grail of signs that she should switch careers.    
  
"What about you, are you going to continue being Ms. Super Spy when we get out of here?" Jemma asked. She didn't mean for it to show in her face and tone of voice, but she wanted the answer to be no. She wanted to live in one spot with Skye and not be apart from each other. They couldn't do that if Skye was still an international- whatever she was.

“Good thing we’ve got a whole collection to bring back with us,” Skye mused. “Give you a headstart on the career shift,” She smiled slightly to herself as she thought about all the dissected things and the live things they’d be bringing back with them when they got out of here and made it home one day. 

The idea of not retaining her current (or former, at this point?) job was a foreign concept to her at this point. She didn’t have anything but that job, really, or at least she hadn’t had anything else before the island. She had no idea what she could even do besides that. Moreover, she had no idea if they’d let her go. “I didn’t have a choice,” She said. “If we get back...I don’t know if they’ll give me one, either,” She admitted, not bothering to hide the frown from her tone. “I’d prefer not to.” 

"You mean they could force you back into doing what you did?" Jemma asked. Maybe whoever Skye worked for was a bit more serious than the CDC when it came to abandonment. "I'll fight for you." Jemma nodded in affirmation. Whatever they could do surely wasn't legal, especially after all this, and public attention might make them back down. She was sure this would all be very public when they got back.

Skye was glad Jemma couldn’t see the pathetic, sad smile on her face at the moment with the way they were tucked together. She turned her head and kissed the top of Jemma’s shoulder. “They forced me in the first place,” She nodded slightly. “It was join up or they’d lock me up, potentially in one of those prisons that don’t actually exist on paper, for however long they wanted.” It wasn’t as if anyone would have been looking for her to make a public stink about her disappearance if that had happened. “It wasn’t a choice. I was nineteen.” 

"That's terrible." Jemma sighed. She hated to think about young Skye being coerced into a dangerous, lonely job, especially after everything she'd been through as a child. "We'll make sure that doesn't happen again, I promise." Jemma couldn't promise it. But they couldn't promise they'd even get out of there anyway.

Skye couldn’t actually speak to respond at first. Not that she had done anything violent to end up in the position where she could be blackmailed into the situation she’d been put in, but Jemma didn’t know that and she hadn’t even asked what Skye did in the first place, as if it didn’t even matter at all. Of all the times she’d wondered what someone’s reaction would be if she ever confessed this to a person, steadfast defense and promises to somehow protect her wasn’t at all the kind of reaction Skye had ever imagined. So she was maybe a little overly choked up (though she was trying her best to fight it back to sound normal) when she quietly replied, “I love you,” because that, if nothing else at all, was the most important thing. 

"And I love you." Jemma nuzzled into Skye and held the blankets tightly around them. It wasn't so bad having to cuddle up with her for a prolonged period of time, it was just a shame it came with such bitter cold. Hopefully the storm wouldn't last much longer.

\--

The storm didn’t let up on that second night. Their food lasted until the third morning. The third day and night were just as cold as the one before it. The rain kept up but the humidity and the temperature picked up a bit on the fourth day. At the least, they had water. Come the morning, on the fifth day of rain, the a loud, steady thundering disrupted any chance of sleep. The waterfall had been extra loud the last day or so but it was just about as loud as the thunderclaps. It came down hard, crashing into the pond at nearly twice its normal rate, which caused the shallows to become the deep end as the pond area filled much faster than it could drain out its usual side. 

But it was the loud thundering rush of the sounds of the waterfall that woke Skye, before she knew the pond was overflowing. Skye opened her eyes but couldn’t quite push past the lethargy to peel herself away from Jemma. “S’too loud t’be thunder…” she murmured. 

"No, not yet." Jemma didn't hear what Skye had said because she was half asleep after finally drifting off from exhaustion alone, but she could feel Skye moving away and she held her tighter. "Love, 's too chilly to get up." Like an upset child she tried to cling to Skye for a few more moments until the roaring sound outside finally caught her attention her grip loosened. "What is it?"

It would be so easy to give in. Skye wanted to give in. She exhaled a sigh and wrapped her arms tighter around Jemma, dropped an uncoordinated kiss to a random spot along her layer-covered shoulder and let out a sleepy hum. “Jem, we hafta-,” She cut off when Jemma spoke and loosened her grip. Skye, reluctantly loosened her grip and pulled back so she could push herself up with a grunt. “Dunno,” she rubbed her face and shuddered. The temperature had gone up but it was still cold, especially when she wasn’t pressed all up against Jemma under the blanket and tarp. “Waterfall?” she asked through a yawn while trying to talk herself into climbing to her feet. 

"Too loud to be that." Jemma shook her head and finally let go of Skye so they could get up and investigate. As she looked around she noticed some of the others starting to stir and Fitz's head popped up out of the small mass of bodies.   
  
"Unless it isn't." His voice was wavering and full of fear and he crawled out from underneath his blanket to meet up with Skye and Jemma. It was better to do anything in groups.

It felt ominous to Skye, not knowing for sure. She sighed and began peeling some layers off. If she was going to investigate, she sure as shit wasn’t going it in clothing layers that would then be too wet to wear. “Better to find out now than later,” She peeled her way all the way down to her under things, her sports bra and boy shorts. “Say put,” She leaned down to kiss Jemma quickly after issuing the order and then grabbed her machete from her belt by her suitcase and looked to see if she was going alone or if anyone was coming with her. 

"But-" Jemma started.   
  
"Don't." Fitz pointed at her and Jemma huffed and leaned back into the bed as he tugged off two jackets and his shirt. He had no idea what was going on and he didn't think it was a dinosaur, but he scooped Jemma's knife up off the ground just in case they needed it.    
  
"I can't even see out the cave." Fitz observed. With the downpour and the extra sheet that was running down the face of the cliff in front of the entryway, it was nearly a wall of water between them and the rest of the camp and they couldn't see down to the pond.

"Mmm," Skye murmured as she watched the wall of water. She glanced at Jemma and gave her a reassuring smile. When she turned back to the water, she said, "Here's to hoping there's better visibility once we head out." She took a deep breath to steady herself and muster her courage. Looking at Fitz she said. "Stay close," and then she moved her feet and left the cave at fast walking pace. There was no point in pretending ah wasn't going to get soaked.    
  
Past the wall of water there was still a heavy downpour but it provided a little bit better visibility. She headed in the direction of the pond and waterfall and stopped halfway there. There were raging Rapids of water coming down the falls at a furious pace into the pond. It was twice as wide as normal and the pond wasn't draining nearly fast enough. "Is that..." Skye's gaze shifted to the entrance of the other cave, which was closer to the pond and waterfall than the one Skye and the others were in. "Shit."

"You think it'll flow into the caves?" Fitz shouted over the rain in a rush once he caught up and took stock of the situation. If the storm lasted much longer they would all have to squeeze into the smaller cave, and if it lasted longer than that... they'd either be swimming or they'd head into the jungle.

Heading into the jungle was not an option Skye was willing to consider.  It was beyond a last resort.  She shuddered, remembering the rainy fight in the jungle with Ward, Quinn and Donnie. Skye pushed the thoughts as far to the back of her mind as she could.  She focused on the slope of the ground, where the flow of water and pooling was happening. "It looks like it's sloped away from our cave," she pointed to the ground and showed Fitz what she meant as she shouted over the thundering water.  "Let's go warn May and the others! We'll see if we can secure their things in the back of their cave and if the water reached them, they can make a run for our cave?" Skye was r going to think about what was going to happen if it reached their cave. 

They did as Skye suggested and ran through another wall of water. They were met with raised knives, but once everyone recognized them the defenses came back down. After explaining what was happening, they helped everyone relocate to the very back of the cave with instructions to move to theirs if the water started getting invasive. Skye and Fitz were walking in ankle deep water for most of the way back to their own cave and the cold temperatures at their feet made the rest of them feel even more miserable.    
  
"Skye, get undressed before you freeze!" Jemma grabbed for Skye's hand the second they were back. Fitz went off to change out of his own soaked garments and everyone politely looked away from them. "Take off those shoes, your feet regulate the rest of your body temperature."

Skye, at least, only had her boots, bra and underwear to remove since she'd taken the other layers off before leaving. She nodded to Jemma’s command and pulled off her boots. She dumped the water out of them away from the bed, definitely feeling multiple degrees colder than before from the rain. She squeezed her hair out and sacrificed a beach towel to dry it until it wasn't dripping anymore then soaked up why she could of herself after peeling her under things off. It took some Extra work and energy getting back into dry underwear, gym shorts, her pajama pants, socks, a long sleeved Henley shirt and a hooded sweat jacket after that but as soon as the layers were on and zipped up, she curled up into Jemma's side.    
  
"The waterfall's twice its normal size. Pond's starting to overrun. The ground is sloped away from us for now, but it's ankle deep or more for most of the camp area." She said as she tried to distract herself from being so cold. "We moved everything in the other cave to the back of their cave up on that foot or so high ledge they have? Told them if it floods in that they need to come here. They have the leftover raft so they can use that to cover up and make a run for it if they have to." She rambled.

"So everything's alright for now?" Jemma just wanted to make sure she was hearing Skye right. The fact that their camp was flooded wasn't exactly good, but they weren't in immediate danger of getting flooded out of the area completely. Skye's skin was cold against her own, so Jemma made an effort to fix it and ran her hands up and down Skye's arms to create some friction and then pulled the blankets back around them into a cocoon. It wasn't until after she'd done it that Jemma realized her palm hadn't hurt and she suddenly remembered that they hadn't really checked on it in a while.   
  
"My hand isn't hurting." Jemma told her. Maybe something good would happen that day. She pulled away just enough to be able to unwrap her hand between them where they could both see. It was still red and pink in some places, but for the most part her palm was fresh, bumpy scar tissue and it looked to be on the mend.

Skye nodded. "For now," she replied, too cautious to say everything was okay. They all knew how quickly things could change. Skye burrowed into the warmth Jemma provided but frowned at the mention of her palm. She watched Jemma unwrap it with a good deal of bottled up anxiety, worried that Jemma would panic about the outcome of however her palm healed like she had in the past. "We should change the bandages on your back," She murmured as she watched.    
  
Reaching out, she gently touched along Jemma's palm to see if there were any sore spots still. It looked much better than the burn but was still a mangled mess from the injury and the cauterizing. Her other thoughts went to Fitz, since he'd gone out in the rain with her. She glanced over her shoulder in his direction. "Are you warm enough?" She asked.

"I'll get there eventually." Fitz called over to them. He'd dressed himself in several layers and was hiding under two blankets in his makeshift bed. Raina's was just next to his and she offered to share her oversized blanket with him since they could both fit under it without being too squished.    
  
"The idea of taking off layers is unappealing." Jemma frowned at the suggestion. To change her bandages she would have to take off her hoodie and shirt and when the bandages came off her back would be completely exposed to the cold. Skye may have done it to go outside but Jemma didn't exactly want to do the same.

Skye was relieved Fitz had someone else's body heat to help wit warming up since she was having trouble getting the feeling back in the tips of her fingers and toes just yet still. "It is," Skye conceded. "But I can't even remember when we changed the last," of course she was but numb at the moment and the idea of letting go of Jemma to make her hands steady enough to work was also unappealing when she felt so lethargic. "How does your hand feel?" She asked, nodding to her scarred palm.

"Fine." Jemma shivered as she said it and hands gripped at the bottom of her hoodie. She tried to stay under the blankets when she pulled it off, but it was difficult. Next she pulled her arms out of her sleeves and punched up her shirt so it was around her neck and over her shoulders so at least that part of her was protected from the cold. She immediately began shivering and hugged her arms around herself, but turned so her back faced Skye and they could get it over with quickly.    
  
"My hand feels okay, especially in this cold." She pointed out. With their hands practically numb anyway the pain in her palm had significantly decreased, enough where she could press it against things and not feel the biting, stinging pain. She still couldn't move her outer fingers, but at least it was no longer as much of an open wound.

"Maybe we can figure out some kind of exercises for you to do, to work the muscles or stretch them out or something?" Skye moved to sit as close against Jemma's back as she could while still working on the bandages. She frequently brought her hands to her mouth to blow on them and rub them together to warm them, worked as quickly as she could until the job was done. "How does everything else feel?" She asked as she helped Jemma back into her layers. "Besides cold."

"That won't work." Jemma snapped. She didn't mean to be snippy, but her new disability was a sore subject. "My muscles are fine, the tendons are damaged." She was having a hard time taking it in herself, so having to explain it to Skye was frustrating and made it fresh in her mind. A sigh puffed from her lungs and she leaned back into Skye. "I'm sorry." She told her. Skye was just trying to help and she didn't deserve Jemma lashing out at her.    
  
"My ribs feel less like I was hit by a train. Everything else is a dull pain instead of a sharp sting." Jemma described it the best she could so Skye knew exactly how she was feeling. She was getting better, truly, and she hoped to be allowed out of bed soon.

Skye kept quiet when Jemma snapped at her, partially just a reactionary reflex, partially because she’d already pissed Jemma off by making her cold so she could change the bandages. She wrapped her arms around Jemma when she leaned back and laid back in the bed with her before she started messing with their covers to wrap them both up as tightly as possible.  She kissed the side of her head and rested her chin on her shoulder. Her left hand traveled along Jemma’s forearm and over her palm, using a light touch just in case and tracing over all the new contours there. “Any progress is still progress no matter how small?” That’s how the saying went at least, right? “Soon we’ll be back to stifling heat and humidity and crazy animal sounds in the jungle.” She wondered where Jemma’s dinosaur friend was in this rain. Maybe they had nests. Or other caves to live in. 

"Right." Jemma sighed. She felt bad for taking out her frustration on Skye, but she was handling it so well and she didn't want to dwell on it so she just let herself relax into the warm hold Skye had on her. It made her sleepy and she thought she might actually get some sleep against the thunder this time with Skye holding onto her from behind and lightly tickling her hand like that. Skye was right. It was a tickle, not a burn, so she had that to be thankful for.   
  
"Try to get some sleep so we're ready when the storm passes." Jemma squeezed Skye's hand and shuffled a bit further back to be tightly nestled into Skye's front with the blankets wrapped snugly around their bodies.

Skye kissed a few spots on Jemma’s shoulder and the side of her head. “Mmm,” she nodded but didn’t quite promise much on the sleep. She needed to sleep, but she felt reluctant to. She wanted to make sure they stayed warm enough and she wanted to make sure that the water didn’t invade their cave. Regardless, if she did fall asleep, she was a light enough sleeper that she’d wake up right away if the other cave’s occupants relocated so she wasn’t worried about that outside of worrying about them having to abandon their things to move into the smaller cave. It took some time but eventually, she did nod off as it was impossible to fight it eventually.

\--  
  
It down poured for another day and a half. The temperature went up a bit more during the day but was cold again come night. In the middle of the night, the other cave’s occupants had made a run for it, trying to cover themselves with the raft so they could carry some items with them to the other cave. The camp was still waterlogged and it would take a couple days for it to fully drain down back to relative normal pond level. The humidity, thankfully, hadn’t quite returned by the afternoon after it stopped raining even though the temperatures had gone back up into the high 60s/low 70s. Everyone had been making do with filling up on water to fill their stomachs, which only went so far to help. Stomachs were still grumbling. Skye had been saving one last bag of chocolate chip cookies in her messenger bag for emergencies and this counted as one as it was the longest they’d gone without food since they’d landed. She gave the cookies to Ace since he was the youngest and the rest of them could handle it until they could get some fish. Victoria bitched about her decision, but a bunch of the others told her to shut up before Skye could even muster the annoyance to scold her. 

“I’ve got some hand lines made up and a couple of nets,” Trip was gathering his materials at a sluggish pace after the rain stopped and the sun was finally coming back through the canopy. “I’ll go start fishing the pond,” He said. 

“We’ll help,” Mack said with a nod to Elena as they moved to follow. 

“Can I come too?” Ace asked. 

“Best to stay back for now, bud. The shallows of the pond are deeper than they normally are and the current’s stronger because of the heavier waterfall right now.” Trip said as he and Mike exchanged a glance. 

“You can come up into the tree and keep watch with me, buddy,” Mike gave Ace’s shoulder a squeeze. 

Skye turned to Jemma. “Why don’t we move one of the plane seats into a sun patch outside for you?” She asked. “I’ll help Trip and the others and you can update your journal and try to call out to Trudy so we can watch her path back into camp again?” She arched her eyebrows. 

"We can give it a shot." Jemma agreed to attempt to attract her dinosaur stalker, but all the effort that was going to be put into her was another thing. "I don't need special attention, Skye, I'm feeling much better, really." She smiled sweetly and sat up in the bed instead of leaning back to prove to Skye that she could.

Skye grinned. "It's wet out there still, and feeling much better is not completely healed, soooo..." she drew it out and leaned over to steal a kiss. "I'm still gonna fuss over you because I can," she smiled at Jemma and moved so she could work her way down to her gym shorts and a tank top over her under things since she knew it was going to be a messy deal trying to fish in the extra water and muck. She left her socks and shoes off too figuring they'd just be extra weight.

"So is this how you'd treat me if I had turned out to be pregnant?" Jemma shot out the ridiculous joke and didn't even think about the implications of it until the thought of having a family with Skye was stuck in her head, probably for good. She wasn't an idiot, she knew that she and Skye couldn't actually conceive a child and Skye, with her background, would definitely want to adopt, but the idea was there and it had dug its claws deep. Never had she even thought about playing house as a kid, with boys or girls, but here she was staring at Skye in her shorts and tank top and thinking she could definitely pull off the hot soccer mom look.

Skye’s head cocked to the side at a bit of an angle, the expression on her face not a hundred percent readable but a mixture of amusement, affection, confusion (with a minor addition of insecurity) and, maybe, a bit more hope than she normally would have allowed herself. There was a crooked little smile that washed over most of her face rather than just twisting her lips into a crooked grin. “Oh, Babe, no,” She leaned closer to Jemma but stopped short of kissing her. “I can assure you, I will be at  _ least _ ten times worse than this…” She grinned. “At. The. Very. Least.” She accented each one of those last words with a kiss before she moved to hook an arm, carefully, around Jemma. “Ready to stand up?” she asked, anxious about getting Jemma on her feet regardless of how Jemma thought she was feeling. Will had already gone to pull one of the airline chairs out near the pond for her on his way to go back to lookout duty with Mike and Ace. 

The way Skye so subtly said "will" instead of "would" made Jemma's heart thump wildly in her chest and it felt like her insides had just flipped over. Skye thought they could have kids someday. It was crazy, they'd met almost two months ago but were already thinking about these kinds of things. This was meant to be a lot more than any normal relationship, Jemma was sure.    
  
"Or..." Jemma leaned forward and pressed her lips against Skye's, capturing her with the kiss. "I wouldn't mind a few more minutes in bed..." she grabbed at the front of Skye's tank and pulled her more on top of her instead of to the side. Her ribs were sore, but it was definitely worth it.

Skye couldn’t argue with that. It wasn’t as if she would ever prefer fishing over staying in bed to mess around with Jemma. She couldn’t help but chuckle against the kiss as she quickly shifted to rest her weight on her palms on either side of her. Each of her knees framed one of Jemma’s thighs so she couldn’t crush Jemma. “I thought I was supposed to be the bad influence?” She grinned into another round of kisses. As usual, her heart was skittering around her chest like a jazz drummer on speed. She used to fear that feeling while a smaller part of her enjoyed it. In the weeks since she’d met Jemma the proportions had greatly flip flopped on a massive scale. She’d come to expect that fluttering, dizzy feeling and it was the fear of losing it now that scared her rather than the fear of giving into it. 

"Can't leave you two alone for five seconds!" Bobbi marched in unannounced and startled the both of them out of their little bubble where the only people in the world were each other. She sauntered over to them and ruffled Skye's hair on her way to her own things, where she grabbed her knife to use as she helped with the fishing.   
  
"Contrary to popular belief this cave isn't very private." Raina's presence was suddenly known from Fitz's side of the cave and she slung on a thinner jacket before heading over, presumably to help move Jemma.

Skye sighed and buried her face momentarily into the crook of Jemma’s neck when Bobbi ruffled her hair. She almost asked Jemma to remind her again how bunking in the same cave as a bunch of other people was beneficial. Instead she lifted her head and sighed again. “It’s as if they think I care that someone’s watching…” She murmured with a smirk. She shifted again, moved so she and Raina could help Jemma up. Once she was on her feet, Skye wrapped an arm around her waist and steadied her but just stood there for a moment so Jemma could get used to be up on her feet. She would get them to the edge of the cave and then she’d carry her the rest of the way, keep her out of the mud until she got her to the chair to set her down. “How’s the altitude change feel?” she asked. 

"Hilarious." Jemma rolled her eyes as Raina laughed at Skye's joke. Together Raina and Skye supported Jemma's weight, or at least tried to. Jemma was mostly walking on her own but Skye insisted on keeping a strong hold of her. "Really, Skye, I'm-" just as Jemma was saying it, her toe caught on a slight upraise in the cave floor and she lurched forward, saved from a face plant only by the arms around her.   
  
"What was that you were saying?" Raina smirked at her.   
  
"That was klutziness, it had nothing to do with my injuries." She huffed, red in the face from her embarrassment.

Skye's arms instantly tightened their grip on Jemma when she pitched forward to keep her from falling. She cringed at how painful that had to have been. "Even so, when we get to the cave's entrance, I'm gonna carry you out to the chair. Even the grass is mud-logged and over saturated. It's a fall waiting to happen on unsteady legs. " She said.  "In a day or two when it dries out some more, it'll be safer. After we get some food in us,  we can walk you around in the cave a bit to stretch your legs out some more?" She offered the compromise right away since she knew Jemma was going to bristle and argue over the suggestion of carrying her. 

Jemma mulled it over for a few seconds, but she knew taking the deal was better than not because if she didn't let Skye carry her, she knew Skye would just call over Mack and it would be done anyway. She just hoped Skye was as strong as she thought she was because if the ground was waterlogged she could just as easily slip and fall with the added weight and unbalance. "I suppose I can agree to that." Jemma told her.

Skye was banking on her bare feet in the muck. She'd be balanced better on those than her still damp boots. She grinned and kissed Jemma's cheek. "Excellent doing business with you, Jem," she said. They made their way slowly to the mouth of the cave thankfully without too many lurching incidents. Skye bent her knees and leaned over to hook her arm under Jemma’s knees to pick her up, with relative ease, bridal style. She waited a moment and looked over at Jemma as she ignored a bit of stinging pain in the wound above her hip, "Ready to go?" She asked as she adjusted her grip just to ensure it was steady. It wasn't as if Jemma was terribly heavy, especially after the weight they'd lost while on the island. She knew, though, that the most moving Jemma had done for quite some time was going from prone to sitting and to get onto the toilet bucket. She wasn't kidding about asking about the altitude change, even just a few feet difference like the could cause all kinds of dizzy spells, Skye knew, as she'd had quite a few after she was finally on her feet from the scorpion incident.

"Don't drop me." Jemma warned. She clutched the back of Skye's tank with one arm over her shoulder and the other held her own wrist over Skye's other shoulder so she could help hold her torso up so she wasn't dead weight. If Skye dropped her it would probably be worse than just walking on her own, so she hoped Skye's confidence was not misguided.

"I'm not gonna drop you," Skye promised.  "But if it makes you feel better,  we've even got a spotter, just in case, " she nodded toward Raina and smiled at Jemma. Turning her eyes forward, she kept an eye out for any hazards in her path to avoid them and kept her knees braced and bent slightly. She didn't rush the walk,  making sure each step was marked by firm footing even if she sunk into the mud a bit here and there. When they reached the dry,  sunny patch where they guys had placed the airplane seat,  Skye leaned over and gently set Jemma down into it. "See, Doc, piece of cake," she grinned and the word made her stomach growl loudly. What she wouldn’t give for a piece of cake...or not even a piece of it, just a single lick of the batter from a spatula even, right then.

"I wish I could help with something." Jemma sighed. Everyone around her was doing something: Trip was working on fishing the pond, Bobbi and Hunter were going to scavenge for some fruit and coconuts, Yoyo and Mack were cleaning dirty cloths, others were gathering wood to dry out for fires, everyone seemed to be doing something except herself.

Skye wanted to remind her that she'd done a ton of stuff for the camp the entire time they'd been here and she was allowed time to heal,  but she understood weekday Jemma was feeling from her own jaunt of immobility while she'd been laid up. "I know it's not what you're thinking of,  but what about an inventory update? I can bring the first aid kit and pack out to start with and then we can work from there?" They'd been kind of preoccupied to keep it updated, with the injuries and all. "It'll give you more practice with your left hand too?" She pointed out. "And we'll know what we need to look for of fruit and foraging runs too plant wise." It wasn't the best suggestion, but it was something at least?  Skye kissed Jemma's forehead while she waited for her response.

"Good idea." Jemma reached up and brushed her thumb over Skye's temple before she could move away after the kiss. In all honesty, Jemma was a bit scared to take inventory of the first aid kit. It felt like they had used so much and she was worried their supplies were more depleted than she thought since they hadn't checked it at all after they left the beach.

Skye beamed a smile at Jemma,  dipped her head to steal a couple of quick kisses.  "Have I mentioned,  by the way,  that I love you?" She grinned and stepped back, gave Jemma's shoulder a squeeze then went to retrieve Jemma's bag, the first aid supplies and medical plant supply pack. She piled them on the laid out material of the raft and reminded Jemma about attempting to lure Trudy back too before she finally went to help Trip, which or her anywhere from able to waist deep in the cold pond for varying amounts of time as they work with the hand lines and nets Trip made to catch what they could.

Jemma had out her inventory notebook and with much care, wrote down every single item in the first aid kit along with quantity. They had no gauze, only a bit of antibiotic cream, about a third of the disinfecting alcohol, one travel sized alcoholic beverage, a tiny bit of burn cream, a couple of different splints and elastic wraps, the remaining anti venom, and a little less than half of their original amount of thread. They were definitely in danger of running out with no sign of any future rescue. If they could, they needed to stick to more of the resources they could replenish like aloe and the other slight pain relieving plants. For bandages they could keep washing the clothing scraps as long as they did it in boiling water to make sure they were as sterile as possible.   
  
The plant supplies needed to be replaced as well. They still had plenty, but it was old and the plants were withered and their creams/juices dried up. She wished she'd caught Bobbi before she left to forage, but they could send someone else.    
  
Jemma's left hand was sore from lack of previous use by the time she finished it all and set it aside. Her next task was to see if she could get Trudy to come back, so she formed her fingers into the correct position, stuck them slightly in her mouth, and let out a decently loud whistle, the only noise she thought had a chance of reaching Trudy's ears if she was further away. Everyone stopped to look at her for a moment, but they all waited in silence to see if anything would happen. After about fifteen seconds, they'd be able to hear Trudy's screeching sounds echoing and bouncing around the trees, but she was a no show.

Buzz had been hanging by Skye and Trip, occasionally trying to steal worm bits from their hand lines as Skye shooed him away with a laugh. Every now and then he flew away and made a round of accounting for certain people, checking on Ace up in the tree, Jemma on her chair, Yoyo hanging clean clothes and so on. He had just perched on Skye's head, watching as she reeled in her handline, hoping to pounce on What was left of an earthworm if it came back on the hook (though Skye had been faster than him every time so he didn't get hooked by accident), when Jemma let out the long whistle. Skye stiffened and looked over at Jemma, then remembered she was going to try and get Trudy to come back. Buzz didn't startle, but the familiar sound made him take off from Skye's head and race directly for Jemma. Skye looked toward the cave wall area that she knew Trudy had left by last time when she heard the screeches. She turned her eyes toward Jemma and Buzz and grinned, with an admittedly overly affectionate expression washed over her face.    
  
"Try it again?" Skye called out, hoping maybe if they heard the screeches a few more times they might be able to mimic then a little better. Of course the moment she said it, since she was focused on Jemma and Buzz instead of her fishing line, something caught on her hook and took off. Because Skye had the rope wrapped around her right hand as she was slowly reeling it in, the sudden, very hard tugging on the rope in the wait deep water pulled Skye off her feet and tugged her under before she had even figured out that she'd caught something.

"Skye!" Jemma shrieked. Injuries be damned, she was up and out of the chair before anyone else had even registered that Skye had gone under by a force that was not her own. Before anyone could stop her, Jemma was in the pond with water up to her chest. The weightlessness of the water helped with the aching she felt, but swimming was the difficult part. She took a breath and dove underwater without hesitation like she knew Skye would for her. It was too dark to see much of anything once she opened her eyes and she didn't get far before something latched onto the back of her shirt. She screamed and the air in her lungs floated away as bubbles, but the force was pulling her up instead of down. She resurfaced to Trip yanking her out of the water.    
  
"You don't have a weapon and you're not fit to be doing this, stay here, I'll get her!" He shouted, shoving Jemma in the direction of the shore. Raina splashed into the shallows and hooked her arms under Jemma's, dragging her kicking and screaming back out of the water.   
  
Trip dived under, knife in hand, and he had to come up for another breath after thirty seconds of searching with no results.

The first thing Skye registered was the feeling of her stomach and heart jamming into her throat at the sudden shock. The second was the burn in her lungs as her body forced a cough and just pulled in more water instead. Whatever she hooked dragged her down in the churned up murky water to the bottom, raked her along the stones and plant life. Skye twisted about and jammed her feet into the mud, plants and rocks of the pond floor, causing the mud to make her visibility even worse as she tried to stalled the fish's pull enough to break her arm free. As if it figured out what she was trying, it suddenly surged upward, splashing its way to the surface. Just before the rope could tug her off her feet, Skye bent her knees and pushed up as hard a she could toward the surface. The creatures body slide along her back as she forced her way above the surface just in front of the forceful current of the waterfall for just long enough to gag on the water that spewed up from her lungs and gasp for barely half a painful breath of air before she was back under.    
  
The creature pulled her through the current of the waterfall and Skye could do nothing but frantically claw at the rope on her wrist and forearm and let it pull her. She couldn't den see the rope on her arm to untangle the rope. Her heart raved so fast she wasn't sure how she hadn't passed out it didn't matter much, though, since the deep burn in her lungs told her that lack of oxygen would do the job soon enough. Even in the murky water, choking on it as her lung tried to make her open, Skye could feel the bile rising in the back of her throat as thoughts of that moment in the plane as Jemma drowned right in front of her flashed into her mind.    
  
The creature raced across the pond at breakneck speed considering it had Skye's weight dragging in it, toward where the water drained out. Light from the drainage hole appeared and Skye barely had time, or the ability, to position herself to plant her feet near it. Her feet slipped on mud or algae or who knew what kind of slime and suddenly her feet were dragging over the mud and rock covered bottom again. She planted her feet, wedging as hard as she could and this time, when the rope went taught, her arm was pulled with it, nearly snapping out of her shoulder socket, but her feet were firmly stuck. Skye was too weak to strain her legs and pull at the ropes so she focused on her feet and prayed that Trip or one of the others would reach her soon enough based on the location of th within creature that was thrashing about in and out of the surface of the water trying to pull her free.   
  
Her brain screamed at her to exhale so she could inhale and she mentally screamed back. " _ Don't exhale, don't exhale, don't exhale," _ over and over again. She grabbed her forearm with her free hand and struggled to pull it back toward her to try and brace better when suddenly her arm broke free when Trip managed to cut the rope and Skye slammed back in the opposite direction. As soon as she got her bearings, she tried to push off the floor to the surface only to find that her foot was caught amid the foliage and rocks on the bottom of the pond so the only thing that broke the surface were her arms just to her elbows, which frantically clawed at the air for purchase she couldn't find. Her left foot was snared in the seaweed-like greenery on the bottom. At the sudden jolt of it pulling her back when she thought she was going to break the surface, Skye's lungs emptied in a blow of bubbles and she inhaled water. She tried to reach for her ankle but all she could think about was her need to break the surface for air, right up until she started to black out and then her only thought was not that she was about to die but that Jemma’s last vision of her would be that moment she was pulled under.

Jemma wasn't very well just going to listen to everyone telling her to stop and lay down when Skye popped up only to go back under like that. The water was disturbed and when Trip dived back under, Jemma used all her strength to shove Raina away from her and grab Skye's knife from the mud. She dove back into the shallows herself. Swimming out to where Trip had disappeared was difficult, but she managed and took a deep breath.   
  
This time she could see a dark shape moving at the bottom of the pond, so she clutched the knife and pushed water with her hands and feet to get to her. For half of a second, Jemma could see herself drowning in the plane as Skye struggled against the weeds holding her to the bottom of the water. This was going to be different.   
  
Every muscle in Jemma's body screamed for her to stop, but she pushed herself further and sliced through five different plants until Skye was loose. She hadn't realized it in her frantic slashing that Skye had stopped struggling and her heart lurched in her chest. Trip grabbed onto Skye and started hauling her back to the shore. Jemma splashed at the surface, struggling to stay afloat and breathe at the same time. It wasn't fair, everything was fine, Skye couldn't be gone just like that!   
  
As Trip and Skye got to the shore, Raina took off her shoes and jumped in, making a beeline for Jemma, whose muscles had given out. Just as Raina got to her and started to help her back to shore, Trip started CPR and did two rescue breaths on Skye. Jemma was so hopeful when her chest rose, but it was artificial. When Trip pulled away and Skye's chest stayed still, Jemma's muscles gave out and she let out a whimper. Trip tried again and Raina continued pulling a weak, limp Jemma to the shore.

A crowd of those still in camp started to form from the initial commotion. May rushed to help Raina with Jemma. Just as Trip was going in for a third breath, an eruption of water blasted him in the face as Skye coughed it out at the same time her body lurched. She wound up choking on a bunch of it as it fell right back down her throat in the position she was in. Skye couldn't actually breathe at the moment and terrible sounds lurched from her throat as her body struggled to simultaneously expel the water and inhale air. Trip sputtered and hooked the back of her neck to hold it steady as he rolled her up on her side. Skye was reeling with no control over her body at all, struggling just to get back into control of the simple act of breathing. Her hands scrabbled along the ground as if she thought she was still in the water and was trying to find purchase to get to the surface. Trip smacked her back hard repeatedly and each time she wretched up more water, mud and green bits from the pond.

"Skye? Skye?" Jemma kept repeating it the moment she saw Skye move, like it wasn't real until she got a response from her. Seeing Skye breathing got her body moving and Jemma was suddenly pumping her arms and legs again to get back to the shore. Raina helped haul her onto the bank, but Jemma collapsed onto her stomach beside Skye and grabbed for her hand. Once all the water was out, Jemma peppered kisses all over Skye's face with tears on her own.    
  
"You need to pay better attention." It sounded like a joke, but Jemma was serious and a small sob made her body jump and she pressed her forehead to Skye's.

Skye couldn't speak. Her pupils enveloped nearly her entire irises they were blown so wide in fear.  She couldn't make words come out. She was sure she was crying,  but she was drenched anyway so water just mixed with saline while mouth hung open and she gasped fire air to catch her breath.  An uncoordinated hand, the one Jemma wasn't holding,  swung weakly and touched the closest part of Jemma she could manage as she struggled to regain control of herself. The only two words she managed between the watery coughs and gasps of air were "You," and "okay?" Even though she had been the one that had basically just drowned. 

Jemma made a sound that was half sob, half laugh as she nodded. She wiped some of the water and Skye's wet hair out of her face and squeezed her hand tightly. She didn't ever want to let go after she saw such a normal, presumably safe moment go awry so quickly. "And you thought I couldn't walk to the chair." Jemma smiled.   
  
"You should have seen her dive to the bottom and cut you loose. Nothing could stop her." Trip told Skye.    
  
"I can attest to that." Raina came over soaking wet with a displeased look on her face. Jemma was stronger than she looked.

Skye was trembling by that point,  struggling to bring her nerves in check as she started to breathe a bit easier.  Her still wild eyes shifted from Jemma to Trip and back. If possible her pupils went even wider.  How had this happened?  Nothing has attacked anyone in the pond before. They'd definitely never caught anything as big as that creature while fishing the pond before. "You?" She asked breathlessly. She felt her hand clamp tighter around Jemma’s hand, forgetting that she should be careful with Jemma's hands in the moment as her thoughts jumbled between what she just went through and they night as the plane was sinking and she couldn't get Jemma free fast enough.      
  
Her eyes didn't leave Jemma this time as the others commented.  She dropped her hand and tried to push herself up but her elbow buckled and wobbled and she lurched forward and landed against Jemma,  gave planting into the crook of her next,  which is where she wanted to end up anyway.  "Always tell you," she murmured breathlessly,  "You're 'mazing..."

"You'd have done it for me. You have." Jemma stroked Skye's hair and rubbed up and down her arm. It was true. Skye had done the exact same thing for her. She supposed now they were even, if one wanted to track those kinds of things, but all Jemma cared about was that they were both still alive. "Maybe no more swimming in that pond. Who knows what that was."

"There's no way that thing had been in there this whole time without staking us or someone catching is babies and it attacking," Trip said, already plotting ways to catch the thing.    
  
Skye shuddered. She leaned into Jemma and kissed her shoulder and neck. "I love you, " she murmured.  When she lifted her head,  she looked at Raina.  "Thank you," she croaked. Skye glanced at Trip then looked at Jemma as she pushed herself to sit up finally,  though she hasn't fully caught her breath by then.  "We won't go in again yet," she said, "But we're cooking that fucker for dinner...." she rasped.   
  
Trip grinned and held his hand up for a high five, which Skye weakly gave him.

Jemma laughed at Skye's statement and leaned forward to give her a short but soft kiss before she decided she needed to sit up. She had to put all her weight on her arms to do it, but Jemma managed to get into a semi decent sitting position without any help. Now it was Skye's turn.    
  
"Think you can get up? We'll leave the fishing to the others, you need a break." Jemma told her. She wasn't just going to let Skye get back to it after nearly drowning. 

Skye wanted to protest. May cut her off.  "Both of you are back on extremely light duty. That's an order, not a suggestion," she informed them sternly, though there a undeniable affection hidden in the development deepest layers of her tone. Skye sighed,  but put her hands up in surrender once she managed to sit up into a coughing jag.     
  
"Don't sweat it, Champ. Raina and May will help me conquer the white whale, " he gave the back of Skye's shoulder a whack and turned to Fitz. "Stick with them, and keep them outta trouble, huh?" He smirked. "I know that's an impossible task with these two but I have faith in you!" He grinned

"Alright, up you go, let's go back to the caves." Fitz pulled Jemma's arm up and around his neck so he could support her weight. He didn't think Skye would need all that much help and Skye would rather have Jemma helped he was sure, so this was the best way to go. Jemma gave Skye's hand another squeeze and used Fitz to pull herself up.   
  
"Do you need help?" Jemma asked Skye, worry lines all over her face. She knew how disorienting it could be to come back after something like that and she didn't want to steal help if Skye needed it.

Skye nodded. "I'm good," she said. There was no way she was going to take help away from Jemma. She looked to Trip, who held his hands out to help Skye up when she was ready. Skye took a few deep breaths, which made her cough a few times, then grabbed Trip's hands and he hauled her up to her feet.   
  
"Good?" He asked as he let go.    
  
"Yeah?" Realizing she sounded unsure, Skye put her hands on her waist and took a deep breath. "Yeah, I mean, yeah, totally," she took exactly one step and wobbled but Trip was right there still so he grabbed her wrist and pulled her arm up, swooping in under it to steady her, wrapped his other arm around her waist. "I'm okay," Skye insisted stubborn as ever.   
  
Trip smirked at her. "Well, you're alive, at least," he said, immensely relieved of this fact.    
  
"Go get the loch ness monster, I can make it," Skye replied, choosing not to think about the fact that she had stopped breathing.    
  
"It's still gonna be there after I get you back to the caves with Jemma," Trip countered, already pulling Skye along with her. Skye had no choice but to go with it, so she relented and used as much of her strength as possible while fighting dizzy spells the whole way.

Jemma inhaled sharply a few times during the short walk, but she was mostly focused on continuously glancing over her shoulder to make sure Skye was okay. She did make a small grunting sound when Fitz deposited her down on the bed. One of her arms was wrapped around her ribs and she had to slow her breathing. Then Trip came over with Skye and Jemma reached out with her other hand to help ease her down, though it wasn't much help since it was the hand with only three good fingers.    
  
"We're okay." Jemma breathed. They were both soaking wet and uncomfortable, but yet again, they were both alive.

Skye wanted to care that they were dropping into bed soaking wet, but she couldn't bring herself to really care all that much. It would dry soon enough as they day grew hotter. It didn't matter. She exhaled a heavy breath and when she went to inhale again, her lungs twinges and she wound up with a hitch in her breath as they tried to take in more than she needed, she guessed to overcompensate for having gone without.  Her hand sought Jemma's reflexively, fingers a bit less coordinated than usual as they trailed her forearm before her fingers curled into Jemma's. "Yeah," she nodded, "and we're going to be full again too, once Trip flays that thing - let's make its head a piñata," Skye murmured.    
  
Trip laughed. "Easy, I have to catch it first." He point out.    
  
"I got faith in your skills," Skye told him just as Ace came skidding to a stop in the cave at the end of their bed. 

"Was that another dinosaur?!" His face switched back and forth between concern and excitement. 

"Maybe." Jemma chuckled. She hadn't seen it, but for something that big to exist in freshwater it had to be prehistoric, right? "Did you see it, Skye?" She asked.

Skye shrugged a bit and closed her eyes a moment to consider what she'd seen more vividly.  "It was hard to see kicking up all the muck. By the waterfall,  it swam up, I kicked off the bottom as if was racing back down.  I thought it was an alligator - it has teeth, but we skimmed each other in the pass, it has fins and," she sat up straighter and reached back over her head to pull her tank top off by the back collar. She could feel the sting of superficial scratches along her back and her feet and calves, but the spot along her right shoulder blade and between her shoulder blades felt itchy. "It had scales. They scraped along my shoulder and back.  It was a huge blob of something - at least as long as I am tall - long jaws. Strong as hell." She shuddered.  "There's no way that thing could've been in there this whole time, " she said with a small shake off her head.

"It must've been the storm." Jemma pointed out. They didn't know how deep the river was at the top of the waterfall and cliff since they hadn't had the opportunity to go exploring yet. With even more beasties Jemma wasn't sure she wanted them too. "The overflow must have washed it over."

Trip crouched down and scanned along Skye’s exposed back when she sat up. All the scratches looked superficial and none of them were even bleeding at this point. He spotted a few scales stuck in the material of her sports bra and some that were just under it in a scratched layer of skin. He pulled it out and held it out for her. “Congratulations, Skye, now you’re officially a fish.” He smirked. 

“You’re going to need to string your nets together to try and get it,” Skye replied as she leaned back against the bed, finally almost fully catching her breath, though there were still a few coughs and hitches to it every now and then. “I was using the earthworms on my hook,” She added. 

“You two just relax,” Trip told her. “We’ll do what we can to have a dinosaur roast today,” He gave Skye’s shoulder a squeeze and stood to leave. “C’mon little dude, let’s go catch that monster,” He draped an arm over Ace’s shoulders to lead him away. 

Skye looked over at Jemma. “Sure you’re alright?” She asked. She knew exerting herself the way Jemma had must have hurt her still healing injuries. 

"I'm happy as long as you're all right." Jemma said. She brought her hand up and rubbed small circles between Skye's shoulder blades to help her breathe a little easier. She didn't like it when Skye coughed like that because Jemma very much knew how it felt. She dodged Skye's question though, she didn't want to make Skye feel guilty like Jemma knew she would if she hurt herself trying to save Skye. It hadn't been easy, no, but they were both going to be fine.

Skye let it drop for now and leaned in close to Jemma. They’d know later which injuries had been exacerbated and Skye could dole out one of the painkillers if Jemma needed it. Hell, she might need it from all the jerking about that happened, let alone the pain in her chest that she was trying her best to ignore. “We’re okay,” she was the one to say it this time, mostly to convince herself. 

\--

Trip and the others didn’t manage to catch the large beast. They caught a few small catfish, enough for tiny rations of protein in the end. A couple of times they’d hooked the large pond beast, but it had broken their lines eventually or they’d had to let go to avoid being pulled in. Bobbi and Hunter returned with a small cache of mangos and coconuts. It was enough to get them through after a few days of not eating, at least. It would tide them over while Trip and some of the others made it back to the beach to remake and reset traps since most of Trip’s traps had been washed away in the storm surge. 

May, Hunter and Will had started discussing what plants out of the ones they foraged, they could potentially plant. They went over Jemma’s list of plants she needed so that they could discuss which ones might be beneficial to uproot rather than pick and replant inside the camp somewhere. They were clearly deciding that it would be prudent to plan for the long haul in the case that Fitz couldn’t get a signal out or connect to any passing ships or planes for rescue. Skye listened carefully to this conversation, and contributed what she knew of various kinds of plants (not as much as she would have liked as she mostly knew what to avoid rather than how or what to grow). 

The three days following when the storm finally broke were somewhat tense over all. With hunger a big factor in the mix, tensions were high and tempers were short. There were more squabbles than normal. Rather than sitting in the cave and letting their minds run away with too many thoughts in the neverending battle of whether they should hope to get off the island or settle in for the long haul of the rest of her life, Skye suggested a few loops of the camp so they could walk and because it meant they could have some time just to themselves. Other people were around the camp sure but for the most part they would let Jemma and Skye alone while they were walking together. 

Skye kept her arm around Jemma’s waist as they walked, as much as a precaution in case she grew too tired or whatever as to just hold onto her for the sake of having the close connection. “I’ve been thinking about what we’re going to do if Fitz’s radio can’t reach anyone,” She spoke quietly, enough that the two of them could hear each other but low enough so as not to disturb anyone or attract wandering ears. 

"And what's that?" Jemma's head tilted slightly to the side in curiosity. She didn't know what they would do if Fitz's radio didn't work besides try to keep surviving, but if Skye had an idea Jemma was all ears. If there was a way for them to get to rocking chairs on a porch, she was sure they would both do everything within their power to get to it.

"We build a boat," Skye answered. She didn't elaborate just yet on how she thought they would accomplish this task, because she wanted to gage what kind of mindset Jemma was in about the probabilities of getting off this island. She seemed to go in dips and upswings as far as hope one way or the other and Skye thought it was a good idea to keep track of where Jemma was at mentally so she would know where she needed to pull up the bootstraps and be strong for the both of them where one of them was faltering.

"So." Jemma bit her bottom lip and had a look on her face like she was contemplating something complicated. "You're a computer genius, you can fight, you have survival skills... and you build boats?" Jemma let out a laugh and her serious expression broke. She hadn't expected such a far off idea from Skye. She was usually much more realistic.

Skye wanted to feign offense to the laughter,  but she couldn't bring herself to do it.  "I've never built a boat in my life, " she smirked.  "I certainly don't count the raft we used to salvage the plane tail wreck." She added, paused for a breath and then sent on. "But, we have a fisherman,  an engineer, two geniuses, two pilots, an astronaut, a carpenter and enough able bodied people to figure it out and make it work. So, I mean, I'm just saying it's an idea. We maybe work on it at the same time that we're hunkering down and digging in for the long haul." She rambled a bit. "Y'know...hope for the best but still prepare for the worst?" Skye pretty much lived her life pretty steadily by this sentiment. Less hope more prepare usually, though. It beat sitting around and waiting to be eaten by dinosaurs and beats, at the very least.

"Two geniuses?" Jemma retorted. She held up her good hand and started counting on her fingers. "Me, Fitz, You... I think that's three." Jemma smiled. If Skye thought it was possible, Jemma thought it was possible. They needed to prepare to be there long term, since even building a boat to escape would take a long time. Of course, that was plan B. They were all still rooting for Fitz's radio. "If we can't get a signal, we'll give it a try."

For the first time in a long while,  Skye’s cheeks and ears flushed bright pink.  She was the farthest thing from a genius that there was,  especially in the compost of at least half their group. Then again she supposed she did have trouble forming elevated opinions of herself in general.  She ducked her head and aimed her eyes at the ground ahead of them.  "Yeah, of course. The signal's still the best chance.  I just...May and all were talking about farming food and preparing for long term and I just thought," she shrugged.  "If we can't contact anyone for help,  they only way of this island is finding a way to transport ourselves off." She had no idea why she suddenly felt so flustered about it. Her goal was to keep her promise and get Jemma off this island and home. It gave her a clear thing to focus on for the future alongside the necessary 'don't die.'

"It would take a while to build of course..." Jemma stated. She had a far off look in her eye that meant she was thinking deeply and calculating something. "Even if we hadn't gone off course, it could be upwards of a month or two of sailing time to get anywhere." It definitely wouldn't be like traveling by boat in the modern day. "So we need to prepare food and water stocks as we build a boat. If we build a boat." Jemma added.

Skye felt the smile stretch over her face as she looked back over at Jemma. She nodded quickly.  "Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.  Which works out for drying and smoking food,  since that makes its load lighter too. And we would still have the chance to try and fish as we go some days too, just to chance not henning to break into our food stocks here and there," she reasoned.  "I know it would be a long shot, but if all of our other options go bust, it will be the best option to have." At the very least, even if they scrapped using the boat in the end,  they would walk away with a store of food stock and a secondary place to shelter should they need it. Right?

"It's better than waiting to see how much time we have here." Jemma leaned over and kissed the corner of Skye's mouth. One of them would inevitably be killed by something or another here and it would be unbearable for the other. Their only chance at forever would be to get off the island. "Keep it in your mind, but let's wait to see what happens with the radio before we get serious about it."

Skye grinned and turned her head enough to steal a few proper kisses, which happened to warn them a few groans and complaints from Ace since they were passing by the spot where he was playing. Skye chuckled and gently, jokingly, nudged him with her foot as they kept walking. "Want to head back to the cave on our next pass, see what everyone's up to?" The light was fading and they'd already had dinner together as a whole group so this walk was just a light leisurely one after their meal - a good stretch, building stamina back up and just getting into their own heads for a bit.

"Sounds like a plan." Jemma nodded and pulled Skye a little closer so their hips bumped together as they walked. When they were about halfway back to the caves from the pond, something amazing happened.    
  
"I finished it!" Fitz came running out of the cave with a device under his arm. It looked like a hunk of junk, but apparently it was a radio made out of bits of electronics with a base of the black box from the airplane. Excited murmurs flared up in the camp and everyone began to crowd around Fitz to see what was happening. The possibility of freedom and rescue was as close as it had ever been and Jemma couldn't say she wasn't just as excited as everyone else, even if she wasn't sure they'd be able to contact someone.    
  
"Let's go see what all the craziness is about." Jemma gestured to the circle everyone had made around Fitz as he started laying his device out in the grass on top of a section of tarp.

Skye felt the churn in her stomach as she fought to keep from getting her hopes up that rescue might still be a viable option. The dream that they could reach someone that could find them and maybe within days be back in civilization was tantalizingly close, but she knew it could all be a wash in the end so she did her best to keep a lid on too much hope and excitement. There was a halt balance between hope/excitement and bitter reality, but Skye wasn't sure she had the ability to wrangle them both back into their equal corners. This was usually when she got quiet and contemplative. Which is exactly what happened ad they made their way over to the crowd around Fitz.

"Take us through the demo, Fitz," she said once she thought he had I all set up and assembled

"I used the laptop's microphone and the transmitter from the black box along with some other stuff to make a fully functional radio." Fitz set everything up and flipped a switch on the black box. A few lights flashed on and Fitz positioned the makeshift antennae so it was facing the canopy. "Here goes nothing." He fiddled around with it and everyone waited with bated breath as the homemade machine buzzed with static. It was definitely seeming functional, but actually finding a signal was another story.    
  
"Is it doing something?" Ace asked, breaking the silence.    
  
"I can't find anything." Fitz shook his head. He'd changed the frequency up and down the common range and even a bit extended, but nothing came up. "Maybe we just need higher ground and less blockage from the trees." Fitz looked around at all the disappointed faces and tried to come up with alternative methods.

Skye glanced at Jemma.  She turned back to the group,  took a discreet glance around at their faces and realized this was a win that they all needed. "But static means its running and doing what it needs to do in order to work," she pointed out. Letting go of Jemma carefully for a moment,  she stepped over and gave both of Fitz's shoulders a good firm, hopefully reassuring squeeze. "Way to go, dude," she ruffled his hair up and dropped a quick kiss to the back of his head, even gave him a warranted pat on the back. "Now," she took a deep breath and looked around at the others as she stepped back to Jemma's side. "Why don't we talk some logistics about the higher peaks of this island?" She arched her eyebrows.

Fitz made an "ugh" noise and ran his hands over his hair to fix it. He shut off his little machine to save the battery and started packing it up in the tarp again. "Skye, if you want to check out what's over the cliff, I should come with you to look for a signal." He said. He looked between her and Jemma and frowned. Neither of them were really in shape to do it but he knew they would both insist on going. It was a stalemate, really.

Skye chewed lightly on the corner of her bottom lip as she considered options. She felt like she was fit enough for the task,  but she knew Jemma would want to join them and she didn't want to put extra stress on Jemma. Still. "Yeah, I think it's worth it to scout it out,  see what we can find, " she nodded.  It took longer than her normal amount of time to volunteer,  but,  old habits die hard,  right?  This was for the good of the group,  though. They had to try.


	20. Jealous of My Shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warning:** All I can say without giving it away is....I really hope you come back to keep reading next week and the rest of this story after this chapter.....
> 
> Thank you as always for all your support! <3 <3 You guys are the best! We always appreciate all the kudos, comments and love you leave! Thank you for reading!! 
> 
> Hang onto your butts  
> Grab the tissues now......  
> Onward we go!   
> #WhereverWednesdays
> 
> __________________

A week went by before anyone suggested they go to higher ground. They all knew Skye was the one for the job but wanted to give her plenty of time to recover. During the week, everyone had pitched in collecting an excess of dry wood, foraging for food, and helping Trip fish in the pond and at the island coast. They finally caught the seven foot beast as a team effort; Trip, Mack, Bobbi, Raina, Yoyo, and even Victoria all dragged up the toughest net Trip had made with the prehistoric fish in it. It resembled a mix between a fish and an alligator, with a fish's body and an alligator's snout. Skye was lucky the thing hadn't decided to bite down on her. They ate enough to fill everyone's bellies and started preserving the rest.    
  
It was the next day, the seventh day after Fitz turned on the radio, that he approached Skye with his machine in a messenger bag. She was walking the perimeter of the place again with Jemma, but neither needed help any longer and Jemma looked back to her previous good health other than fresh scars.   
  
"I think it's time we venture to the top of the cliff." Fitz said, patting the device at his waist.

Having a week of downtime, speaking in the relative sense as there was a lot of work to be done always, but having a week where no one was injured, attacked, bitten or anything of that nature was such a relief. They were doing hard work around camp, of course, but morale was greatly improved and took a good jump higher even as they defeated the beast plaguing them in the pond and depleting their small fish stock in the pond. The night they caught the weird gator fish beast, it was a celebration, complete with music from Skye's phone, which was was able to charge up again since the sun was back.    
  
Skye had grown not only used to her strolls around camp with Jemma but accustomed to them. It felt weird, already, on days when they didn't have them because there was too much to do for other chores or they were worn out from working. They tended to start and end their days with them now whenever they could or felt up to it. It was nice to have the time by themselves, or what felt like by themselves, in a camp full of people. It felt good to be able to take their circulatory strolls while feeling more like herself rather than extremely exhausted and full of aches and pains all over every time she moved. It was easier to breathe despite still having a lot to be stressed about. Perhaps they were just finally fully adjusting?    
  
Skye arched her right eyebrow up. She had definitely been waiting for this moment. She and Jemma were back to good health, strong and healthy again. The time had come to make the move. "Today?" She asked. "Right now?" She had no problem with this other than the need to pack for a possible multiple day trip into higher elevations of previously unknown parts of the jungle. 

"I have a good feeling about it." Fitz shrugged. "And the day is young, you can still feel the morning air." He pointed out. This was the morning stroll and if Skye agreed, it would be like a stretch and warmup for the day's traveling.   
  
"If you go, I go." Jemma made sure to butt into the conversation and make her assertion known. She wasn't letting Skye leave on a trip like that without her.

Skye was ready to agree. There was no time like the present,  after all. Then Jemma made it known that she was going if Skye agreed to this.  Skye didn't doubt Jemma’s ability to join a dangerous how, but that didn't mean she still didn't have reservations about terrible things happening to Jemma in the jungle. She had already admitted that her issues with that were purely for her own selfish want to keep Jemma as safe as was possible on the past.  Skye's gaze shifted to Jemma and she knew this wasn't a request  she was making. If Skye was going,  Jemma was going  too.    
  
Skye turned back to Fitz and nodded. "Let's get the map and start packing. We'll need to pack enough for three full days worth of food each, at the very least," she said. She didn't think it would be that long of an excursion,  but this would be going uphill in unknown territory, so they needed to exercise greater caution. "Probably best to pack for four days worth of water at least too, we don't know if we'll hit any new sources along the way, " already the gears in her brain were turning,  trying to calculate what they would need but also what they should take as a precaution to give them the best advantage possible. 

"So don't bring any clothes you're not wearing, or anything that isn't a necessity." Jemma filled in. Fitz tended to be an over packer and if they were going uphill she didn't want any of them to be weighed down. "I'll go grab my things." Jemma gave Skye's arm a squeeze and started to head to the cave.

Skye watched Jemma go and exhaled a small resigned sigh,  trying her best to keep her anxiety at bay. She didn't want to be away from Jemma at all after everything, but she also hated purposefully putting them in danger again so soon after they had finally recovered their strength. This was how it was going to go down,  though, so all she could do was prepare them as best she could.  "Why don't you go with her and gather whatever else you need?  I'll go gather some food packs for us, grab May and the others and meet you guys in the cave so we can go over the plan and head out? " she suggested a plan of action. 

\--

"You sure you can carry all that?" Jemma asked for the third time. They were trying to find where the cliff that served as their camp wall came down to touch the ground, but it was a slight incline and Fitz was huffing and puffing while carrying his heavy messenger bag of tech and also a backpack with his share of the food and water.    
  
"Well you're not carrying it." Fitz shook his head. He wasn't going to let Skye or Jemma carry it for him after all they had been through. He tried to look at it as a workout so the task seemed less daunting.

“We could both take a little off of your pack though,” Skye pointed out. Before the crash she’d been in excellent shape. Now that she’d had rest between all the jungle runs and the injuries and the major stress this felt like a cakewalk. Granted, her stress and anxiety wasn’t at a minimum at the moment in light of the task ahead of them. “None of us will be carrying anything if you pass out from heat exhaustion or pushing yourself too hard, y’know” She pointed out. 

"Alright." Fitz sighed and gave in. He pulled his backpack to one side and pulled out a few water bottles. He tossed them to Skye and Jemma and they each caught one and stashed it into their bags. He did have his own share along with the radio so it was better they distribute the weight.

“See, that wasn’t so bad now, was it?” Skye flashed him a crooked grin as she pulled her pak around to tuck the bottle into it. “Good? Or do you want to pass us a couple more?” She asked just to be sure. It really was true that they would get nowhere if any of them couldn’t keep going so Skye’s current goal was to keep them moving as much as she could without any of them getting heatstroke or collapsing from exhaustion. Close to that goal was also, ‘don’t let anyone get eaten.’

"I'll go a little further and see." Fitz said. They had only been walking for an hour or two and they had yet to find an easy place to climb, so they had a long trip ahead of them. He didn't know how high they should be, but the safest bet would be to get as high as possible with their current resources.    
  
"Hey, look over there." Jemma pointed ahead and readjusted her rifle strap on her shoulder so it was a bit looser and she could grab it if she needed. "It looks like an animal track." Jemma jogged ahead and trailed her fingers over a part of the stone that had lots of jagged edges sticking out and claw marks all over them. Something used this to climb, maybe a Troodon.

Skye nodded as she snapped her pack back on. She glanced up into the canopy and then glanced a her compass just to make sure she had a proper orientation. The absolute last thing she wanted was to accidentally wind up anywhere near the spider dens again. She looked over at Jemma rather than where she was pointing and had to smile at the juxtaposition of Jemma with a rifle slung over her shoulder. But then Jemma was jogging and Skye glanced at Fitz and took off at a jog after her to see what she spotted. “Trudy?” she asked once she stopped and examined the markings Jemma was inspecting. 

“Maybe.” Jemma shrugged. “I would whistle, but if it isn’t Trudy I don’t want to attract unwanted attention.” She explained. For now they would have to settle for mentally thanking Trudy for the path provided for them by the comings and goings of a reptile that they presumed was her. Either way they were going to have to climb it, so Jemma took a step forward and reached for the first rock. She was feeling particularly ambitious and energetic, probably due to her house arrest and the stir crazies. Before Skye could stop her, she stepped up onto a rivet and pulled herself up with the bit of rock jutting out after she made sure it was stable. Skye would be worried, Jemma was sure, but she also had a feeling Skye forgot how skilled of a climber she had been on the tree the first time, and now her hand wasn’t injured at all.

“Jem, wait!” Skye felt like she said this a lot. How many times had she said it in the months that they’d been on this island now? Her heart jumped into her throat even as she thought about the time Jemma had monkey jumped her way down into the waterfall campsite that first night they stayed over. The difference between then and now, however, was that she didn’t know how well Jemma could grip with her scarred hand even if it had healed. Before, when she’d been in the tree, her mind had been completely off of her hand and so her movement hadn’t been hindered. “Be careful!” She stepped back instead of forward to look along the path Jemma was going to try and scout holds near where Jemma was grabbing ahead of time. “Weren’t you the one tell me we  _ couldn’t _ climb the same path as her not so long ago??” 

"That one was a flat cliff face, this one's practically a rock climbing wall at a rec center." Jemma looked over her shoulder to tell her. As she said it, she reached up for the next rock she had planned in her path to the top. Gripping with her disabled fingers was impossible, but she had enough strength in her palms to plant them on a flat surface her and push herself up. When she wasn't doing that she was pulling with her good hand or pushing with her feet. "Follow my lead." Jemma called out. She was already a good ten feet up and was halfway there.

Skye cringed when Jemma looked over her shoulder. She shifted her weight and jerked a half step forward when Jemma started pulling herself up while still looking over her shoulder. “Well don’t look at me look ahead of you!” Shit, Jemma was going to give her a heart attack if the island didn’t finish killing her first. She exhaled a deep breath but couldn’t decide if she wanted to watch and make sure Jemma made it to the top or start climbing up. “Fitz, how are you at climbing?” She asked without taking her eyes off of Jemma’s climb. 

"Not the best." Fitz nearly groaned it. He tightened the straps of his bags and took a step forward toward the rock wall. "I'll give it a go." He cracked his knuckles and started up the same path Jemma did. Like she said, it wasn't too difficult, even for someone who wasn't an experienced or knowledgeable climber.    
  
"That's the spirit, Fitz!" Jemma called over her shoulder and laughed at the look on Skye's face as she looked away from the rocks.

Skye shook her head at the both of them. “Stop being cocky! This place already wants to kill us - don’t taunt it!” She watched both of their paths but she didn’t start climbing until they were both safely at the top. There wasn’t a chance she wouldn’t lunge for one of them if they fell and if something that terrible happened, she wanted to be on the ground ready to break a fall or help. So she waited and tried to swallow her anxiety. She didn’t care how easy it was - even easy climbs had loose rocks. So she waited. When they were finally at the top, Skye exhaled a sigh of relief and finally started her own climb up. Sure, it was easier than it could have been, but still! This place really did seem like it was taking every opportunity to try and kill them, they needed to be careful! Skye had done a good bit of rock climbing as a hobby rather than just part of her training, something to do in her down time that she figured might or might not aid in her job but either way would keep her in shape. She was glad for it now, even if it was a pretty straight forward climb. 

"Right.  _ I'm _ the cocky one." Jemma teased. She held out a hand to pull Skye up to her feet once she was close enough to the top. Skye gave her a look and Jemma rolled her eyes up, miming thought. "Yeah, you're right, I'm the cocky one." She laughed. "I did kill titanoboa with one shot." She poked at Skye's chest playfully and spun on her heels to keep heading uphill. They needed a little fun in their lives and so what if Jemma decided to get it with a little playful banter.

Skye sighed and shook her head as she caught her breath but she was smirking as she watched Jemma spin around and walk away. Okay, maybe she stared after her a bit. She could not be blamed for such things. “Was she like this before the crash too?” she asked Fitz without looking away. 

"What, cocky?" Fitz giggled. He smiled and took a few steps backward to follow Jemma. "Always." He winked and shifted his bags to follow after his friend.

Skye chuckled and shook her head again as she followed, pulling her machete free from the back of her belt again now that they were on their feet. “One of us better kill something bigger than a titanoboa before her head gets too big for the high altitude climb!” She pretended she was calling it out to Fitz but called it loud enough for Jemma to hear them. She worked her way up to catching up to keep them all bunched close in case anything happened along the way. 

\--

After hiking for another almost two hours, they came to a small clearing that seemed like it was free of tracks and tramples of animals so they stopped to rest, drink some water and eat some food. “I think it’s going to come down to us, Fitz,” Skye was saying as she finished chewing a mouthful of mango and smoked fish. “One of us,” She motioned between her and Fitz with her finger a few times. “Is going to have to kill something bigger than a titanoboa, before Jem’s ego inflates too much for her to handle the higher altitude of the cliff we climbing toward,” She grinned over at Jemma as she swallowed her mouthful of food. 

"Well it won't be me, so," Fitz said once he finished swallowing. His finger was pointed at his own chest and he shook at back and forth like someone saying no with their head. He turned it to point to Skye and made it bob up and down like a nod. "Looks like it's going to have to be you." He smiled.    
  
"Hey," Jemma stuck out her tongue at them and took another bite of fish. She deserved the teasing though after her own jokes so she had to put up with it. She made a finger gun and pointed it at an imaginary beast coming after them. She stared down the "barrel" and made a sound with her mouth when she fired. "You're just jealous of my aim." She smirked.

Skye chuckled at Fitz. “No pressure,” She smirked at him and then smiled over at Jemma’s tongue sticking out at her. She laughed again. “Uh huh, that’s it,” She teased back and leaned over to kiss Jemma’s shoulder. She tossed some more mango into her mouth and chewed. She looked between the two of them and asked, “So Fitz, I know Jemma doesn’t have any siblings, but do you?” Had she ever asked that before? She wasn’t sure it had come up before or if she had just forgotten. Either way, it made for a conversation. 

"I had a brother." Fitz answered. He didn't go into details but his face was dark for a moment before his lips upturned and he looked over at Jemma. "Being an only child makes you weird." He joked. Jemma playfully slugged his shoulder and took another bite of fruit.

"He served in the military, came back with only one leg. That's why I work to create mechanical legs for veterans." Fitz elaborated. His goal was to create a perfect machine that could connect to the brain to act and serve as a normal leg would. Maybe he'd get the chance to finish someday.

Yeah, she caught the word ‘had’ in there and no, there was no way she was going to touch that with a multi-foot pole. She watched the interaction between Jemma and Fitz after he recovered from that moment and, though she smiled, she supposed she couldn’t quite call herself an ‘only’ child even though, as far as she knew at least, she was one. “You’ve got yourself quite the origin story - what’s your superhero name and where have you been hiding your costume?” She asked with a crooked grin, hoping to make up for accidentally asking a painful question. 

"Well I won't be the one with bionic limbs, I just helped make them." Fitz grinned. If he had to pick a superhero though, he would definitely pick ironman. "Anyway, we should probably get going again." Fitz finished his last bite and hefted the messenger bag back onto his person.

Skye scooped up the last of her dried fruit and arched her eyebrows. “That’s implying that creating the bionic limbs in the first place isn’t a superpower,” She pointed out before tossing the last of her food in her mouth and stowing away the empty pack in her backpack. “For the record - that’s definitely a superpower,” She washed her food down with half of her bottle and then stowed that too as she started leading the way back on their path after a quick stretch. 

"They weren't finished yet." Fitz sighed. They'd probably hired a new engineer by now and someone else would get the credit for his invention. They would swoop in and finish it and claim it. Not that he particularly cared about the credit, he just wanted to finish this project himself since it was so close to home. "Maybe I'll get the chance if you two move your arses." He went back to light and cheery and tapped at Jemma's shoulder to get her to stand up and join them.

“Hey, stop undercutting my attempts at complimenting you,” Skye gave Fitz’s shoulder a light joking shove. She lifted her eyes to look up through the canopy and then lifted her wrist to look at the compass on her bracelet again as Fitz prodded Jemma along. “Y’know, you’d think he’d be absolutely  _ honored _ to have the two of us as escorts through the treacherous island jungle considering our track record,” She said as she looked at Jemma and then nodded in the direction they needed to go and then led the way.

"You're only so good at killing beasties because you're so good at  _ attracting _ them, so let's be quiet." Fitz was only half joking. They didn't know what was up here and he wasn't exactly keen to find out. All their jabbering could bring in any number of predators.

“He makes a valid point.” Jemma chuckled. She moved to Skye’s side and grabbed for her hand to clasp them together between them as they walked. 

“Okay, one - Do we need to discuss the ones that’re attracted to you?” Skye smirked at Jemma and squeezed her hand. “Two - think they’re attracted to whatever pheromones I’m giving off that attracted you too?” She grinned and wiggled her eyebrows a few times. 

"Ah, yes, because I seek your company due to my primal instincts and attractions alone." Jemma rolled her eyes but brought Skye's hand up to kiss her knuckles regardless. She pulled at her arm to get her to keep walking and Fitz groaned at their continuous exchange. 

Skye grinned, caught up enough to lean over and kiss Jemma’s shoulder “I think Fitz is already tired of us,” Skye mock whispered before she fell silent again. Despite any of the joking comments, Skye was not inattentive to the things going on around them. She was listening. She was keeping track of their direction. She was keeping track of what, if anything, was moving in front of and to their flanks and she was keeping a sharp eye of the canopy above them for any signs that they should stop and turn back for any reason. She was also listening for any other sites or sounds of running water too. 

The next part of the hike was quite a bit more difficult. It wasn't a climb, but the incline was so steep they often had to claw at trees to help pull them up, especially as they got more and more tired. Hours passed and they stopped every now and then for water, leaning against trees so they wouldn't go tumbling back down the mountain, which was what it was turning into. It wasn't until early evening that the land finally flattened out and Jemma dropped her bag as soon as it did and sat down.   
  
"I'll be the first to admit that I'm hoping this is high enough." She panted. As she looked around, she had a feeling they should stop and try the radio here. It wasn't the highest point on the island, but it was near it and they were sitting atop a flat cliff face overlooking the ocean. It was beautiful, really, but Jemma was too tired to admire the view.

Skye didn't drop her backpack right away. She took a few extra steps forward and brought her hands up to her forehead to shade from the sun a bit and looked out at the scene before them as she worked on catching her breath. At first, she thought it was beautiful and wanted to all Jemma for the disposable camera to take a picture. Then reality set in. There was nothing in the distance. There was an island near the one they crashed on but that was visible on the beach from their original camp and even then it was clear that island was severely tiny in comparison to the island they'd wound up on.  Skye's face fell as she made a slow circuit to turn and look. As far in every direction she could see past their island's  landscape there was nothing but the vast expanse of blue water. What if they weren't under any flight paths at all, or near enough to any shipping lanes? All of this would have been for naught.  Skye got stuck in her own brain then, already trying to formulate a not only convincing argument for building a boat,  but one that would bolster the morale of the group as their probable failure in reaching anyone would likely knock the group down quite a few rungs on the ladder. That was the last thing Skye wanted as it would be easy for things to fall apart from  there.

"Let's give it a try." Fitz walked a bit closer to the edge of the cliff, knelt in the grass, set his bag on the ground, and started to unload and set everything up. Jemma watched intently until the antenna was up and he had his finger on the power switch. "Here goes nothing." He flicked it on and static immediately began playing over the radio.   
  
"Try every frequency." Jemma said and waited with baited breath while Fitz fiddled around with it. He was only getting different levels of static though. Every second they couldn't get a line made Jemma's hope sink even further into her gut. She already knew it wasn't happening, but she stared at the radio with tunnel vision anyway, like she had bought a lottery ticket and somehow still thought she could win. It was misguided faith.

Skye didn't look at the radio, as if she thought doing so would pass some kind of bad luck to their attempt. Instead she stood near them and kept looking outward while mentally preparing herself, as always, for the worst case scenario. In this situation, worst case was being unable to reach anyone. They would have to spend the night and this was probably the best place to do it. They could gather firewood and set up makeshift shelter for the night. In the morning, they could try again before they started back down. Even though she was preparing for the worst, she still mentally wished for the best. A slim shot was better than no shot on any given day.

"Dammit!" Fitz slammed his fist down on the homemade machine and growled through gritted teeth. He'd checked every frequency, even spoken into the most common ones, but it was just static. He couldn't even patch into anything, let alone actually hope to contact someone nearby. It wasn't going to work.    
  
"Nothing?" Jemma asked. She knew the answer was nothing but she was still holding out on Fitz cursing for some other reason and not because dreams of rescue were taking another hit.    
  
"Nothing." Fitz shook his head. He sat back on his heels next to the radio, rubbed his face, and pushed his hands into his hair. Silence enveloped them for a short while; nothing interrupted the static. Then there was something.   
  
It was no human and didn't even come from the radio. It was a screech, not unlike the ones they had heard from the beach that first night and overnight almost every night since.

Skye's shoulders slumped when Fitz gave the official confirmation.  She spun around at the sound and immediately began to look for what was making it as she raised her machete up, prepared to swing wildly any moment. She felt all the hairs on the back of her neck and along her arms standing on end. "We should-,"

Another shriek split through the air, but this one was human. Of all the ways they expected to be attacked, from the cliff side was not it. A large animal, probably a pterodactyl, had a hold of Fitz and was biting down on his shoulder while clawing at his back with its talons. Just one of its wings was as long as Fitz was tall, so the thing had him off the ground as soon as it got a good grip.

Skye's reaction was reflexive. She dropped the machete and took a running leap at high as she took a running leap as high as she could. Her immediate intention was to get a hold of Fitz's  legs and drag them back to the ground with dead weight. It was a terrible plan but it was the instinctive one her body went with before her brain had even fully processed what was going on. Unfortunately, she only managed to reach the bottom of his pant leg and shoe. With a sudden flap of its wings, the beast jerked upward and Skye's grip ripped loose, leaving her dropping multiple feet to the ground with only Fitz's shoe to show for her troubles. She dropped the shoe and scrambled up to her feet, grabbed for the machete handle and sprinted to the edge of the cliff as the animal flew out over the edge with Fitz. Skye skidded to a stop at the edge of the cliff. "Fitz!" She screamed his name, another reactionary action. She froze as she dropped to her knees at the cliff's edge, looking for some way down only to find the cliff was dotted and pock marked with dozens of nests jutting out of cave hole entrances, all containing the giant pterodactyl creatures. She kept looking for some way out for Fitz that would let them collect him after they raced back down the island. Could he rolled out and jump to the water below? Would he survive that kind of dive from that height while injured? Would he be able to swim if the water wasn't just full of rocks at the bottom? They would never make it climbing down to him without hitting one of the other nets. They didn't have rope anywhere near long enough. Skye's brain raced with ideas, shooting each one down as it came. Could she shoot them? She didn't have enough bullets for all of them, so if she did, the others would come after them and Fitz in place of the first one. But they couldn't just do nothing!   


"No!" Jemma screamed when Skye's attempts failed. She ripped the rifle strap free and jammed the butt of it into her shoulder, swinging the barrel up to point at the dinosaur that had Fitz. "I can't get a clear shot!" She shouted. She took a few steps forward, but she and her gun were shaking as Fitz shrieked and she couldn't take aim at just the flying beast without a chance of hitting her best friend. And even if she did hit it, wouldn't he plummet to the ocean? It was better than letting the pterodactyl eat him, so she kept her gun raised. At least until the reptilian bird took a nosedive.    
  
Jemma sprinted to the cliff's edge and skidded to a stop. Her eyes raced downward and locked on Fitz, but now she knew what Skye knew. Dozens of pterodactyls were starting to screech and stretch out their wings and the babies.... the babies were opening and snapping their mouths in a nest right under Fitz.   
  
"Skye?!" Jemma didn't know what to do. They didn't have any time and Skye didn't look like she had any way to get Fitz out of this one. Suddenly, the pterodactyl released Fitz and he fell about ten feet into a nest crammed full with three babies that were each as big as he was. Jemma was frozen as they started tearing into him and screams echoed in and out of the divots in the wall. "No, no!" Jemma brought her rifle up again and pointed it over the edge, but the nest was a writhing ball of teeth, wings, and blood.    
  
There was no clean shot. There was no way out. There was no other option. She saw a flash of his eyes and then it was gone, but she could still hear that awful screaming. Before she could think about it, Jemma shot down into the nest. The bullet sliced through a baby's wing, but it didn't hit Fitz like it was meant to. She screamed in frustration, hot tears against her cheeks, and dozens of the fully grown beasts began to scatter and gain altitude, all of them focusing their eyes onto Skye and Jemma still on the cliff. There were more babies to feed. "Fitz!" Jemma wailed.

Skye as still trying to figure something out when the adult dropped Fitz and she knew it was all over then. "Jem, don't!" She didn't have time for her brain to catch up, though so by the time she reached for  Jemma and the rifle,  Jemma already shot. Skye's eyes widened at the sheer number of the winged beasts as they launched into the site in defense of one of their babies.    
  
There was no real choice now.  Jemma wasn't going to run if Fitz was still alive and screaming like that and they only had seconds to move.  She yanked her gun from its holster, flipped of the safety, straightened her arm and aimed,  She waited until she saw Fitz's only remaining eye and shot three times in quick success to make sure one, if not all, got him. She jammed the machete back into its hook on her belt and vaulted to her feet. "RUN!" She bellowed as she wrapped a hand tightly around Jemma’s arm, yanked her to her feet and sprinted for the tree line.    
  
A shadow swooped down over them and Skye turned and brought the gun up and fired blindly at it. She caught it's shoulder and it tumbled to their right in the grass and slammed face first into a boulder. Another took a dive bomb at them and Skye only had time to dive at Jemma to send them rolling to the ground. The best missed them but one landed as it passed and snapped at them. Skye kicked her boot out as hard as she could and stunned it just long enough to shoot at it. It screeched and took off with a hole in its neck and Skye sprang to her feet and hauled Jemma up again, immediately sprinting as soon as they were both up on their feet.

Jemma ran blindly. She didn't pay attention to where her feet fell, where the pterodactyls were, or what was happening. She just ran where Skye pulled her. It felt like her head was stuffed full of cotton balls; her ears only picked up ambient noise, her vision was blurred by tears, and a lump was steadily growing in her throat that made it hard to breath. Burning, stinging bile worked its way up her throat but she swallowed it down and kept running. Fitz was dead. Fitz was dead and Skye shot him to out him out of his misery.

There would be time later to process what she just had to do, but now was not the time. There was only time to run. She pushed them onward and into the tree line.  Unfortunately, shortly after the tree line the landscaped tilted downward at an awkward angle so the two went repeatedly tumbling down stretches of hill with their momentum. Thankfully, the canopy grew thick enough that the pterodactyls couldn't dive bomb into it, could only buzz the treetops while screeching. Skye wasn't sure how long they ran through the thick downhill slant of the jungle before they both tripped over a mass of roots and fell into a sea of arthropleura, that scuttled over them as they scattered away from the intrusion.

When Jemma's face slammed into the dirt after the arthropleuras ran out from underneath her, she didn't even move. She just laid there on her stomach, cheek against the ground, body limp like she wasn't planning on getting up at all. She'd never lost anyone this close to her before and to lose him like that, with toothy winged monsters fighting over his internal organs... her brain just shut down. She didn't cry yet, she didn't scream. She just laid there and stared at tree bark wondering what was happening and how it had all been so quick.

Skye scrambled to her feet. She grabbed the gun she'd dropped and holstered it. "Jem, C'mon we have to-," Skye stopped when she saw Jemma lying there limp. It was just dark enough that Skye couldn't tell if she was breathing and her heart jumped into her throat. Had she hit her head in their fall?? Was she - ?!?! "Jemma!" She shook Jemma’s shoulder and rolled her over. "Jem, hey, Jemma!" Her hand cradled Jemma's cheek and looked into her face, Skye's own face was a mask of fear for Jemma and horror for all that just happened,  that she'd had to just do to Fitz.

When Jemma made eye contact with Skye as she so insistently wanted to get her moving, she started to tremble and her eyes started to water. They'd be going back without Fitz. Her fingers dug into the dirt and she took fistfuls of it, but it didn't help her keep it all inside for long. A heavy sob jerked her body and she turned away from Skye and curled into a ball. This couldn't be happening, it couldn't be real. This was all some horrible dream and she'd wake up in Indonesia and tell Fitz to stop complaining that there wasn't any wifi. Fat tears rolled over her cheeks and nose and she screamed. It wasn't a scared scream like it usually was, it was a pained, groaning scream, the kind of sound a person would make into a pillow when they were grieving. Her hands wound into her hair and pulled to get some sort of sensation but it wasn't distracting her at all.

Skye's already wide eyed widened into startled saucers when Jemma suddenly jerked away and began to scream and sob. She hadn't realized that her own tears had been rolling down her cheeks as she crawled closer and reached out and caught Jemma's wrists to try and stop her from pulling at her own hair. When that failed she pulled when she could of the balled up Jemma into her arms and lap and wrapped her arms tightly around her. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Jem, I'm sorry," she murmured it over, and over and over and over again through a few of her own sniffles. It shouldn't have happened. She should have been more attentive. They never should have been on that cliff. They shouldn't have left the camp.  Or they should have gone to the beach and tried it  instead. She had to get Jemma out of here. They needed to find shelter for the night so she could find their trail back to camp in the morning.

Jemma's shaking didn't ease up as Skye cradled her and the apologies made her sob even harder. Skye saying it made it even more real and Jemma couldn't handle it. After everything they'd been through this was the straw that seemed to break her. Her nails drew blood from her own palms and she buried her face in Skye's clothes and screamed again. Fitz was dead.   
  
with no warning, Jemma went silent. She stilled in Skye's arms and a blank look settled over her features. Her grip loosened and the rest of her body began to relax, if only because her body was actually shutting down to preserve her mental status. She needed to stop and the only way her body knew how. Willpower was fleeting and there wasn't any way for Jemma to grasp it after the radio failure and the loss of her best friend. She whimpered once more and then went into a nearly catatonic state.

Skye almost panicked when Jemma went limp like that but she felt Jemma's breath on her neck and shoulder.  She leaned back,  brought her hand up to cradle Jemma's cheek again and stared at her, horrified at the vacant look in her eyes. "Tell me what to do, I don't know what to do Jem, stay with me,  I need you," Skye shuddered at repeating these words,  like she had when Jemma's throat was closing before.

Jemma didn't even hear what Skye said. She was too deep in whatever panic/grief episode she was stuck in to respond. She just grabbed at Skye's clothes and held on tightly, refusing to let go. She wasn't planning on ever letting go, not of Skye. A few silent tears streamed down her cheeks and she just laid there, staring at the blurry image of Skye's face.

Skye struggled to regain control of her faculties. Jemma was falling apart, and rightly so, which meant Skye needed to pull herself together, to figure out their next move. They needed some form of shelter before full darkness happened upon them. They needed a fire for the heat and to scare off nightly creatures. The radio might be salvageable in the daylight if they could brave climbing back up the hill in the daylight, though the batteries would be dead. Had Fitz hooked it to any of the solar cells? Skye couldn't remember. Her chest pulled tightly as she thought about Fitz. This had been a fool's errand. She should have been smarter about this, should have talked them into a test run on the beach instead of all the way out here.   
  
Skye held tightly onto Jemma, rocked her a bit here and there, stroked a hand over her hair and took slow, deep breaths to bring her own heartbeat under control. She sat like that, with Jemma in her arms, letting her cry for a long while before she knew she had to find them shelter and wood for the night. With a very quiet sniffle, she inhaled a deep breath and calmly said. "We have to move, now, Jem." Skye used the most gentle tone she could. "We need shelter for the night," she tried her best to coax Jemma back just enough for them to work together. They had to move just long enough to find somewhere that Skye could use to make them a small shelter and a fire for the night.

Jemma shook her head against Skye's shoulder and her grip on Skye tightened instead of loosened. She was starting to calm down a bit and she didn't want Skye to move, she didn't want to interrupt whatever process she was going through. She wasn't ready to move yet.

Honestly,  Skye didn't want to interrupt the process of what Jemma was going through. The mental tug of war between taking care of Jemma in the moment and making sure she took care of their general survival needs waged rampant through her mind. "Okay," she murmured near Jemma's ear,  hoping to keep her calm while also surprised Jemma wasn't angry with her for what she'd done, even if Jemma had tried to do it herself. Skye was angry with herself. She preferred being the one to do those kinds of things over Jemma having to do it, but even so, the list of dead people that could be attributed to having been done at Skye's hand kept growing. "We'll stay here for right now," she assured Jemma in that soft, calm tone while, internally, her blood was boiling with anger that she was rapidly directing at herself rather than the beasts still screeching by the cliff every so often. Old habits really did die hard.

____________  
  
The fire crackled and flames licked their way around the sticks and chunks of wood Skye had picked up. Jemma couldn't stop watching it. It was something to keep her eyes on and it was soothing, in a way. Fire meant warmth and safety. Skye was heating tossing a few more pieces of wood into the fire, sending sparks flying up into the air like fireflies. It made her focus shift, and Jemma suddenly felt guilty. She'd made Skye get them out of the area alone and set up their little shelter and fire.    
  
"I'm sorry." She croaked. Her throat was still sore but she didn't want to isolate herself when Skye was here for her and doing all of this by herself. She needed to be there for Skye too.

Skye kept herself busy and working without straying very fast from Jemma whenever she could. The most time she spent more than a foot or so away from Jemma's side was while she gathered a pile of dead, fallen branches for firewood. She gathered them a large pile so she'd be able to build it extra large as the dozed off so they wouldn't wake up cold.  They were under a tree that had a low branch maybe five feet off the ground. Skye had taken a large rain poncho she'd packed into her backpack to make a makeshift tent roof for them, hoisting the poncho around the branch and then tying off the four corners so it was spread out to cover them should it rain. She only had one bed cushion rolled and attached to the pack but it would be wide enough for them to lay on if they were on their sides pressed together. She had their blanket and the solar heat foil space blanket with he as well to keep them warm tonight as they were higher up, in thinner, colder air, without a lot to block the wind other than their location at the trunk of two trees that had grown together.   
  
She kept a close eye on Jemma and never actually looked into the fire herself.  She didn't want to caustic a blind spot in looking around them into the darkness if something tried to come their way.  She wasn't expecting Jemma to speak at all, let alone so that she could apologize to her. Skye looked over at her, startled a b d h unable to mask her own sadness, fear and anxiety in the moment.  She shook her head quickly.  "What? No," she reached out, tucked some hair behind Jemma's  ear and cradled her palm along the side of Jemma's face. She leaned over and kissed her forehead. "There's nothing  for you to apologize for,  Jem," she murmured against her forehead before moving to rest hers against Jemma's. "It happened too fast. I couldn't hold on..." All she'd managed to save was a shoe, and only for a second. She had very clearly failed the two of them. Skye saw it that way at least. "I'm sorry," and she was sure she was the only one who needed to apologize.

"I should have-" Jemma had to stop to swallow down bile before she continued. "I could have taken the shot early, taken the risk and not the safe route." Jemma would cry, but she was fresh out of tears so instead she just stared into the fire. "I should've... I could've..." There were a lot of things she should have done. She should have spent more time with him on the island instead of practically forget about him because of Skye. She should have let him stay in Los Angeles when he thought going to Indonesia was a bad idea.    
  
Jemma reached for her rifle and pulled it into her lap. She released the shell and it popped out of the gun and fell into the dirt and leaves. It had been a failed attempt to make it easier for him and she should have shot sooner. In a small fit of anger, she grabbed the golden shell and tossed it into the fire.

Skye hesitated when Jemma pulled away from her.  Her eyes followed Jemma's movement carefully.  She quickly,  and very quietly, sniffled and shifted closer. She reached out and took the rifle. With practiced hands, she removed the remaining bullets and temporarily stored them in her cargo pocket. She reset the rifle, slid the bolt back into place and moved to hand it back. "When you aim with a rifle," she moved mostly behind Jemma and slipped her arms around d her to guide her hands and arms to hold the rifled properly. "You need to hold it as tight as possible to your shoulder, here," she shifted until the gun was in place and then pulled with her arms until it was held firmly against Jemma's shoulder.    
  
"Breathe normally, slow inhales and exhales, don't hold it." Her hands rested around Jemma’s. "Keep your finger outside the trigger guard until you're ready to shoot. Line up the sight at the end of the barrel with what you want to shoot. When you're ready, slip your index finger into the trigger guard and gently squeeze the trigger - don't jam or pull it. That will jerk the gun and you'll miss the shot and the kickback with be much worse on your shoulder. As you pull the trigger you want to be braced and leaning in with your shoulder in preparation against the kickback." Rather than beating themselves up over this,  Skye was attempting to focus them on something to further keep them alive. She should have shown Jemma this long before now,  same thing with the handgun. It might have prepared them better for what happened today.

Jemma nodded along to all the instructions, but didn't say a word. Skye was trying to distract her with something useful and Jemma appreciated it, but she couldn't stop seeing Fitz at the end of the barrel instead of the darkness. She let go of the rifle and squirmed out of Skye's grip.    
  
"I have to pee." Jemma had her arms crossed over her torso to protect against the cold and shuffled around a few trees to relieve herself.

Skye frowned and watched the direction Jemma made off in so she'd know where to go if she needed to. She dropped her eyes to the gun and busied herself with reloading the rifle to make sure it was ready if they needed it. She set that down on the ground and pulled her handgun put next, going through the motions through muscle memory to check how many bullets she had left and to prep the gun to make sure it was also prepped and ready to go at a moment's notice. She had no idea how to comfort Jemma in this situation. She didn't think there was anything she could do and that,  in turn, exacerbated her own internal mental and emotional struggles at the moment, which made her search for things to keep her hands busy. She had limited options at the moment.

Jemma didn't stall going to the bathroom, but she wasn't exactly in a rush either. When she did make her way back to the fire, she sat down next to Skye, but not quite touching. She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs.    
  
"What are we going to build the boat out of?" Jemma asked. She kept her eyes on the fire for an unknown reason. What she did know was that Fitz died trying to get them all out of here, so she couldn't very well just give up. His death had to mean something. All of them did.

As soon as Jemma sat down, Skye felt the immediate disconnect, the gravity of the small slither of space between them pulled heavy on her insides. She didn't acknowledge it outwardly, though. It wouldn't be right. Jemma had to process things and if part of that meant pulling away from her, then Skye had no choice but to endure it. She thought about her answer to Jemma's question while she unfurled their blanket. "A combination of wood, bamboo and thicker, stronger versions of Trip's ropes," she shook out the blanket and then draped it around Jemma, careful to try not to accidentally brush her hands/fingers against her if she didn't want to be touched. "We'll likely need to come up with something glue like that can seal it against leaks and help hold joints together, I imagine?" She moved to add another layer of wood to their fire, careful to ensure it would only collapse inward inside the ring of rocks she'd made around the slightly dug in circle of dirt.

"I think it's more within our capabilities to build it like a large raft instead of a boat." Jemma added. It would be more than difficult to build an actual functioning boat that wouldn't take on water for potentially upwards of a month of traveling.

Skye felt her thoughts drifting as she shifted to sit back down next to Jemma under the cover of their makeshift tent. She tried to remain focused,  but her brain kale wandering off into memories of the terrible things she'd done to people on this island and whether or not she really deserved to leave it at this point.     
  
Skye nodded her head absently.  "We'll talk to Mack about logistics when we get back to camp. It's gonna need to be large, and we'll need to be raised above the waterline.  We'll need cover from the sun and from wind and storms.  We'll likely need to valence it,  with pontoons on the sides, probably," The words tumbled out in a mostly hollow, distant tone. Mentally,  she was counting bodies and reminding herself that her goal was to keep her promise to get Jemma home, not to get herself home.  Skye was expendable, really, if it came right down to it. More than that, she was undeserving of returning to the relative normalcy of living alone in Los Angeles with nothing to show for her life but a pet cactus. She didn't have kids like Mace, or the kind of job where she could potentially return mobility and normalcy to the lives of wounded veterans or disabled people like Fitz. She had no idea who she'd robbed Quinn and Donnie from add far as families went,  or what kind of people they were in real life,  when survival want warping their minds.  "It's gonna take a long time with the tools we have.  Our first order of business should be food stocks and potential farming. We need to go back to the plane and find what we can to make jars and containers so we can start storing food underground for temperature preservation," she rambled on, still detached as she rolled through the rolodex of survival knowledge and skills while she started at the ground in front of the fire to prevent giving herself fire blindness,  in case any creatures got any bright ideas.

"Let's stop talking for now." Jemma sighed. Logistics only went so far in distracting her. She didn't think she could do this alone though, so she scooted over to Skye and wrapped the blanket around the both of them. They needed each other now more than ever and Jemma wasn't about to let her grief take over and ruin what she had going with Skye. Fitz wouldn't have wanted that. "We should get some rest."

Skye felt an immediately wave of relief when Jemma wrapped around her with the blanket, though she was a bit startled that it didn't completely pull her from her distant unending string of thoughts. She leaned into Jemma's side reflexively and fell quiet as the conversation was called to a close. She nodded, but lifted her wrist and set two alarms, one for three hours from that moment so she could wake up to add the rest of the wood to the pile and the other for her closest guess based on the past couple weeks to when the would come up. She kissed Jemma's temple and then moved with her to lay down on their sides on the bed roll. She shook out the space heat blanket and they put that under their regular blanket and then Skye curled up behind Jemma so Jemma would be between her and the fire. Skye wasn't sure she actually planned on sleeping, but she wasn't going to tell Jemma that. There were too many things that could happen to them in their sleep when they were put in the open and vulnerable like they were. She wrapped her arms around Jemma and kept her weapons within quick reach before she kissed the crown of Jemma’s head.

"Night, Skye." Jemma murmured, choosing to avoid the word good at the moment. She found Skye's arm over her waist and intertwined their fingers under the pretense that it would help keep them from getting chilled, but she was also hoping it would keep the nightmares at bay for both of them. They had a lot of things to have nightmares about.

"Night, Jem," Skye parroted back. She squeezed Jemma's hand and deliberately let her breathe come in steady, even breaths,  though she most definitely didn't calm asleep. She listened to Jemma's breathing,  the crackle of the fire and every sound in the darkness that might attack them in the night.  She didn't try to force herself to sleep and her brain was happy to keep her awake flashing memories through her conscious mind of replays of all the terrible things she had done (whether she had to our not) while on this island.   
  
Before her alarm went off a few hours later, Skye very, carefully freed herself from Jemma and the blankets and crawled over to pile wood on the fire to build it back up for the rest of the night. She heard rustling in the trees not too far away but cloudy see anything in the dark. She waited, a hand wrapped around her machete for a long few moments before she finally went to reclaim her position behind Jemma and tucked the blankets around them again. Eventually she started nodding off as she strained to listen for animals approaching for attack.

Just after Skye's eyes fell shut and stayed shut, they were disturbed by an awful screeching sound at a pitch that rattled their eardrums. Jemma woke with a start and before she could reach for her rifle, a large head was butting into her chest. At first she was terrified, but she quickly recognized the squawking sounds that followed as those of Trudy. The dinosaur's snout was suddenly in between the two of them and pushing at Skye's stomach to separate them.

Skye had literally just collapsed into sleep hard when something was suddenly roughly jamming into her stomach and chest. She woke with a strangled cry and struggled in the tangle of blankets but came up on her feet with her machete raised and ready to swing with prejudice at whatever had invaded their camp.

"Wait!" Jemma cried out. She had one palm facing Skye and the other at Trudy, who was snarling and snapping her jaws, eyes locked on the weapon. "Put it down!" Jemma hissed at Skye, who looked like she was still trying to wake up and process what the hell was going on. "It's just Trudy."

Skye only managed to pull her swing, which caused her to trip and stumble back on her ass against the mass of tree roots under the trunk of the tree next to their tented space. She blinked, not at all awake despite the fact that her heart had started racing so fast that she was sweating already and breathing heavily. “What the fuck!” She blurted, though it was half unintelligible. She looked from Jemma, to the snarling, snapping dinosaur and had no choice but to put her machete down. “What the fuck’s her problem?!” she blurted. Buzz wasn’t like this at all. Skye and Buzz had completely bonded after Jemma captured him. This beast was a completely different story. Skye initially glared at Trudy but it morphed into a sad frowned as she realized it was possible the dinosaur was entirely aware that Skye was unworthy of Jemma and was making it fully known. 

Trudy made one last little growling sound as Skye yelled and settled down once the weapon was out of Skye's hand.    
  
"I think she sees cuddling as a threat." Jemma frowned. She didn't know what they were going to do if Trudy kept showing up and acting aggressive toward Skye. She was just about to suggest they make nice when Trudy started rummaging through their things. "Trudy, no, we need that food! Go hunt for your own!" Jemma tried to shoo her away, but Trudy had already gotten a bit of fish when Jemma snatched her bag back and zipped it up.    
  
"I can't tell if she's trying to protect me because I give her food or if it's some other reason." Jemma shook her head and smiled, but when she turned to look at Skye it fell off her face. "You okay?" She held a hand out to help Skye get up. Trudy watched carefully, but didn't make a sound this time.

Skye wasn’t worried about the food, honestly. Her eyes followed Trudy carefully as she got lost in her thoughts again. At least she didn’t have to worry about the animal attacking Jemma. She wasn’t, however, okay, but she couldn’t tell Jemma that. It felt like she couldn’t tell Jemma that. Her eyes left Trudy and went first to the hand Jemma was holding out toward her. She glanced back at Trudy, waiting for the stupid dinosaur to snarl or snap again but she didn’t. Skye’s eyes traveled then from Jemma’s hand up her arm to her face. “Fine,” she said. “M’fine,” it was total bullshit, but i was out there now. She grabbed Jemma’s hand and pulled herself to her feet only to have Trudy make another one of those snarling sounds at her so Skye let go of Jemma’s hand and put her hands up in surrender. “I’m gonna go pee,” She turned her back on the dinosaur, and Jemma essentially, quickly and pulled her flashlight from her pocket to pick her way into the trees so she could go to the bathroom. She didn’t really have to go all that bad but it was as good an excuse as any and at least Trudy would stay with Jemma while she went. 

"Skye," Jemma sighed. She knew she had used that exact same excuse a few hours ago but she hadn't expected it to hurt Skye. It sure seemed like it did. Something was up if Skye needed a little breathing room like Jemma had before, so she wasn't going to leave it alone. She'd let it be for long enough for Skye to collect herself, but she wouldn't let it sit there and simmer.    
  
Once Skye was gone, Trudy made a squawking sound, but it was different from her normal noises. She was facing out into the darkness in the direction Skye went, but the stiff look to her made Jemma uneasy. She was listening to something and even if it was just Skye, Jemma needed to find out. If it wasn't Skye was a sitting duck. Three more screeches sounded in the darkness. They sounded like Trudy, but it hadn't been her.    
  
"Skye!" Jemma shouted. She grabbed her rifle and flicked off the safety. She didn't think all troodons were as friendly as Trudy, and if they were as smart as she was then they were in for it. Trudy and the other troodon exchanged a few screeches before she dashed into the trees in the direction of Skye's light. "Skye, come back!" Jemma raced after Trudy to find her. What if the other dinosaur was after Skye?!

Skye mentally prepped her responses to Jemma as she walked into the trees.  _ I’m fine. She woke me up by attacking me, of course I was freaked out/startled! Let’s just...sleep...separately because your pet lizard bird has a crush on you and wants to eat my face off, okay?  _ Skye didn’t actually get to the ‘going to pee,’ part of her short trek into the jungle away from their small camp because she stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she heard Trudy-like squawking ahead of her instead of behind. She swung her flashlight up and looked for the closest tree she could actually climb into but suddenly there was rustling and squawking heading at her from multiple directions. She flicked off the flashlight and yanked her hunting knife from its sheath as she heard Jemma calling her name. Her heart jammed into her throat, her eyes widened. 

“JEM STAY BY THE FIRE!” She shouted back despite her attempts to conceal where she was from the dinosaurs. So much for that. When the rustling happened right in front of her, Skye swung the flashlight up and flicked it on. The dinosaur that had been running for her, screeched in confusion and darted around the tree Skye was pinned back against. She could only hope that stupid dinosaur actually had a crush of some kind on Jemma so it protected her. She turned to her left where there was no noise - squawks or rustling - from that direction so she turned and rushed through the foliage that way in the hopes of leading whatever hungry dinosaurs were bearing down on them away from the camp and Jemma. 

Jemma stopped short when she heard Skye's command, but she wasn't keen on staying by the fire when Skye was out there. Guns were the best way to survive an attack and Skye didn't have hers. Her mind was made up and she took a step forward to go find her. As she did, a screeching ball of feathers came flying out from around the tree in front of her. She brought her rifle up to her shoulder like Skye taught her, but she would have been too late had Trudy not come bounding from the left and tackled the opposing troodon to the ground with a grip on its neck. Jemma reacted quickly, aiming and firing at the body of the troodon pinned to the ground. It screeched and then went silent. There was another call from ahead where Skye was and Jemma rushed forward with Trudy at her side.

Skye skidded to a stop despite the sounds approaching behind her. “JEMMA!” Her footing slipped as she spun on her heel and she clawed at the ground with her fingers and knife to scramble back up, sprinting at her fastest pace in the dark as she fought not to trip on her race back toward the rifle fire. Except Skye didn’t see Jemma as she approached, she saw a Troodon with  bloody face in the swinging light of the flashlight and she had no idea if that was Trudy or if that was a Troodon that just ate Jemma. Worse, the one that was on her tail was nipping at her heels, literally, as she sprinted as fast as she could and screamed Jemma’s name again. 

"SKYE!" Jemma shouted. Trudy was running ahead of her and she caught a blinding glimpse of the flashlight Skye was holding. There was screeching and whistling in different directions and Jemma couldn't locate them all. She did see one come up behind Skye and she quickly brought the rifle back up. It was pointed at Skye's head and she wasn't going to let what happened to Fitz happen to Skye.    
  
"Duck!" She shouted. Once Skye was out of the way she fired at the movement in the darkness. She could tell she hit her mark when the dinosaur screeched and crashed to the ground. There were two more flanking Skye and Jemma shot at one but ended up splitting the bark of a tree instead. The same one made a move on Skye and Trudy leapt directly over her to land on the offending reptile. It was a frenzy of squawking, teeth, and feathers and Jemma couldn't tell who was who.

Skye’s eyes widened when she caught sight of the barrel of the rifle. Just as Jemma yelled for her to duck, she dropped into a slide across the grass in front of her. Her muscles jumped at the loud explosive sound out of shot. She went to scramble up but Jemma fired again and the next thing she knew the bloody one - which she surmised was Trudy now - took a flying leap over her and all Skye could do was drop back to avoid getting hit in the collision. Skye scrambled to bring her flashlight up and caught sight of a particular feather pattern she recognized on the dinosaur that wound up on the bottom and leapt into the fray immediately. She jumped onto the dinosaur on top’s back, wrapped her arm around its neck under its chin and yanked back with one arm. With the other she stabbed her hunting knife into its neck where it met its collar. The dinosaur let out a gurgling shriek and began to whirl around. Skye had no choice but to hold on or she’d get thrown into a tree. Instead she wound up on the ground, under the heavy weight of the thing as it kicking and scrabbled about as Skye swung the knife a couple more times, stabbing as deep as she could each time as the wind was knocked out of her. 

"Skye?!" Jemma could barely see with the light flying around and she couldn't tell what was happening. She did register that Skye was attacking one of the dinosaurs, but she had no idea if it was the right one. "Trudy?!" The troodon left on the ground was whimpering and clawing at the ground to try to stand up. Jemma had her rifle, but a bullet could go through and hit Skye and she wasn't going to risk it. Skye could also be crushed by the dinosaur though, so she had to choose yet again to take the safe route or do what she could to save the person she loved. So she took the shot. The troodon fell limp on top of Skye and Trudy rushed her, yanking the body off.    
  
"Skye, are you alright?" Jemma ran forward and collapsed to her knees next to her. She cupped her cheeks and tried to see in the dark if she had any injuries.

Skye startled at the gunfire. It took her a moment to realize that she had not been shot and the heavy weight on her was the dead weight of the Dino she'd been fighting. Just as soon as that registered, the weight was suddenly off her and Skye panicked and swung her hands up, having dropped her knife in the fall. It wasn't until Jemma was leaning over her,  holding her face,  that Skye realized the Dino also standing over her was indeed Trudy and not another of the others. Her muscles only relaxed slightly as she tried to catch her breath. " It's not my blood," she said.  "I'm okay - are you hurt?" She lifted her head and looked toward Trudy. "Is she...?"

"I'm fine, I think she's hurt though." Jemma let go of Skye's face and shoved an arm under her upper back to help get her up into a sitting position. Trudy slowly lowered herself to the ground making whimpering noises as she went and Jemma's eyes widened. "Skye, the light!" Jemma crawled over to Trudy and started looking for any serious wounds. She was covered in bite marks and scratches, but nothing looked too serious. They were all okay for now, at least this time. Trudy had come to save them yet again and Jemma didn't know how to thank her. She couldn't risk cleaning her wounds in case the dinosaur interpreted the pain as a threat, but she could make sure she had food and the energy to heal on her own like her body was evolutionarily designed to.

Skye moved to her knees and shined the light on the dinosaur, but made sure not to shine it directly in her face after the way she'd startled one of the others with it. She reached a hand out but stopped short of actually touching Trudy since they didn't exactly get along all that well before to begin with. "Thank you," she said even though she knew it was stupid and Trudy couldn't understand her. Still, Trudy had obviously protected Jemma and for that Skye was grateful to her. She'd gone after one of her own, too, while it was lunging for Skye, so. "I'll grab one of our food packs and some water?" She did make them pack enough for multiple days, at least. She didn't know if they could get Trudy to come all the way back to the camp without the food to entice her, though.

"Good idea." Jemma nodded. She reached out and laid a hand on Trudy's shoulder. The dinosaur eyed her suspiciously, but didn't run this time. "She saved us, even from one of her own species." Jemma was stumped. They were supposed to travel in packs, but maybe Trudy was a social outcast and picked the humans as her new pack. "I would say we should haul back some fresh meat, but I don't know how she would react to seeing us eat a troodon." Jemma sighed. It was a waste of food, that was for sure, but having Trudy was a big advantage and Jemma wasn't about to trade that.

Skye cringed as she moved to stand up, leaving the flashlight with Jemma since they were close enough that she could see some of the fire light. "Probably a good idea. We should leave as soon as we have the light, of she can handle it. The carcasses are going to attract scavengers," she kept talking a she headed for their supplies, growing louder and louder in the hopes that the sound would scare off anything else that might be lurking nearby. She quickly grabbed a water bottle and one of the food packs that she knew had fish, crab and shellfish in it besides fruit, and headed back to them. She handed the items to Jemma since Trudy trusted her over Skye already.

Troody's head came up off the ground when she smelled the fish as Jemma opened it. She split it in half, half to give to Trudy now and half to lure her back to camp. She laid out half in front of Trudy's snout and she gobbled it up in seconds. She deserved it after what she did to help them. Without her they'd probably be dead.    
  
Slowly, Jemma reached for Skye's hand and held it in her own. She carefully pressed them to Trudy's side where she was uninjured, Skye's hand in between Trudy and her own. Trudy lifted her head and looked at them with narrow eyes, but laid back down again and inhaled deeply, raising her side beneath their hands.

Skye tried to keep her hands as relaxed as possible when Jemma pressed it to Trudy's side, worried she would snap at them for it since she seemed fairly skittish about humans touching her even though she'd had no qualms about forcefully headbutting Skye in the torso while Skye had been sleeping. "So, what do you think, were the other ones post of her own group? " Skye asked. "Or do they just not get along with other groups?" She figured this wasn’t an easily answered question, but the curiosity of the dinosaur's strange actions and treatment of them was strong.

"I don't know, but with their intelligence level their communication and social system could be advanced." Jemma frowned. There were infinite possibilities here about what exactly led Trudy to defend them. "We should get her back to the fire and get some more sleep. It's a long hike." Jemma stood up and dropped tiny fish bits in a trail back to the fire. Trudy got up and followed along, and this time she laid down on the opposite side of the fire from the bedroll, facing toward the darkness, head up and listening.

Skye hesitated to lay down with Jemma, even if Trudy was settling away from them. She looked like she was on guard duty. Skye took one of the half eaten food packs. She opened it and left food in one side. Slowly she crouched next to Trudy and put the pack down. She filled the empty side with water since it was the best she could find to use to make a bowl and then she went back to her backpack to put the water bottle away. She glanced at Jemma and the bed roll, at Trudy and then back to Jemma. "Think it's safe to lay down with you now?" She asked, unsure because of past experiences, like not to long ago when Trudy woke them the first time.

"I think so." Jemma nodded. Trudy was facing away from them and into the jungle, so it meant she was much more concerned about what was out there than what Skye was doing. She and Skye had saved each other, after all. Maybe Trudy was intelligent enough to respect that Skye tackled a troodon for her. "Come here." Jemma smiled and pat the bedroll beside her. The air was a bit chilly and she wanted to maintain contact with Skye so she knew for certain she was truly there and unharmed.

Skye moved to lay down on the bedroll next to Jemma. She made sure her knife was with the rest of her weapons, all within easy reach before she fully settled down on her side. She felt the exhaustion creeping in along with the deep ache in her muscles from their very long hike, from what happened to Fitz, from running away after what happened to Fitz, from the startle of Trudy waking them some rudely and, finally, from the dinosaur fight. Skye really needed sleep and she knew it, but she couldn’t seem to let her mind relax enough for it. There was too much of a threat still. Trudy was perched like a sentry and that told Skye there were more predators nearby. There were dead carcasses near their camp that could attract any number of scavengers, which could lead them to their camp. There were still a few hours until the sun came up, though. Skye tried to tell herself to make the most of them while they hard a guard dinosaur but she kept struggling to keep her eyes open instead.  

Jemma could tell just by the way Skye's chest pushed against her back as she breathed that she wasn't sleeping, and that she was far from it. She wondered what Skye was thinking about and if it was Fitz. Were they good memories like the look on his face when the pigeon stole his candy bar in the airport, or did she think of the arguments they had over Jemma and the fight between Jemma and Fitz when he confessed his feelings? Jemma sniffled and swiped at her eyes, but it only made way for more tears to streak down the paths on her face.

Skye was decidedly trying not to think about Fitz. She knew he was going to be on Jemma’s mind and she knew one of them needed to have control over the situation. Of the two of them, Jemma had the most right to fall apart or grieve to whatever extreme necessary. She’d decided that after she couldn’t get Jemma up off the ground after they’d fallen amount the arthropleuras.  Skye and Fitz hadn’t exactly gotten along very well at the onset of their situation. Everything had resolved itself relatively quickly, thankfully, and they’d grown closer over the weeks following all the drama. Skye couldn’t think about those things though, because all thoughts ended in the vivid, visual memories of his brutal death. She couldn’t do that. 

Since she was awake, though, she heard Jemma sniffle and saw her wipe at her cheek. Skye shifted and wrapped her arms tighter around Jemma, pulled her back against her chest, kissed her shoulder and the side of her head. She didn’t bother saying anything. What could she say? There was nothing that would change what happened or bring back what Jemma had lost and Skye wasn’t going to force words on her where she knew they would fail miserably.

Jemma's breaths were short and jumpy and her sniffles grew louder and harder to mask. Trudy got to her feet and looked over at them, but seemed to realize Skye had it handled and settled back down. Jemma didn't even notice the action since her mind was currently back on that cliff with Fitz. How had things gone so horribly wrong that quickly? One second she was more hopeful for an escape than she had ever been, and the next she was so crushed it was difficult to continue. She hadn't been able to save Fitz and she hadn't even been able to do what needed to be done.   
  
Tears rolled over Jemma's nose and down her cheek and she didn't both to wipe them away when they were reappearing so quickly. Her short breaths turned into small sobs and she squeezed her eyes shut, pulled a fistful of the blanket up to her chest and let herself quietly cry while also trying not to bother Skye.

Skye really disliked it when Jemma cried. She wanted to do something to stop it but she knew it had to happen. She knew exactly what it felt like to have someone you loved suddenly ripped away from you. It was exactly what had happened to her with the Brodys. Skye still wasn’t over that. She’d lost count of how many nights she cried herself to sleep after that first time she woke up in the hospital and found out they were gone. She struggled to figure out a way to let Jemma know it was alright, that she was allowed to cry for her loss and she didn’t have to hide it. She reached up along Jemma’s arm and the hand holding the blanket and gently tried to pry it free. “You don’t have to stifle it,” She murmured by Jemma’s ear. “I know it hurts, so...you cry as much as you need to. I’ll be right here, you just...whatever you need.” She doubted it was comforting at all. It was all she had to offer, though, even though she knew it wasn’t and would never be enough. 

Skye's gesture made Jemma sob harder and her body began to jerk around a bit out of her control. It was Skye's firm grip on her that kept her grounded and she was eternally grateful for everything she did for her.    
  
"Thank you." Jemma sniffled as she said it. She untangled her fingers from the sheets and instead held a death grip on Skye's hand. "For doing it. For helping him." Skye would know exactly what Jemma was talking about, and if she didn't that was it, because Jemma collapsed into another fit of grief and curled up some as Skye held her. She cried and sobbed and held onto Skye's hand like it was the only thing connecting her to the Earth and keeping her from floating into outer space.

Skye couldn’t actually respond to that. She understood why Jemma was thanking her for it. If anything, she was glad Jemma had missed because at least now she wouldn’t have that on her conscious in light of everything. Skye already had a list going, so what was one more, even if this was the heaviest of them all so far. She nodded slightly and kissed the back of Jemma’s head. She murmured a few gentle, ‘I love you,’ reminders every so often when Jemma’s sobs died down here or there; lulls between the wracking sobs. Skye held tightly onto Jemma, wiped at her cheeks when the tears slowed, tried her best just to anchor her while riding it all out with her. She lost a few of her own tears but she didn’t let it progress past that. She couldn’t. When one of them broke, the other pushed the pieces back together and held them until the glue dried. It was just the way it was and it was the absolute least she could do for being wholly unprepared to actually save Fitz from what happened. 


	21. Tomorrow is Fifty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warnings:** Some mourning, a lot of sadness, a little cartoony chaos, and back breaking work
> 
> HELLO AGAIN WE'VE MISSED YOU!!   
> Thanks for sticking with us you guys! We're going to play fast and loose with our posting schedule as some changes have happened for both of our schedules and we both need to adjust and get back into a groove. Your patience has been and will continue to be greatly appreciated as we get adjusted (we're both separated by multiple time zones on top of the schedule changes so we have some hurdles!!) 
> 
> As always, we love you! You guys are awesome! Thank you as always for reading, commenting, kudoing and just coming along on this adventure with us! 
> 
> A note on typos: It's almost 3am for me and we're just finishing this up so it's not been properly spellchecked, my apologies in advance!! 
> 
> Without further ado, hang onto your butts and #whereverwednesday!   
> <3 <3
> 
> _______________

"I remember a time when Fitz saw me nick myself shaving and nearly passed out because of the blood." Trip chuckled.    
  
It had been a shock to everyone when Jemma and Skye returned home with Trudy and no Fitz. For two days everyone grieved and went about their chores and activities in near silence. Jemma rarely spoke, but mostly slept in the cave and cried. Nobody was going to bother her and ask her to do anything else, in fact, the offer to rest had been extended to Skye too, but of course she wouldn't take it.    
  
They'd used Trudy to do some hunting and had cooked up a hearty meal of terror bird. The dinosaur was even more useful than they had first imagined. It was when they were eating it that conversation finally started to arise again. People began sharing memories about Fitz as a sort of memorial. Jemma still had yet to pitch in though, she just silently poked her meat around on her leafy plate and kept her eyes down.

Skye couldn’t fully take the rest offer. She spent more time than she otherwise would have in the cave, though, checking up on Jemma and trying her best to find some way to comfort her (frequently failing, she was sure). She sat next to Jemma with a leaf plate in her lap and a similar appetite problem. She tossed some extra food to Trudy from time to time in the hopes of winning the dino further to her side to hopefully prevent a return of her possessiveness of Jemma. She let out a startled, sad chortle at Trip’s comment. She absently moved an arm around Jemma and ran her hand in random patterns along her back. 

Skye cleared her throat and spoke up. “The first time I met Fitz was in the terminal before we boarded. Jemma was trying to talk me down from my flight anxiety,” She glanced over at Jemma with a very tiny, sad smile on her lips. “A pigeon swooped down from the rafters and stole his candy bar just as he was about to eat it,” She smiled a little more as a few chuckles erupted around them. “I tried to make up for laughing at him about it by giving him one of my birthday cake protein bars...I think he was mad that my attempts at flirting interrupted his very scientific conversation with Jemma about how we space-time travel was possible and it should be used to go back in time and stop us from fully evolving from apes to humans because everything would be better if we were all still monkeys.” Skye couldn’t help but chuckle slightly then. She looked over at Jemma. “Sorry...I was maybe eavesdropping on the monkey talk before you put the moves on me.” 

Jemma suddenly felt a twinge of anxiety as Skye dragged her into the conversation. It was a good story, really, but Jemma wasn't ready to laugh about memories of him yet. The others had brief stories where they had met Fitz in passing. They weren't like Jemma's. She remembered their long nights of studying to pass brutal exams. She remembered him crying when his brother went missing in battle. She remembered his sheer joy when he was found and returned home only to be frustrated by his inability to help him get out of his wheelchair. There was a lot more to bombard her mind when she thought of him and she didn't even care that Skye had been eavesdropping in the airport.    
  
"Excuse me," Jemma put her plate down on the ground near Trudy at her left and got up to exit the lunch party. She didn't much feel like talking.

Skye was quick to pull her arm back when Jemma moved to stand up. She felt her shoulders dropping as she deflated while watching Jemma walk away. She had to fight the extreme urge to quickly follow her right away. She knew Jemma was looking for space and she was going to try and give it to her but all she wound up doing was staring after Jemma with a concerned expression etched into her face as she chewed on her bottom lip, unsure how long to give her before it would be okay to follow to go sit with her. 

"Give her some time." Bobbi moved seats and plopped back down next to Skye. She gave her a small smile and squeezed her shoulder. Jemma had lost someone important and she clearly needed some time to go through her thoughts on her own.

Skye dropped her eyes down to her lap after one last lingering look toward their cave entrance. She nodded, reluctant, and looked at her plate. She knew she had to eat, but she wasn't at all hungry and she wasn't up to forcing it. Her mind was on her list again. Mace, Quinn, Donnie, almost Raina, Fitz. How many more would she add before it was her turn? Most importantly, would she get any of them off this damn island before it was her turn to go? Skye tried to focus on the story Mack was telling - about how he and Fitz had spent almost two hours discussing the mechanical logistics of the prosthetics Fitz was working on until Elena had threatened to sing them every show tune in her repertoire loud enough to drown out their babble and long enough to anger the gods with musical earworms if they didn't give it a few hue rest - but her mind was definitely elsewhere and she definitely wasn't eating.

\--

Skye tried to stay away, to give Jemma some space. She took a bit of extra food and spent some time with Trudy and Ace, trying to get the dinosaur used to the youngest of their group. If there was a person they needed to keep protected by everyone, including their potential resident dinosaur, it was Ace. So she and Ace slowly led Trudy around the camp with Ace very carefully holding his palm out flat with some food in it for Trudy to eat. Of all Skye’s experiences with Trudy, the calmest and, possibly, gentlest she had seen the dinosaur was with Ace every time she went to get food from him. With Jemma and Skye, she would quickly snatch it as if they were going to take it away. With Ace she was more cautious, as if she knew he was a kid and not one of the other adults. 

After a few hours of working around the camp with Trudy, joined Trip, Ace and Mike at the pond while they were fishing. A time or two, she rushed into the shallows of the pond and ate a face right right off of the fishing line as one of them was reeling it it. It caused a lot of laughter among those watching even as they tried to stop her or shoo her away. The laughter made Trudy cock her head at them and soon whenever they laughed, she would squawk in mimicking manner to try and imitate the sound, which sounded even more hilarious. 

Skye excused herself, unable to really take part in the fun, though she was glad they were slowly getting acquainted with Trudy. She went in search of Jemma, too worried to fight off going to check on her. Half the day was a long enough time to give her space right? Jemma would tell her to go away if she needed to, right? Maybe. Skye didn’t know and she wouldn’t know if she didn’t go find out. So she headed to the cave and found Jemma writing in her journal. “Hey…” Skye said, quiet, cautious, unsure as she approached. She sat down next to Jemma but left space between them even though all she wanted to do was take Jemma in her arms and hold onto her until she could work through all of this, however long that took.

"Tomorrow is fifty." Jemma mumbled. She continued scribbling in her book, and she was aware she probably looked like a crazy person. She needed to make sure everything was accurate with as much detail as possible. If they got off the island, the families of those who had died would want to know what happened. Fitz's family.    
  
"We've been here for 49 days." Jemma gestured to the notebook and finally set it down in her lap. It was a record she'd been keeping since the beginning that she had yet to tell anyone about.

“Huh?” Skye asked initially. She took in Jemma’s state, observed what she could of it based on the way she was moving, on her disjointed comments - fragments of information, short and to the point even if the point wasn’t obvious at first. Her eyes settled on the notebook as Jemma put it into her lap. “Oh,” She frowned. Forty-nine days. Had it really only been that long? It felt like they’d been here much longer than that. Skye cleared her throat and lifted her eyes to look over at Jemma’s face. “I didn’t know anyone was keeping track every day,” She should have known that, if anyone was, Jemma was keeping track. She’d known Jemma was keeping notes and journaling what was happening but somehow she hadn’t realized that meant counting days. 

"Seventeen people have died." Jemma tapped her pencil along each name and their designated dates and causes. "Not counting the hundreds who died in the crash before we got to shore. Seventeen people we knew are dead." Tears were welling up in her eyes and she had to scoot the book a little closer to her knees on her thighs so she wouldn't stain the pages. This damn island was going to kill them and the day it took Skye- Jemma didn't think she'd be able to handle it. The boat had to happen.

Skye tensed at this statement. She knew this number already. She knew the whole list by name in fact. A good number of them still haunted her mind quite often. She went to reach out for Jemma, but hesitated and dropped her hand back into her lap where it fidgeted with the other, afraid that touching Jemma at the wrong moment would make her up and run again. “Do you want to talk about it?” She asked, trusting that Jemma knew she meant Fitz specifically, though she was leaving it open to all of the seventeen mentioned. She wasn’t sure how far she should push. She knew how she’d felt after the Brodys died, but she hadn’t really had anyone she could talk to about it, no one she was close with to let her cry on their shoulder. It was entirely isolating and it happened while she was recovering physically as well. She didn’t want that isolation to happen to Jemma but it was hard to know which way she should go about getting Jemma through it. She felt like she was flying blind in a lot of ways. 

"I want to find his parents." Jemma sniffled. "I want to tell them what happened and that he died trying to help us all." Jemma's chest heaved and her voice was choppy and strained. They had to get off this island so she could tell his parents that he didn't die in a plane crash. They deserved to know that he was a survivor and that he did everything within his power to help the group. She wanted them to know he was brave. "So we have to build that boat." Jemma looked back up at Skye.  
  
Skye fought to keep her own emotions in check for Jemma’s sake. She couldn’t quite seem to speak around the lump jammed in her throat just then, so she nodded. She reached out, combed her fingers through Jemma’s hair and pulled her in by the back of her head and neck, wrapped her other arm around her. “We will,” she managed to force out the words. “We’ll build it. And we’ll find our way back.” At the very least, Skye vowed to herself that she would make sure Jemma got out of this place. 

"Well good, because I have a few ideas." Jemma flipped to another page, where she had a roughly sketched pontoon looking boat presumably made from wood and bamboo stalks. There was a sail (which Jemma labeled as the tarp that used to serve as a door), a flat floor with a small wall going around the edges, a rudder, and even life bests blown up and placed around the edges of the boat. Around it were various scrawled notes and ideas that Jemma had been working on obsessively that day.

Skye was wholly unprepared for just how much Jemma already had mapped out, sketched and noted. She felt a bit overwhelmed between that and silk trying to figure out how to comfort Jemma. She wasn't sure if the boat would do that or if the boat was just a distraction so Jemma didn't have to deal with her emotions. "Wow, Jem, this is..." she didn't even know what to say. It took her a few moments before she came out with, "It's great - we should take it to Mack and Trip, see what they can add to what you have here so we can fit all of us and food stores."

"About the food stores..." Jemma started. She took a moment to recall all the thoughts she'd had while planning out the boat. "Any fruit plants would take years to grow enough to produce any significant amount of fruit. We don't have that kind of time. We should start drying out as much fruit as we can and go hunting more to start preserving meat." Jemma said. It wouldn't do to run out of fruit when growing it would take so long, so they would have to rely on meat and supplement it with dried fruit while they were traveling.

Skye tried not to frown as she studied over the plans in the book again and nodded, taking it all in. More meat meant more hunting. “We’re going to have to pick out containers and suitcases for storage. There are a couple that are hard shell suitcases. Those could work for underground storage to keep them cool and dry. I found a good spot to dig for that. We can’t plant trees or bushes but there are couple of plants we can farm to eat while we’re drying and storing meat and fruit. They’re the ones that people had already eaten and haven’t caused any trouble like you had with the berries you ate.” She cringed at the thought. After giving her head a quick shake she added. “The hunting parties should make a few trips up top by the river. There’s bound to be more fruit up there growing along the water source, which will probably mean more to hunt too.” She hesitated a moment, knowing she would probably go on some of the hunting parties. “We should get some rope strung up that’s high enough to string a pulley of some kind to easily get whatever we find back into camp before people make it around and back inside, spend less energy since they won’t have to lug heavy weight as far.” She rambled. 

"That's a good idea." Jemma nodded in agreement. They needed to be eating something else while they stored their heavier foods. "I'm sure Trudy will go with the hunting party, she's quite adept at it." Jemma giggled. Mack had told them Trudy took down a terror bird with one tackle and bite. She was more than an asset now, she was a necessity.    
  
"Some of us will need to go to the beach with the tarp and the raft to evaporate more seawater to get as much salt as possible to preserve all the meat." Jemma added. She was thinking she could join this group. It was useful, but a bit more safe than the hunting party and she knew Skye would appreciate it.

Skye nodded. Trudy was definitely a great addition to their hunting crew. “She definitely makes it easier than just going at it on a wing and a prayer with axes, machetes and knives,” She agreed. “I think she likes Ace.” 

Knowing she had to go off hunting in her own usual group didn’t make the idea of Jemma venturing out somewhere else any easier to swallow even if it was just to the beach and even if Jemma had a better handle in the rifle now. Still, Skye nodded. “You and whoever can go with Trip while he checks his traps and scours for shellfish and crabs?” She didn’t like the beach idea only because it left everyone going there an open target for Ward and Garrett’s crew since they knew the place. She didn’t like Trip going there on his own on the days he did either but this would mean he wasn’t going by himself, so there was there, at least. “The bamboo’s going to be the hardest part. It grows easy and it seems like the best bet because it’s got a smaller diameter than a tree, but it’s really hard to chop down. You have to burn the bottom and then chop through it to make progress,” She rambled a little bit. “But it’s the most buoyant. We’re going to need a lot of it and a lot of rope. And we’ll still likely need something we can use as glue or sealant too.” 

"Whoa, hold up." Bobbi's voice disturbed their frantic exchange of ideas and plans and both girls were forced to look up at the interruption, who just happened to be a tall blonde with her hands on her hips and a confused expression on her face. "What have you two been up to?" It was too late for Jemma to hide the book since Bobbi had already seen it. It looked like they'd be sharing their ideas sooner rather than later.

Skye jumped, startled out of her thoughts momentarily. She blinked up at Bobbi blankly for a moment. "Uh...hey Bobbi," she mumbled dumbly. "We're...gonna build a boat?" She arched her eyebrows and shrugged as if that wasn't an incredibly crazy statement.

Bobbi's brows furrowed and her arms crossed over her chest. She was silent for a moment, just thinking to herself if it was even possible. If their resident genius and ultimate-pessimist-Skye thought it had even a slight chance of working, they had to try right? If anyone could pull it off it was them. "A boat." Bobbi repeated. It sounded like such a simple fix, but she knew it was going to be a lot more difficult than it sounded. "We're building a boat." Bobbi's frown slowly stretched into a grin.

Skye was more of a realist. She hoped for the optimistic outcome and she pushed for it more often than not, but she always tried her absolute best to prepare for the worst.  If there was one thing she had properly learned from an early she it was that when things went tits up, you'd be thankful you went that extra preparatory mile when you had the mend already to get out of a jam. Of course,  she preferred not to put herself in situations that required contingencies, but that didn't matter all that much given their current everyday living situation. The corner of her mouth turned up a bit as Bobbi shifted to get on board with the idea. "Sit down and brainstorm some more with us?" She asked. "We're trying to organize as much as we can before we take the idea to everyone."

"That's probably best." Bobbi nodded. She sat down with Jemma and Skye and gestured for the book. "Update me?" Bobbi asked as Jemma passed it over to take a closer look.

\--

At dinner that night, Skye, Jemma and Bobbi shared the grand idea - the entire group would work together they would build a boat to get off the island. They laid out the plan for construction, the plans for keeping it afloat, for sails, for a rudder, oars to have as a necessity, stores for food, their plan for stocking up, their plan for farming of easy, quick-growing plants, how they would stock and save fresh water when the time came for it (which involved returning to wreckage to pilfer more left over life vests than what they had already so that they could all be filled). They opened the discussion for dissenters (of which, there was only Victoria, of course) and ideas. Hours were spent pouring over the plan ideas, adding to it or subtracting things that might not work until eventually May called the discussion to an end for the night so they could all get some sleep. The deal was that they would reconvene at dinner the following night as they would all have chores come the morning to do before relaxing and plotting. 

Skye was changed into her pajamas and checked her watch, unsure where Jemma had slipped off to shortly after dinner came to a close. She couldn’t have gone far and Skye knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep without her. Worried about Jemma’s mental and emotional state, she left the cave with their blanket wrapped around her shoulders and hugged to herself and searched by the dim lights of fires around the camp. She found Jemma off over near the pond’s edge by the waterfall. It was loud there because of the sound of the waterfall. Skye wondered if it let Jemma concentrate better or if she was just trying to drown out her thoughts with the loud sounds of the waterfall. 

“Hey,” She said, just loud enough, as she approached to try not to startle Jemma too much. 

Jemma didn't hear Skye approach, but her greeting snapped her out of her intense stare at the waterfall. She'd been thinking about what to say to Fitz's parents if she got to them, how to explain.    
  
"Oh. Hello, Skye." Jemma faked a small smile and gestured for Skye to join her. She wasn't quite ready to go to bed yet herself and she knew Skye wouldn't leave her there alone.

Skye leaned over to kiss the top of Jemma’s head as she sat down next to her and opened her arm up to wrap it and the blanket around Jemma. She didn't say anything at first as she sat. Skye wanted to tell Jemma she was worried about her but she didn't want to be overbearing, she didn't want it to make Jemma feel guilty like she was a burden of some sort (she was not in the least) and, perhaps most importantly, she didn't want to force Jemma to talk about it if Jemma wasn't ready to talk. So Skye sat quietly with Jemma for a few minutes and watched the waterfall in the dim light cast from various night light fires around camp.    
  
When she finally decided to speak, Skye was very careful about her words. She stammered a bit here or there, mostly due to the emotions involved with the story she started to tell. "The morning before they died, with a mouthful of soggy frosted flakes, I very timidly asked Robyn and Peter Brody if I could call them Mom and Dad even though we were still waiting for the adoption paperwork to finalize," she stopped for a moment just to breathe, to keep herself together.    
  
"We were driving home from a garden store, it was early afternoon, we had all kinds of supplies to build tiered garden boxes so we could get ready to plant a ton of vegetables as a family farm project," Skye went on. "It was bright and sunny, no clouds, no rain, there really wasn't anything extraordinary about the day. I was in the backseat on the passenger side. My..." Skye paused a moment before she said the word 'dad' again. Her throat had clenched on it and she just couldn't say it in the context of 'my dad' or 'my mom.' It was too close, not like when she referred to them collectively as The Brodys or Peter and Robyn. She very quickly and quietly cleared her throat. "Peter..." She felt her eyes well a bit and decided not to fight it. In contrast as the memory - which she never, ever actually spoke about with anyone - flooded into her brain while she looked ahead at the cascading waterfall, caused a slightly choked chuckle to bubble up. "He really loved country music, but he couldn't carry a tune for anything," Her face scrunched into a grimace and she could very viscerally hear Peter singing in the car in her mind’s ear. "There was this god awful twangy song, 'She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy,' and me and...and Robyn were giggling at the lyrics so he turned it all the way up and was trying to throw his voice to mimic that twang sound as he belted out the song painfully off key. Robyn and me...we were howling in laughter, so hard we were nearly crying on the freeway."    
  
Skye's eyes were still welled up as the slightly turned up corners of her mouth sunk into a thoughtful frown. Her gaze went distant as she continued. "Everything is...I remember hearing an explosion. After that...I woke up in a hospital room alone with a broken wrist, a concussion and some scrapes and bruises. It was dark, the middle of the night and I don't know how long I laid there before a nurse finally came in. I asked her what happened to the Brodys. She, um...she wouldn't tell me and...and I knew before she came in anyway, because they," Skye swallowed back the lump of emotion in her throat. "They never would have let me wake up alone if they weren't...but the look on the nurse's face made it real and I," Skye gave her head a single shake. "I lost it, I guess you could say...hysterical, had a breakdown panic attack, they had to sedate me."   
  
Skye paused again to take a steadying breath. "Even here on this island, even after all the years that have passed since then...I have woken up and, for just a few seconds, forgotten that they're gone. I don't...I will never know if they, um...I-if they knew how much I..." Skye gave her head a very small shake again and quietly cleared her throat. She took a slow breath. "I'll never know if they knew how much I needed them in my life at the time that they took me in, or...or how much I loved them...I don't think I would have ever had the mental fortitude to survive everything that came after them...if I hadn't had that small respite of time with them..."    
  
Skye went quiet again, just to let them both absorb everything she said. "I don't want to force you to talk about what you're feeling. I know, at least on some level, how painful this is. I want so badly to make it so you don't have to feel that pain, but...I know there's nothing I could ever say or do that could ever do that. I also know what it's like not to have an outlet for the anger, frustration and guilt that goes with it." Skye looked over at Jemma, her own eyes still watery. "I just...want you to know that I'm here for anything you need, that I understand a little of what you're feeling and that I love you." She knew it was a lot to absorb. She'd said a lot of emotional shit and she wasn't sure how Jemma was going to react to it, honestly, but she needed to lay it all out there.

Jemma listened intently to Skye and hung onto every word she spoke. She didn't interrupt or say anything until she was finished, no matter how many times she wanted to tell Skye how sorry she was that all of this happened to her. When Skye was finished, suddenly Jemma didn't know what to say. Tears were streaming down her cheeks for both Skye's family and Fitz, so she turned and threw herself at Skye, wrapping her arms around her and tucking her chin over Skye's shoulder.    
  
"No matter what happens..." Jemma started, but she had to pause to take a deep breath and avoid a jumpy sob. "I love you. I love you so much, we're each other's family now."

Skye was about to apologize for making her cry when Jemma threw herself at her in a hug so instead, she quickly wrapped her arms around her and held on. She brought her chin to rest over Jemma's shoulder and leaned her head to rest against the side of hers. She exhaled a breath she hadn't realized she was holding in a quick huff. "Yeah, we are," she was a bit choked up when she said it, but she held tightly onto Jemma. Skye had never imagined she'd ever have a family of any sort again after the Brodys. She had spent years wishing, hoping and dreaming that it might happen but never really making the right choices to give it a chance, then blaming circumstance instead of her fear of loss. Half the time she couldn't believe that it had happened and was sure most nights as they went to sleep that she would wake in the morning to find it was all a dream. Skye was going to do any and everything to ensure what happened to her before never happened to her again, at whatever cost to herself it took.    
  
Skye sniffled quickly. She turned her head and kissed just behind Jemma's ear. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you more upset. I just...wanted you to know, is all.  I love you. You're not alone, even if it feels like it sometimes." She rocked the just slightly and rubbed her hand along Jemma's back as she did.

"Thank you." Jemma held on tightly and inhaled deeply. Skye knew exactly how she felt, they'd both lost someone important to them. Now they just had to make sure they didn't lose each other, and the only way to do that was to take care of themselves and build that boat.    
  
"We should get some sleep." Jemma didn't want to, but she was the first to end the hug. They were already malnourished and thin, they didn't need to add exhausted to the list of issues they currently faced regarding their bodies.

Skye nodded. She leaned over first to steal a much deserved proper kiss, then gathered their blanket and stood, held her hand out for Jemma to help her up. "What d'you think the odds are that Trudy's already stolen my spot in bed again?" She asked.

"I'd say fairly high." Jemma chuckled and reached for Skye's hand. She didn't let go even after she'd gotten up and gave periodic squeezes as they walked back to let Skye know she was okay.

\--

The next few days were spent organizing everything they needed, planning out logistics and saying on top of their daily chores, filling up the stocks they could fill. By fourth day they had a pretty good routine down - Breakfast was spent going over the plans for the day, they broke into their groups and split up for the day’s work and met up again in the evening for dinner where they went over the day’s progress and discussed any questions, issues, ideas or suggestions anyone had before settling in for rest. With only a few minor hiccups and no major injuries, Skye was almost relieved but was far too terrified of jinxing it to mention it. 

Skye was just trying to take it all as it came. If they could just get through this without any major catastrophes, they could take their chances with the boat. It wouldn’t be easy by any stretch of the word but it was better than wasting away here. After dinner finished that night and they’d cleaned up, Skye went to the pond to clean up and change before, she hoped, getting an early jump on sleep for the night would make her muscles ache less. She’d been eating just enough to get what she needed while making sure not to go for seconds to deplete the extras from drying for their future trip so her stomach was still in a state of borderline continued ache. She preferred that being the only ache she had to deal with instead of having the soreness from chores and hunting. 

She dropped into bed in her pajamas with a long sigh, glad she’d beat Trudy to her spot and folded her hands behind her head as she laid back against their inflated pillow and let her eyes droop. She wanted to go to sleep early, but she always hated to actually go to sleep when Jemma wasn’t beside her. So the struggle began to remain just barely awake until Jemma was set for bed. 

Jemma had just finished washing her hair (or doing the best she could when they'd run out of soap). She was drying out her hair with a beach towel when Trudy came running up to her and tried to tug it away. Jemma scolded her and put the towel on a rock that would face the sun to dry the next day and headed back toward the cave. Trudy was right on her heels until Jemma was back beside the bed, and then she laid down at the foot of it, grumbling probably because of Skye beating her to the bed.   
  
"Mack says we have enough supplies cut to start actually building." Jemma informed Skye as she sat down on their little bed and pulled her wet hair up into a sloppy bun.

Skye smirked down at Trudy. She reached into a pack inside her suitcase next to the bed and pulled a few chunks of mango from a spare food pack in there. She clicked her tongue to get Trudy’s attention and then tossed her one of the chunks to make up for making it to her own spot on the bed in time. She tossed a smaller chunk toward Buzz before he swooped to his normal settling spot on a raise flat rock by the cave wall. She groaned at Jemma’s comment, tossed a slice of mango into her mouth and held the last one up for Jemma with a sigh. “I’m not sure my muscles will ever be normal or ready again…” She said around the food in her mouth. 

Jemma leaned over with a grin on her face and ate the piece of fruit, catching Skye's fingers a bit with her lips. Next she slid under the blanket and threw an arm across Skye's waist so they were snugly against each other to sleep.    
  
"There will be plenty of time to rest while sailing." Jemma pointed out. "And when we get home. The first thing we should demand is pizza." She chuckled.

Skye grinned, a bit loopy and overly affectionate as Jemma caught her fingers with the mango. She lazily wrapped her arms around Jemma and wound her herself against her. Skye let out a long hum. “Think we’re gonna need multiple,” she agreed. “And pancake...bacon,” she murmured tiredly as her stomach grumbled lightly. “Cake and ice cream after,” She added. 

"Sounds like a solid plan, love." Jemma chuckled and pressed a wet kiss to Skye's cheek. It was a good thought but realistically she knew that if they did get to a place where they could eat those kinds of foods again, the meal they described would most certainly make them throw up.

It would be worth the vomit. But that was besides the point because the way Jemma just tacked ‘love,’ to the end of that sentence all easy and fluid made a flock of butterflies to flutter in her not-quite-full belly that sent warmth spreading through her chest and worked a lopsided, dopey grin across her lips. “I’d convinced myself I wasn’t a sap…” Skye murmured before she closed the gap between them for a proper kiss. 

"...didn't do a very good job..." Jemma mumbled against Skye's lips without breaking the continued kiss. She brushed Skye's hair out of her face and broke their kiss, but only so she could cradle Skye's face with her hands and look into her only increasingly gorgeous eyes. A smirk tugged at one corner of her mouth and she brought Skye's head up to kiss her forehead before she turned and flopped onto her back next to Skye to actually think about getting some sleep. "I love you, Skye." She intertwined their fingers between them.

Skye shifted and stayed on her side as she curled her fingers with Jemma's. She couldn't help but grin as she settled for tucking her face into the crook of Jemma's shoulder and draping her arm lazily across her middle. "I love you, Jem," she kissed her neck and closed her eyes. It wasn't difficult at all to be a big puddle of sap when Jemma was involved, but Skye had been convinced she'd lost the ability to have that kind of connection many years prior to the island. It was a relief to know that a part of her hadn't actually disappeared, but it also played on her fear of loss. There was a pretty contango back and forth internal struggle, one that amplified inside her thoughts each day she had to break away from Jemma for whatever tasks they had to take on and that ebbed away when they were together again in the evenings. She wouldn't have been falling so easily into sleep like she was at the moment, without Jemma there. She had to hope that once they were back home, on the mainland and settled into normal everyday life, that this struggle would dissipate since they wouldn't be facing constant life or death struggles.

______

"Don't forget to hydrate." Jemma tapped the back of Skye's shoulder and held out the water bottle offering. She'd just gone and distributed one to both Mack and Yoyo while they were building and Jemma knew Skye especially could use some care from someone else. The boat was coming along well and she knew Skye wasn't likely to stop on her own when they were on a roll.    
  
Most of the bottom portion of the boat was completed. At the moment it just looked like a large, flat platform made out of bamboo and other wood, tied together with homemade rope and even sealed with a paste made from varying plants that Jemma had come up with. It was out in the sun on the beach to completely dry and Jemma and Raina had just finished setting up another tarp full of water to evaporate. They propped up the for corners with branches and filled it with sea water, trying to get more salt for preservation.

Skye had just finished tightly tying off a very intricate knot (one she'd actually known for many years and had taught Trip weeks ago to improve one of his nets) when Jemma tapped her and held out the bottle. She smiled,  tightened the knot then wiped her sweaty forehead off with her forearm. "Thanks," she took the bottle, uncapped it and chugged down a few big gulps. She definitely wouldn't have stopped without prompting. "Are you drinking enough too?" She asked between a few drinks from the bottle before she held it out toward Jemma and arched her eyebrows. Her general mood was bolstered greatly at the view of their progress. The boat was coming along, even if there was still a lot to do. Their stocks were coming in steadily and they were making good progress preserving everything, which both lightened the weight of the food and ensured it would last on the voyage. "How's the salt and preservation going? " she asked as she absently stepped closer to Jemma without thinking about it.  "How's Raina doing with everything?" Not a question that Skye thought she'd be asking just a handful of weeks ago, but hey, there it was. 

"I've got enough." Jemma pushed Skye's hand and the water bottle back toward her chest so she'd keep it for herself, which she knew wasn't in Skye's nature. "I think the work is doing Raina good. She hasn't spoken much but she seems to keep busy." Jemma noted. She glanced over her shoulder at Raina, who was still fiddling with the tarp to make it even more steady and then checking on the meat that was hanging up to be preserved.

Skye nodded, shrugged and took a few more sips from her bottle.  She screwed the cap back on and dropped her arm to her side,  bottle in hand. "Good," she snaked her free arm low around Jemma's waist and pulled her over. "And how are you doing?" She asked as her eyes roamed over Jemma's face, unabashed.

"Oh I'm just lovely, thank you for asking." Jemma smiled and held the front of Skye's shirt in her hands. Her bottom lip caught on her teeth because of her failed attempt at masking her exaggerated smile. It wasn't even sarcasm this time. Nothing had gone severely wrong in the last day and they were even headed in a good direction. She still missed Fitz dearly, but she was no longer mourning him every second of the day. Time seemed to move faster here, and Jemma's need to carry on despite her friend's death was no exception. She had to move on before it swallowed her up like any other monster on the island so she allowed herself the intimate moments with Skye. They were building this boat and she had to believe that if she stayed positive they would make it both physically and mentally back to the mainland.

____________

Skye, Trip, Mack and Yoyo made their way back to camp after finishing up a late day of working on the boat. It was still very much a work in progress. They had to be careful to make sure they were all working together to stick to the design. Any wrong move in construction would leave them having to backtrack, deconstruct and fix the problem. It would delay them further than the already long process they’d undertaken. It was hard work and some days - like this particular day - somewhat backbreaking. Skye tried to keep reminding herself that it was going to be worth it in the end. They could only go on for so long on this island as they were picked off one by one. Taking a boat out onto the open ocean wasn’t going to be easy by any stretch of the word but she was certain no one in the group was under any illusions that it was going to be a cakewalk. This was their last ditch effort to save themselves. No one was coming for them, they had to seek out salvation under their own terms. 

The sun was setting as the four of them left the beach and lugged their backpacks of Trip’s collected fish and shellfish from the day’s haul as well as the dried fish that he’d picked up from the morning set of the traps, gutted and set out to dry while fishing for the rest of the day or helping the others with construction. They were moving slower than their usual pace through the regular path from the beach back to their camp. Skye’s was present and watching for anything that might come after them but Buzz flew about overhead, looping and doing tricks to get Trip to toss him some extra snacks on the way. When he tired he’d land on Skye’s shoulder and she’d give him any little bit of dried fruit or anything she had in her messenger bag. Her thoughts wandered as fatigue set in and all she could think about was getting home and settling in with Jemma for dinner. She wasn’t sure she’d make it through actually eating tonight, was sure she’d fall asleep with her head on Jemma’s shoulder instead like she had the last two nights before tonight. 

Jemma and Raina had left the beach a couple of hours before the rest of them since they’d wanted to stay and finish the section of the boat they were working on before heading back. As they approached the entrance to camp, Skye’s wandering mind wasn’t enough to distract her from something rustling off to the left of the small clearing before the tree entrance. Victoria was on guard duty and was asleep up in the tree as Skye pulled her gun from it’s holster, held it in both hands, aimed off toward the ground with her finger outside the trigger guard but the safety flipped off and ready to aim. The others stopped behind her, grabbed up and raised their weapons. 

“Anyone else see that?” Skye asked as her eyes rapidly scanned the area and she strained her ears to listen again. 

“See what? Our current guard snoring in the tree?” Elena murmured. 

“You’re not hallucinating,” Mack assured. “We saw it too.” 

“Hand definitely didn’t,” Trip griped. 

Skye stepped toward the tree line slowly, cautious and, just as she did, a shadow of movement flashed before someone tumbled out of the tree line with a giggle. Skye was just raising her gun when she realized that blur of motion was Ace and not an enemy. He was giggling as he jogged into the area. “Ace? What’re you doing outside the-,” Skye asked in confusion. She was starting to relax when she saw something rustling in the trees and coming after Ace. “Look out!” She shouted. Victoria woke up halfway through a snore and almost fell out of the tree. 

Skye went to raise her gun and Ace jumped in front of her, his hands raised up, palms out, and a wide-eyed pleading expression etched over his face. “NO DON’T SHOOT IT!” He shouted. 

Skye’s eyebrows arched up but she lowered her aim to the ground, though she took a few quick steps and put herself in front of Ace, unsure what was going on. “What-,”

“She’s my friend!” Ace insisted as he grabbed onto the side strap of Skye’s backpack. 

The animal that came from the tree in a scurry was about the size of a house cat and it was...a horse? Skye’s brow furrowed and her mouth hung agape for a moment. “Wha-,”

“Is that a horse?” Elena asked. 

Ace grinned as the little horse paused, spotted him and went trotting right for him. He grabbed some fruit from his pocket and held his hand out. The horse buried its snout into his hand and ate the food before nudging into his chest affectionately, nearly oblivious to the much bigger humans surrounding it. “She’s not mean, you don’t have to hurt him,” he insisted. 

Skye slowly put the safety on her gun and put it back in its holster. She slowly crouched down next to Ace and the horse and looked between them. “Ace...does your dad know you’re out here?” 

Ace ducked his head as he pat the horse’s fur, stroking it as it nudged at his shoulder for more scratches and pets rather than answering the question. Skye took that as obvious guilt. 

“Ace…” She began but he turned to her. 

“If you tell him, he won’t let me keep her!” Ace interrupted. 

Skye glanced at the others and then up to the tree. Victoria was already calling out into the camp that they were back and that Ace had snuck out of the camp. Skye sighed. She looked at Trip, Mack and Elena. “Why don’t you guys go in and stop her from panicking everyone? We’ll be there in a minute.” 

Elena nodded. Mack gave Ace’s shoulder as squeeze as they followed Trip inside through the door of the entrance. Skye turned back to Ace.  “Listen...your dad’s going to be upset when we go inside, but it’s only because he loves you. You can’t go wandering in the woods around here, Ace. The outhouse is one thing, but disappearing when no one knows where you are - it’s dangerous out here. You could get hurt.” 

Ace frowned and leaned into the hug he was giving the small horse. “No one noticed,” He shrugged. 

“How many days have you snuck out?” Skye asked. 

Ace dropped his eyes and dug at the dirt with the toe of sneaker. “I dunno,” He shrugged again. “Three or four?” 

Skye frowned. “Ace…” She sighed and reached out to give his shoulder a gentle squeeze. “C’mon, let’s get you two inside so we can talk to your dad.” Ace looked panic-stricken and Skye added. “I’ll talk to him with you. You can tell him all about your new friend.” She nodded toward the door and stood up, held a hand out to Ace to get him to go with her. Ace chewed his bottom lip and then grabbed Skye’s hand. She led him to the door and let Ace head inside first, with the horse trotting eagerly after Ace the whole way. She secured the door and turned around once she was inside, immediately scanning the entire gathering camp, performing a head count and looking for Jemma at the same time. 

Jemma had been catnapping in the cave before dinner waiting for Skye to come back, but she was quickly alerted and concerned by the commotion going on outside.    
  
"Let's check it out." Raina noticed Jemma sitting up in bed and got up herself. As usual they could pick out Victoria's voice, but couldn't quite make out what she was saying from the caves. Jemma nodded and they both left the cave to investigate. The first thing Jemma saw was Skye and she breathed a small sigh of relief, not going unnoticed by Raina. The second thing that caught her eye was the small horse-like creature that was no larger than a cat. It anatomically looked like a horse, but it couldn't be. Jemma blinked and tried to clear her vision, but it was still there, and apparently Trudy saw it too.   
  
Their troodon friend screeched from near the cliffs and came dashing into the crowd, eyes zeroed in on what she must have thought was prey.    
  
"No!" Ace cried out. The horse was luckily a fast little creature and was avoiding Trudy's snappy jaws, but it wouldn't outrun her forever and it was headed toward Jemma and the caves, so she jumped into Trudy's path and tried to hold her hands out to stop her. Trudy had been so focused on the tiny horse that she hadn't even seen Jemma cross her path until she'd already slammed into her and sent the both of them rolling.

Skye’s eyes widened as chaos erupted. She didn’t get a chance to even jump in front of Trudy. She was, however, already sprinting after Trudy as Jemma attempted to stop the dinosaur. The little horse whinnied as it raced back toward Ace and cowered behind his legs. Skye kept running to Jemma and Trudy as they tumbled over the ground.  She put her thumb and forefinger into her mouth and let out a long wolf whistle as Trudy attempted to stand. Shedding her backpack, Skye reached into her messenger bag as she hurried closer. She pulled out a handful of food held it out to Trudy could see it and then scattered it on the grass in front of her to distract her. She leaned over and reached for Jemma but didn’t kneel down because she wanted to be ready to lurch for Trudy if she bolted again. “Are you alright?” She asked in a rush. 

Mack, Trip and Elena made a small curved wall of humans in front of Ace and the mini-horse to try and block it from view as they waited to see what would happen. 

“Get that thing out of here!” Victoria shouted. 

“Settle down - causing more chaos won’t help,” Elena rolled her eyes. 

“What is it?” May asked as she came closer. 

“She’s my friend!” Ace shouted as he crouched with the horse and tried to settle her as she cowered. “It’s okay,” he told her. 

“Where did you find her - why were you outside the camp??” Mike shouted. 

“Everybody calm down, we don’t want to rile Trudy up again,” Trip said calmly. 

“Why’d you let him in with that thing in the first place??” Victoria snapped. 

“How’d he get passed you if you weren’t sleeping, huh?” Mack snapped over his shoulder.

"Everybody quiet down!" Even from the ground, Jemma's commanding voice got all the shouting and bickering to die down until all that could be heard was the waterfall. She took Skye's hand and did a little wave with her free one to tell Skye she was fine as she hauled herself to her feet.    
  
"A lot of mistakes were made, let's not pick apart each one. What's done is done." Jemma pointed out. They could go on forever about things people had done wrong and if they were going to nitpick, Jemma had come across Buzz in a similar way.    
  
"Jemma's right." May took over when Jemma stopped. "The tiny horse stays for now. Show Trudy she's a friend like Buzz, I'm sure she's capable." May told them. There was no harm in keeping around an animal that probably fed on grass and she didn't say it out loud in front of Ace, but it was probably best for him to have an in camp distraction if he was apt to wander when he was bored. She hoped Mike understood this too.

Skye looked Jemma over even as Jemma indicated she was fine. She seemed like she was alright so Skye let her go and turned toward the others. “Mike,” She called out when it seemed like he was about to start shouting at Ace for being outside. “I need to talk with you and Jemma about some of the boat updates, if we could have a minute?” She asked, hoping to pull him over to talk to him about Ace and the horse before he could dig into the kid. 

May exchanged a glance with Skye and then added, “I’ll stay with Ace and our new addition until you’re done,” She promised and laid a hands on Ace’s shoulder. Mike glanced from Skye and Jemma to May and then to Ace clinging to the scared animal. He sighed and nodded. “Ace, you stay with May,” He said sternly before he turned and headed across the camp area toward Skye and Jemma. 

Jemma gave Skye's hand a squeeze and took a sidestep to Trudy so she could run a hand along her feathers to keep her calm as she finished the last of the food scattered in the grass.    
  
"I know you're angry with Ace, but I think you should let him keep his little friend." Jemma said outright. It had been obvious they weren't going to talk about boat supplies so suddenly after a specific argument. "It'll keep him inside safely with something to do."

Skye absently grabbed some more food from her bag to hand to Jemma for Trudy. They all needed to stay calm - the animals among them as well, not just the humans. 

Mike seemed to bristle a bit as Jemma spoke, though he didn’t speak right away in response. 

“I know you’ve got final say,” Skye said. “But I really hope you’ll at least consider it. We’ve all been wrapped up in all of our extra tasks - Ace is the youngest one here. He’s upset that we didn’t notice until he got caught that he snuck out. If nothing else, having a companion, even in animal form, will keep him safer - it’ll alert him to threats around them and keep him company. I mean, look at them,” Skye nodded toward Ace, the horse and May. The little animal was nuzzling into Ace’s shoulder and neck while Ace was petting its fur and talking to May about her. “They’ve clearly already bonded. Separating them would just cause more trauma.” Skye said glanced at Jemma then looked back at Mike. “I think we’ve all had our lifetime fill of trauma already, y’know?” 

Mike frowned. He looked over at his son and the animal in question. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “We’ll give it a try,” He conceded, still frowning. He looked between Skye and Jemma. “If something happens to that animal, you two are the ones who’ll deal with the fallout,” He said even though he knew that wasn’t true since Ace was his son and his responsibility and obviously he would comfort his son. Clearly their biggest hurdle was going to be convincing Trudy not to try and eat the thing. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to have a word with my son now?” He arched his eyebrows at them. 

"Of course." Jemma nodded quickly. She didn't want it to seem like they were controlling him, that wasn't it at all. They both just wanted what was best for everyone and since they all wanted Ace to be happy and healthy, this was it. Once Mike was out of hearing range and Jemma had tossed a few more little morsels into the grass for Trudy, she finally turned to Skye and quickly looked her up and down like she always did after a separation.    
  
"So, how are you?" Jemma chuckled and asked. They hadn't had time to check in with each other after all the commotion.

Skye watched Mike go and then checked to make sure Trudy was still occupied. She turned to Jemma and rolled her eyes tiredly with a lopsided smirk just before she let out a groaning sigh and leaned heavily forward to drop her face into the crook of Jemma’s shoulder. “S’it bedtime yet?” She lamented, knowing full well she would get to sleep anytime soon since they hadn’t made it to dinner yet and because she knew Jemma was probably dying to go examine the new animal - for science! 

"Not yet. Food first, sleep second." Jemma reminded her. In all seriousness, with such small rations they couldn't afford to skip any meals even if they didn't think they were hungry. She was going to make sure Skye stayed as well fed as possible.    
  
"C'mon, let's go help with dinner so we can be that much closer." Jemma nudged Skye's head with her shoulder and took up her hand. They could teach Trudy to leave the unnamed little horse alone, eat a small dinner, and finally cuddle up and go to sleep.

Skye sighed. She dropped a kiss against the side of her neck before she forced herself to stand up straight. She squeezed Jemma’s hand. “Fiiiiine,” She murmured as if she wasn’t on board with this plan even though it meant she couldn’t just crawl right into bed with Jemma and go to sleep immediately. “But only because I love you so damn much,” She joked and leaned over to kiss her temple as they urged Trudy with them to head over and help with dinner. 


	22. Otters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warning:** TW: This chapter contains sexual assault that includes unwanted groping, threats of rape. 
> 
> That seriousness aside, hello again you lovely people!!   
> You are awesome  
> We love you   
> Thank you for reading, for commenting, for the kudos and all your love! We appreciate you! 
> 
> Hang onto your butts and #whereverwednesdays!   
> <3 <3 <3
> 
> ______________

The weather was just as hot and muggy as it had been since the storm and Jemma almost wished the cold would come back. Almost. Though she had to admit that being snuggled up and shivering with Skye was preferable to trudging through the jungle's heavy air with Raina. She didn't have anything against Raina, but it wasn't exactly a coveted secret that she and Skye tended to favor each other over others.    
  
"We're almost to the beach." Jemma told Raina over her shoulder. She adjusted her slippery grip on her rifle and wiped her brow with the back of her hand. If she didn't know any better she would have assumed it was raining with how damp their skin was.    
  
"Did you hear that?" Raina asked. Jemma hadn't heard anything and was about halfway sure Raina was hearing things, but she stopped and put her finger across the trigger guard so she was ready if she needed to be.    
  
"Hear what?" Jemma asked. She checked their surroundings and frowned when she didn't hear or see anything. Raina was probably just jumpy, but she wasn't willing to take that risk. There was a quick rustle in a bush off to Jemma's left and in a flash her rifle was up at her shoulder and she was ready to aim. Raina stuck close to her side and when Jemma least expected it, a hand came over her shoulder and pushed the barrel of the gun down. It had come so quickly and jerkily that Jemma accidentally fired down at their feet and the two of them each let out a short lived, startled scream.    
  
Jemma spun around and tried to bring the gun back up, but it was wrenched out of her hands as she moved by a figure she immediately recognized as Ward. The rustling got louder, now behind them, and Creel appeared. He'd been the distraction as Ward snuck up on them.    
  
"What, not happy to see me?" Ward backed away with the gun and smirked, it was an awful expression that Jemma would be happy to never see again. She'd be happy to never see his face again at all.    
  
"Give it back." Jemma made a lunge for the rifle, but Ward stepped back and held it over his head, a toothy grin on his face. A cold shiver ran down Jemma's spine despite the heat and goosebumps rose on her arms.    
  
"We were just passing through and happened upon you ladies. Disarming you was the only way to not get ourselves shot, you must understand." Ward said it in a sickly sweet way that repulsed Jemma. "You're looking much better Raina." Ward looked her up and down and Jemma stepped in between them instinctually. She knew what Ward had done to her and she wasn't going to let it happen again. Something in her wanted to protect Raina more than she listened to the logic that told her to save herself.     
  
"Don't talk to her." Jemma growled through a nearly clenched jaw. Ward laughed and looked to Creel, as if asking "is she serious?" with just his eyebrows alone.   
  
"Sure you don't want to come on home?" Ward continued talking to Raina anyway. Raina seemed to transform from her confident self when Ward was around, she just shook her head and gripped at Jemma's right forearm.    
  
"Give the gun back and turn tail to run back to your camp like the cowards you are." Jemma spit. The smile dropped off Ward's face and he dropped the gun onto the ground beside him, using his hands to instead lunge and grab at both of Jemma's upper arms.   
  
"You wanna end up like Kara?" He asked as he gave Jemma a shake. Her eyes were wide and she was sure she would have bruises on her upper arms where he was grabbing her. She didn't know what to do unarmed and with two much bigger men in front and back of her.    
  
"Leave her alone!" Raina suddenly exclaimed. She darted back in front of Jemma, brought her foot back, and slammed the toe of her shoe into Ward's shin. He let go and, hissing in pain, took a step back, hopping on one foot. Jemma didn't even think about it. She clenched her left hand into a fist, wound her arm back, and slugged Ward in the face. Her knuckles ached and Ward stumbled back and fell onto his ass. Jemma took the opportunity to rush for the rifle and when she did, she swung it around and fired at Creel's feet. The two of them were up and running, Ward holding a hand against his eye, fleeing from the two women who finally stood up to him on their own.

Skye, Mack and Elena were breaking for lunch when they heard the gunshot followed by the scream. Skye was the first to move. She’d bolted to her feet and was off and running with her gun out and aimed ahead of her before Mack and Elena had even registered what they’d heard. She raced up the path from the beach toward the camp. When she reached the cause of the commotion, she skidded to a stop and raised her gun to aim it with both hands just in time to...see Jemma punch Ward in the face?? Skye blinked. She flinched slightly when the gun went off again and then her aim followed Ward and Creel’s retreating forms. 

“Are you okay?” Skye asked, but with a crooked grin on her face and maybe giving Jemma a bit of the heart eyes, winded as Mack and Elena were catching up behind. 

Jemma and Raina both jumped when another voice made its presence known behind them, but Jemma quickly recognized it and lowered the rifle so she wasn't aiming at Skye's chest.   
  
"Much better, now." Jemma grinned. She pulled the strap of the gun back over her shoulder and shook out her left hand, hoping to ease the stinging in her red knuckles.

Skye flipped the safety on her gun and replaced it in its holster. Her eyes fell on Jemma’s hand as she shook it and she grinned a little more. “That was a pretty strong punch,” She said as she stepped closer to them. She looked over at Raina. “You alright?” she asked. 

“What happened?” Elena and Mack were both slightly winded as they finally caught up properly. 

"We're okay." Raina nodded. She gave Jemma's shoulder a squeeze as a silent thank you for standing up for her.    
  
"Ward snuck up on us." Jemma explained. She brought her hand up and inspected her knuckles. Thankfully none were split open, but they were red and a bit swollen. She had hit him hard. "They must be wondering what we're doing at the beach."

Elena exchanged a glance with Mack. “We should go after them - we don’t know what they know,” she said. 

Skye considered it a moment, chewed on her bottom lip lightly for a moment and then shook her head. “No. It’s not like we can hide the boat. But they can’t steal the boat. They don’t even know if it’s seaworthy.” This was definitely not a usual Skye answer. If this had been a few weeks ago, she wouldn’t have stopped as soon as she knew Jemma was alright. She would have chased after Ward and Creel and, at the very, very least, beat the hell out of them. Now, however, it was different. They had a goal. “We can’t get distracted from our goal.” She looked around at them all. “No one goes to and from the camp alone from here on out. We’ll talk to the others about it over dinner. We’ll have to be on better guard too.” They’d gotten comfortable with their quiet stretch of calmness. Complacency was a good way to die. They had to be better about all of this. They couldn’t get lazy because the hard work they were doing was tiring. Too much was at stake. 

"I agree with Skye. We need to keep building, but stay alert." Jemma nodded. There wasn't all that much they could do about Ward and his group watching them. They just needed to keep working cautiously and be aware of what was going on.    
  
"I think when we finish building it we should leave it protected until we board so it isn't stolen." Raina suggested. It was a good idea, but it raised another question.    
  
"When we do leave, do we leave them here?" Jemma asked. It was more than dangerous to invite them along for the trip, but leaving them was an eventual death sentence. Then again, none of Ward's crew had helped them at all, with anything. They had hurt them, in fact.

“No way,” Mack shook his head. “There’s no way we could chance that on a crowded boat in the middle of the ocean.” 

“We haven’t accounted for the extra weight or food to additional people,” Elena frowned thoughtfully. 

Skye hesitated again. She absently reached out for Jemma’s forearm, dread her fingers down it and brought her swollen knuckles up and kissed the back of them as she pulled her closer. “We’ll talk about it later tonight,” She said. “It’s a group decision.” Honestly, she agreed with Mack. They couldn’t be trusted. They’d done nothing but prove it. A power struggle when they were extremely vulnerable on the open ocean to begin with would be a death sentence for them. Skye wasn’t willing to chance that. 

"We'll discuss it tonight." Jemma agreed. "We should get back to work." They only had so long to build this boat before the next storm came in and wrecked it or pulled it into the ocean. They also needed to time it so their food stores were large enough but not too old. It wouldn't be easy and they couldn't be thrown off by Ward.

_________________  
  


Jemma was sitting alone by the waterfall again, although this time, Skye knew it was for a very different reason than the last time she’d intruded to share information about herself. There were situations where Skye didn’t know how to comfort Jemma, or she felt like holding onto her and trying to ground her wasn’t enough. In those situations, Skye had taken to offering up more intimate stories of her past in the hopes that they might convey for her the things she couldn’t seem to put into proper words. She gave Jemma a little bit of alone time but, eventually, she approached with a couple of bottles of coconut water. Lately, Skye had preferred the coconut water over regular water. They were taxing themselves so much with the work, she thought it was better to have the extra electrolytes and sugar to try and regain some ground with the limited eating. 

“Hey,” she said the word softly as she approached to try to avoid startling Jemma. She sat down next to her and held one of the bottles out to her and leaned over to kiss her shoulder. She let a few moments of silence pass between them as she sipped from her own bottle before she attempted to speak. “I know that couldn’t have been an easy choice for you to make, Jem,” she said. 

"Hey," Jemma sighed. She took the bottle gratefully and took a few sips of it. "It wasn't just my decision, it was a group vote." She shook her head. They'd talked things over and weighed their options and the pros and cons of allowing Ward and his buddies to join them on the boat. They decided it was ultimately too dangerous and threatened all of their safety. She didn't want to let anyone die here, nobody deserved that, not even Ward, but it bringing him with them could potentially mean killing them all.

“I’m not talking about the group’s decision in particular right now,” Skye said, cautious but steady in her tone, though she hoped it was on the gentle side as well. “I’m talking specifically about your choice in the vote,” She looked over at Jemma and watched her face carefully. “I just...wanted to let you know that I know that couldn’t have been an easy choice for you,” She reached out and tucked some stray strands of hair behind Jemma’s ear and let the edge of her thumb gently trace along the edge of her jaw a moment. “I’m sorry it came to having to pick one way or the other.” Whatever her feelings on the matter, particularly where Ward was concerned, Skye didn’t like the idea of willfully choosing to leave people behind. She knew it was their only option, but that didn’t mean she relished the idea. She knew that Jemma had to loathe it much more than any of them considering her oath and how it guided her morals this whole time they’d been on the island. 

Jemma nodded to Skye's more specific voicing of concern and leaned into her touch. Just talking about it made her eyes start to water. It had been difficult, but it was the only way.    
  
"I keep trying to convince myself that we aren't killing them by leaving them behind." Jemma sniffled and wiped at her face before any tears could form. It was incredibly difficult for her to even consider leaving them behind without feeling guilty.

Skye nodded. She slipped her arm around Jemma’s middle and ran her hand along her back in gentle random patterns. She started to open her mouth to respond but realized she didn’t want to just try and dismiss away Jemma’s thoughts and feelings on the matter. She leaned over and kissed her temple. “If I thought there was any way to ensure that they wouldn’t put the rest of you in danger just being there or...that they wouldn’t sacrifice you if times got tough,” she said. “I would’ve fought to change all their minds,” and she would’ve done it for Jemma’s sake, not her own. As it was, Skye had remained as neutral as possible in all of her comments, sticking with facts rather than the emotional flare ups that tended to well within her where Ward was concerned. They were all smoldering and festering beneath the surface, of course, and she was sure Jemma, at least, knew that as much as she projected her calm, factual facade outward for the others. She knew how the guilt spiral went, though. This was a delicate situation and Skye had to tread carefully - honestly, but carefully. 

"I know. And it's one of the many reasons I love you." Jemma leaned over and kissed Skye's cheek. She put her hand on Skye's knee and a small smile, a genuine one, slowly spread across her features. Even after all that had happened, Jemma still couldn't wish with her whole heart to undo what had led them to be in this situation. Without Skye she never would have known this feeling and it was just as difficult to realize she'd trade anything to get them a normal life. Ward stood in the way of that and selfishly, Jemma needed him to stay on the island so he couldn't threaten their happiness, or the lives of anyone else.    
  
"Something he said..." Jemma started. He'd mentioned Kara and ending up like her. "I think Kara's dead. I think he killed her." She said. Ward had always treated her terribly and it could have been the event that finally drove Raina away. Kara would have followed Raina had she been able to.

Skye slipped her arm further around Jemma and held on. She settled her hand on top of the one that Jemma placed on her knee and gave her a small, but genuine, affectionate smile. It was short lived, though and fell away as Jemma spoke about Kara. Her brow creased in concerned and she glanced at their hands on her knee. “I guess I can’t say I’d be all that surprised if she was, considering the state Raina was in when we found her on the beach…” She hesitated a moment and looked back over at Jemma. “Is that what swayed your decision?” 

"I think it is." Jemma nodded. "And most of us have been changed on this island." She started. She stared off at the waterfall like it held some kind of answer. She was sad for Kara without knowing her fate, but she had a good enough idea. "Ward has not changed. Ward has thrived." She nearly spit out the words. At least the rest of Ward's group hadn't started out that way. "In the first few days Ward was already sexually harassing me. He is one of the only ones who has not changed on this island and it would be too dangerous for him to join us." She pointed out. Before all this Donnie had been some kid. Quinn had just been a businessman and she remembered hearing about Creel being involved in private security. Ward was something else and it made Jemma more concerned about his origins and how they might have tied to Skye's.    
  
"Do you think he's the terrorist?" Jemma asked bluntly. They hadn't talked much about why the plane had suddenly exploded. It was intentional but since their first conversation about it they hadn't acknowledged it again.

That made Skye avert her eyes. She turned them to the waterfall, as if suddenly interested in whatever Jemma had been staring at inside the torrenting water. It took a few moments in order to try and force herself not to just revert back to hiding internally, shying away. “Not in the sense that you’re thinking,” She said, “But yes,” She nodded. “I think they did something to the plane, but I don’t think they meant for it to go down. Miles was their target.” She paused, closed her eyes a moment, let her thoughts head back to that day on the plane. When she opened them a moment later, she cleared her throat and went on. “That first time I went back to the bathroom, when I teased you about your tie? I was actually hacking into the Coulson...the Air Marshal’s private network, seeing if I could get in so I could let them know there might be trouble.” She said. “I went back later on a bathroom trip and sent him a message to say there was trouble on the plane. I only knew it was Coulson because I knew the type...and I watched him scoping everyone out on the plane after I sent the message.” she confessed. 

Jemma's fingers came up to the base of her neck and she felt the ghost of a piece of clothing she might never wear again. Her initial reaction was a bit of fondness over the memory of Skye's flirting, but then she remembered Fitz's reaction, Fitz in general, and then what Skye said about Coulson and the plane. It was possible that all of these deaths- over a hundred people, were all caused by Ward, maybe Garrett, but still Ward- it made her sick to even consider allowing him to share their boat. She knew now they had made the right choice.    
  
"I hope he lives long enough to suffer for his crimes." Jemma's face hardened. Not only had he committed mass murder and harassed Jemma herself, but she'd seen the results of what he'd done to Raina and she couldn't imagine the life Kara had lived in the final months before her presumed death.

Skye’s attempts so far to keep from reverting inward failed at those words. Her brow creased and she stared a more distant gaze at the water and wondered if she deserved to live long enough to suffer for the crimes she’d committed. Ward had gotten people killed and his actions may have led to Kara’s untimely end but she was sure he didn’t have a kill list the size of hers now. And that wasn’t to mention anything she’d done before the island. She’d been silently struggling with herself these last weeks while building the boat, doing all sorts of mental gymnastics as she tried to decide if she actually deserved to leave this circle of hell she’d been placed. Jemma, and the others at camp, hell, Victoria probably didn’t deserve to be in this hell hole of a place, but it was entirely possible that Skye deserved this karma. She lost track of their conversation as her thoughts began to plague her, wandering to Donnie and Quinn, to JT and to Mace, to what she’d nearly done to Raina when she thought they’d sent Jemma on that death march. No, Skye definitely didn’t deserve to leave here. She deserved the exact fate Jemma just described for Ward. 

Jemma just sat there quietly for a while, trying to clear her mind so she would be able to sleep, but eventually Skye's silence started to set off alarms in her head. She turned to look at her and frowned herself when she saw that look of inverted, self inflicted emotional pain on her face. It wasn't new and Jemma was aware, but she didn't know how to convince her or comfort her. All she could do was try.    
  
"You're not like him. You've given people mercy and saved people's lives. He rapes and torments people. There's a big difference." Jemma tried to explain, but she wasn't sure if Skye absorbed it or if it just went out her other ear.

Skye blinked, tried to collect herself and dropped her eyes from the water to her lap. “I didn’t just save people’s lives,” She said. She’d taken some too. Regardless of how or why, she’d killed people. She would do it again if she had to. There was no way around that. It happened. If it had to happen again, it would. She didn’t want it to happen obviously but, there it was, at its core. With a quick clear of her throat, Skye gave her head a small, jarring shake. She looked over at Jemma without actually looking her in the eye. “I don’t know if any good I’ve done has outweighed the bad.” She said gravely. Jemma didn’t know her entire history. Was it possible she’d change her mind once she got through more or all of Skye’s known history? 

"It has." Jemma confirmed. She didn't know what Skye had done but she knew Skye was too good a person to be as bad as she thought she was. She didn't know how to convince her, she probably wouldn't, so she had to at least make her feel better in some way.    
  
"I don't want to go to bed like this." Jemma pondered what she could possibly do to allow them to end the day on a good note. "What's your favorite animal? Non prehistoric." She asked.

Skye let a startled laugh. She blinked away the emotion welling in her eyes at the moment and reached up to rub her face, somewhat embarrassed by being caught off guard like that. She cleared her throat to cover up a small sniffle. “Um,” she leaned her head back and shrugged. “Otters,” she answered after a moment of collecting herself to figure out her answer. 

"Otters?" Jemma let out a laugh. Usually people answered dogs, cats, horses, the occasional tiger. But Skye chose an animal everyone knew existed, but people often forgot about them or never remembered their existence until it was brought up to them. It was interesting, and Jemma wanted to know more. "Why otters?"

Skye gave a little smile when Jemma laughed but her cheeks tinted a few shades and she shrugged as she looked down at their hands still together on her knee. “I used to sneak into the zoo,” she confessed. “I liked the otters. They were cute and playful and they had a little waterfall in their enclosure that they chased each other too and slide down like their own little waterslide, and, um…” She shrugged again, trying to sound nonchalant about it as she said, “I just...think it’s cute they hold hands when they sleep so they don’t float away from each other, so…” she shrugged again and kept her eyes decidedly away from Jemma, bashful about her confession and whatever Jemma’s reaction to it might be. 

Jemma's small smile was ever increasing the more Skye described what must have been a significant memory for her to keep it so long. It was actually adorable and Jemma reached for Skye's hand, brought it up to her lips, and kissed the back of it gently. It hurt her sore, swollen knuckles to have their fingers intertwined but Jemma thought it was worth it.    
  
"You're silly and adorable and I love you." Jemma kissed her hand again and let them fall into her lap. "Let's promise to hold hands while we sleep on the boat so we don't float away from each other. Just in case." Jemma grinned.

Skye smiled despite her own blushing embarrassment over the confession. She gave a small nod. "Consider it a promise," she was careful not to squeeze Jemma's hand too much,  not wanting to hurt her as she brought their hands up to kiss the back of Jemma's in turn,  to seal off the promise. She leaned closer and mock whispered, "I love you...and so long as we're turning into otters, I should warn you that we're gonna need to find good rocks to bring on board with us....for breaking open clams on our bellies at supper time..." 

"Oh yeah?" Jemma giggled. The image of little otters breaking open clams on their bellies wasn't unappealing, but imagining a human doing the same thing was quite ridiculous. She did use a little tidbit of information about Skye and her tummy and reached out with the hand that wasn't connected to Skye's. It made contact with her abdomen and she moved her fingers, as minimally as they did move, and ticked Skye's stomach.

Skye leaned closer but didn't quite kiss her. "Yeah," she echoed just before her eyes widened and she gasped. At the same time,  she tried to writhe and evade Jemma's tickling fingers as she was peeled against the startled snickers she suddenly expelled. "Cheater!" She blurted.

"I'm not cheating!" Jemma protested. She continued to tickle her and let go of Skye's hand so her left could join in the tickle attack. She pushed against Skye until she had her pinned on her back. She only relented with her right hand to tuck some of her short, choppy hair behind her ear and then placed it beside Skye's head on the stone.    
  
"Now are we ready for bed?" She smiled and lowered herself to press kisses over Skye's face; on her forehead, the tip of her nose, her cheekbones, and finally her lips.

Skye sighed as she caught her breath.  Her eyes followed Jemma right up until their lips connected. She smiled,  just a little,  into the kiss as a small, content hum escaped her throat. One of her hands came up to rest absently against the side of Jemma's neck, the other against her side just above her hip.  She lifted her head of the ground and leaned her forehead against Jemma's when their kiss broke. "I suppose that would be the responsible thing for a couple of otters to do..." she murmured.

"Well, since we're building tomorrow, we otter be beavers." Jemma laughed at her own terrible pun using the American accent. She, quite proud of herself, kissed Skye a few more times with a little smirk on her face.

Skye laughed against Jemma’s lips as she kissed her back. “That’s it,” She said between kisses. “I’m calling it,” She paused for a few more kisses before adding, “Go home, Jem...you’re drunk,” she teased because of the pun, though she was still grinning up at her. If they could just hang onto these kinds of moments, they might make it out of all of this and be alright in the end...right?

"Oh, what I would give to be drunk." Jemma sighed into one last kiss and forced herself to sit back on her heels. She straightened out her knees and stood up, extending a hand for Skye. They had a lot to be afraid of in the world, but yet the universe had given them quite a bit to be thankful for at the same time. "Let's go to bed."

Skye smiled at her and, barely, resisted the urge to pull Jemma back down to her by her proffered hand. She pulled herself to her feet and pulled Jemma's hand up to kiss the back of it after using it to pull her closer. "Can't argue with that,  you know the rules - You go, I go," she grinned and leaned over to kiss Jemma's temple next. "I don't know if you're aware of this, but,  I love you," she added as they feel in step and made their way back toward their bed.

"Oh, really?" Jemma played along. She started taking a few steps back and pulled Skye with her toward the cave. "I never would have guessed, it's not like you've saved my life before or anything." Jemma chuckled and continued to move Skye with her toward the cave.    
  
"I love you too, you big dork." Jemma pulled Skye again, but stopped moving back and allowed their bodies to press together as Skye got closer. She kissed her once more and let her hands wander to Skye's waist.

Skye couldn't stop the goofy smile on her face.  She exhaled a jokingly exaggerated sigh,  "Gosh,  you're adorable," she said before she wrapped her freer arm around Jemma's waist and stole another few kisses.  She would have pulled Jemma right down into their bed when they got their in the cave but they bumped into Trudy, who was already laying curled up in Skye's spot on the bed. "Aw, c'monnnnnn - again,  really? " she arched her eyebrows down at the dinosaur. 

_______  
  


Another week passed by without incident. It was nice, but everyone still made sure to keep an eye out, whether it came in the form of a dinosaur or a person. Jemma and Raina no longer traveled through the jungle by themselves and Skye, Bobbi,  and Trip had already gone down to the beach to work on building, so Jemma and Raina stayed behind since they currently had enough salt. Instead they worked on making rope out of the fibers of plants as Trip had shown them before. Everything was going well, the camp was buzzing like busy worker bees were moving around and doing their jobs and people were chatting happily as they worked.    
  
Jemma was feeling quite calm herself until she noticed Yoyo by the pond, bent over with her hands on her knees and looking as though she wasn't feeling well. Just as Jemma got up to investigate, Elena heaved and vomited into the grass. Jemma jumped to her feet and darted over, second only to Mack who held her hair back and rested a hand on her back as she threw up again.    
  
"Get her to the cave, somebody get the bucket!" Jemma just shouted the request over her shoulder so somebody would do it and Mack helped walk Yoyo back to the cave. Raina came over with the bucket and Jemma made sure Elena had it just before she puked again and laid back in her and Mack's bed.    
  
"I'm sorry to ask you this... but have you had your period?" Jemma asked. She just wanted to rule out the obvious.   
  
"I'm not pregnant." Yoyo shook her head. Jemma wasn't going to push it or ask for details, so she just trusted her. That meant this was something else. She pressed the back of her hand to Yoyo's forehead and frowned. She was burning up.    
  
"Hey, it's going to be alright." Mack brushed Yoyo's hair out of her face and tried to smile reassuringly. He leaned over like he was about to kiss her, but Jemma's hand shot out and caught his shoulder.    
  
"It might be contagious." She said solemnly.    
  
"Hey, we need help out here!" May shouted from outside. Jemma got to her feet and hurried to find the source of the shouting. When she did, she was started to find Victoria in the same boat as Yoyo. She was vomiting into the grass, firewood forgotten.    
  
"Get her back to the caves, the same one as Yoyo." Jemma pointed. Victoria resided in the other cave, but it would be best to group the sick together in case this was contagious. The symptoms were too general to make any assumptions yet, but she'd seen too many horrible infectious diseases at the CDC to not be cautious.

_________________  
  


Skye, Bobbi, Hunter and Trip had a heck of a day. Nothing necessarily out of the ordinary happened but they worked hard. Even though she knew there was enough salt currently, Skye and Bobbi still set up some water evaporating with a fire since Jemma and Raina were having a camp day. Trip actually had a decent haul for the day - a dozen or so large crabs, a sack of clams after he found a new clam bed to harvest, a five pound sea bass, and a three foot, eight pound (by his estimation) dogfish shark. He spent most of the afternoon cleaning, preserving and cooking what he could of the haul and strong it in his pack.    
  
Skye, Bobbi and Hunter continued work on the boat, having left Mack and Elena behind since Elena hadn't been feeling well. The sun was hot that day and Skye hadn't properly covered the back of her neck so the trek back home was a bit uncomfortable with her heavy food-filled backpack chaffing against the sunburn on the back and base of her neck.    
  
"I can't wait to clean off and get changed," she exhaled a wistful sigh. She was tempted to climb to the rocks below the waterfall to stand under the edges of the downpour it like a shower tonight, even. What she wouldn't give for a real shower and an actual bed with clean soft sheets to curl up and for sleep with Jemma.    
  
"You need to eat first," Bobbi told her. "I see you trying to skate meals just to go right to sleep. You need to eat and you need to drink more," she chided.    
  
"Yes, mom," Skye smirked at Bobbi.    
  
"Skye, I mean it," Bobbi gave her shoulder a joking light shove. "You can't escape the island on a boat if you work yourself to death first."    
  
"She makes a good point," Trip chuckled.    
  
"How you can think of sleep over food after all that work, I'll never understand," Hunter shook his head as his own stomach growled.    
  
Skye shrugged. "I guess I've learned to ignore the more mild hunger pains?"    
  
"That's why we're here to remind you and get on your case about it when Jemma's not around." Bobbi smirked.    
  
Skye grinned. "Yeah, yeah," she said with clear affection in her tone. They stepped into the clearing in front of the entrance to the camp and immediately, Skye and Bobbi stopped and they looked up.    
  
"No guards..." Bobbi murmured quietly.    
  
"No sound," Skye tapped her ear and Ponte toward the tree. Sure, they could hear the normal jungle sounds but the camp itself was unusually quiet, even from out here. Skye and Bobbi kicked into gear and hurried for the entrance doors. As Skye squeezed through, she drew her gun and held it aimed at the ground off to the side as she looked around for signs of...anything.

Will was the first one to notice that Skye and the others had gotten back. In the last few hours alone, Akela and Joey had fallen ill in the same violently vomiting way Elena and Victoria had. Currently only Jemma, Mack, and the sick were in the smaller cave and everyone else was in the larger cave. There was no official quarantine yet, but May and Jemma were planning on bringing it up once everyone was back.    
  
"Guys." Will called out from the larger cave and jogged over to greet their returning friends. Work had been halted for the day to see if it would help those who were feeling ill to not succumb to it. A few felt nauseous, but nobody knew who would fall sick. "Four people are running fevers. Jemma thinks something's going around." Will informed them.

Skye flipped the safety on her gun and holstered it. "Where are they?" She was concerned for the others but mainly she meant Jemma. As soon as Will pointed, Skye's feet were in motion, heading for the smaller cave. She unhooked her backpack and dropped it from her shoulders on the way only to come up short when Raina scrambled to block her path.    
  
"What are you - what's going on?" She tried and failed, to sidestep Raina and craned her neck. "Jem??" She called out, not quite frantic but getting there quickly.

"Skye, stay out." Jemma came to the mouth of the cave but stayed a good ten feet away from Raina and Skye.    
  
"We're considering a quarantine and until we decide we need to keep people separated." Raina explained. She but a hand on Skye's shoulder to push against the slight forward force she was applying toward Jemma.    
  
"I've already been exposed, and I need to care for the sick. You need to stay out. Let May know you're back and call a meeting." Jemma instructed her. She could see the conflicted look in Skye's eyes but she needed to make sure Skye didn't get sick, or anyone else for that matter.

Skye frowned at Raina and only held back on forcefully pushing her away when she heard Jemma. Her shoulders fell when Jemma appeared and they sunk further as Jemma gave her the instructions. Skye remained rooted to the spot, though she shifted on her feet a few times as if she was going to obey but couldn't quite make herself move. How could she? A quarter of their camp was sick and Jemma was just hanging out in there with them. Skye couldn't just turn and walk away even to collect someone for a meeting. She stared past Raina at Jemma feeling helpless and unsure what she should actually do.    
  
"I'm on it," Trip said, having caught up in time to hear Jemma mention calling the meeting. He set his backpack down and went jogging for the larger cave to get the others while Trudy went sniffing around his backpack on the ground.    
  
"Are you sick?" Skye asked, wanting a solid answer since 'exposed,' didn't necessarily say either way.

“No, I’m feeling perfectly fine.” Jemma promised quickly. She didn’t want Skye to think for a second that anything might be wrong with her because she knew Skye wouldn’t hesitate to walk right into a quarantined zone to get to her. 

“I’m taking proper precautions. Covering my mouth and nose and all that.” She added. She could see all the worry lines on Skye’s face and sought to make them disappear. “This cave is still safer than that airport when it comes to spreading illness.” Jemma cracked the joke. “This was my job before, I can do it. I have to.” 

Skye didn't care in the slightest that this was exactly the kind of job that Jemma did before the crash. All she cared about was the fact that, proper precautions or not, Jemma was endangering herself. It wasn't like Skye didn't know that urge to protect and take care of other people, she did, she really did. Selfishly, she didn't want Jemma stuck in a cave full of sick people, even though Jemma was the best out of the lot of them, to take care of any of them. While she was relieved that Jemma wasn't sick, the worry lines etched deeply across Skye's face didn't budge. Raina pressed harder against her shoulder when she started to lean and move forward again without thinking about it.    
  
"Take a few steps back, Skye," May's voice was much firmer than Jemma or Raina's as she approached with the rest of the others behind her. It wasn't a suggestion, it was a command. Skye ground her teeth tightly. Her head cocked slightly as if trying to turn to crack part of her neck and she barely swallowed down the sarcastic snap that wanted to ripple of her tongue in reaction. "Jemma's got it under control. We need to listen to her instructions. It'll do no one in this camp any good if you end up sick too because of impulsive actions," she stared Skye right in the eye.    
  
Skye didn't back up but she did try and stop pushing forward to get to Jemma, which only made her hands twitchy and caused her to keep shifting on the balls of her feet.    
  
"What's wrong with them?" Trip asked as he made his way next to Skye, preparing to grab her if necessary. Skye turned her eyes back to Jemma and balled her fists tightly at her sides to try and steady her hands.

"High fever, vomiting... it's too general to tell anything yet. It could be the flu or it could be a disease we've never seen before." Jemma shrugged. She had to speak up so her words reached the meeting and she was far enough away not to spread potential infection. "But even if it is the flu, we don't have medication and it could be deadly. I'm suggesting a strict quarantine until we have further information." She asserted. If the whole camp dying from an infectious disease could be prevented, Jemma was going to make sure it was.

If it was possible, every part of Skye that could do so slumped in total defeat with her shoulders and her frown. The others began to murmur possibilities amongst themselves.  "What can we do to help?" Skye managed to keep her voice steady, just barely, as she called it out to Jemma. She was already mentally going over everything they likely had in that first aid kit, everything she had stocked or hidden away in her own bags for regency savings - anything that could help get the others well and end this situation.

"Is anyone against the quarantine?" May asked. Jemma could tell Skye was itching to protest, but she knew what was right. They needed to keep everyone save and this was one of the only ways they knew how.    
  
"We need lots of water delivered periodically, but not directly person to person. We'll need someone to leave it ten feet from the cave entrance and leave before Mack or I come to get it." Jemma explained. It was important that if this was a contagion they didn't allow it to escape into the rest of the small population.

It felt like torture to have to agree to the quarantine, thus agreeing she wouldn't breech it for her own selfish reasons. There were no objections, not verbal at least because Skye knew it was a lost battle already. "I'll take care of the water," Skye said. If she had to follow rules s he was going to take the job that let her regularly check in on them at the very least. She turned to Trip. "Can you use any of what you caught today to make some kind of soup or broth or something for them to get down to eat?" She asked.    
  
Trip considered it a moment and shrugged the nodded. "I'll come up with something." He grabbed his backpack and Skye's for the food in it and headed off to gather what he'd need to get cooking. Trudy trotted after him.    
  
Skye turned back to Jemma. "Anything else? Anything at all? Plants or...just...anything?" She knew she was grasping, but what else could she really do at the moment?

In exasperation and frustration Jemma put her hand on her forehead and closed her eyes for a moment. She knew Skye was trying to help but it was making her feel annoyed with herself for not being able to do anything either. There wasn’t much Skye could do to help her help them because she didn’t know what to do herself other than keep them hydrated. She already had the first aid kit in the cave so she’d be able to dig through it and find any antibiotics, but maybe some people had hoarded some in their bags.

“You could ask around and see if anyone has antibiotics?” It was the only thing Jemma could think of that could possibly help. She heard heaving sounds from back in the cave and looked over her shoulder. “I have to go. Don’t even think about coming in here.” Jemma pointed at the ground in front of Skye’s feet sternly and drew an imaginary line with her finger, telling Skye with just a serious expression that she wasn’t to cross it.

Skye nodded to the instructions on scouring for antibiotics but grunted at the order not to move. Her eyes never left Jemma. They lingered on the cave for at least a minute after Jemma disappeared back inside. Skye clenched her jaw in frustration, squeezed her fists so tight that her nail dug deep into the skin of her palms. Raina watched her, waiting to see what she would decide to do.    
  
Bobbi reached out and put a hand gently on her shoulder. Skye shrugged it off before she turned on her heel to the group. Many of them were now murmuring among themselves anxiously about their most recent interactions with any of the sick. Skye put her thumb and forefinger in her mouth and let out a couple short wolf whistles to get their attention. "If anyone's hoarding any kind of medication at all that isn't your own prescription, we need it now - no questions asked. If you have any, bring it to May immediately." She made sure to look every single one of them in the eye as she spoke. "Antibiotics are why we're looking for," she said.    
  
She walked away then, using great restraint against the urge to let no one stop her from rushing into the cave. She went to gather bottles to fill. It took a little while but Skye made three piles at the imaginary line - one of water from the pond, one of a couple bottles coconut water and last a bag of coconut water bottles, solid food, extra clothes and Jemma's journal. This bag was just for Jemma and, though she backed away about five feet from them, she stayed there because she wanted to tell Jemma this specifically.

"Hey," Jemma appeared at the entrance of the cave a few moments later. She brought her hand halfway up to brush a strand of hair out of her face, but she remembered she needed to not touch her face, so she let it fall. "Mack is throwing up." Jemma's face was grim and her cheekbones were accented by stress circles underneath her eyes.    
  
"Did you find any antibiotics?" Jemma crossed her arms over her chest just to have something to do with them. She wasn't sure what to do, she couldn't help very much without science equipment. The most she could do was make sure everyone was hydrated and continue to observe. "How about food? Can we get something plain that won't upset stomachs?"

Skye was pacing by the time Jemma appeared. She stopped and surveyed Jemma, looking for any sign that whatever had stricken the others might be showing up in her girlfriend. Her shoulders slumped again and the creases in her forehead deepened at the news that Mack was ill too. She wanted to tell Jemma she needed to leave the cave, as callous as it sounded. She shook her head gravely. “None,” She answered. She roughed her hand through her own hair and sighed. She started to step closer toward the imaginary line and had to dig the toe of her boot into the grass to stop herself. 

“This pile is water,” She pointed to each one as she said it. “That one’s coconut water, and the bag has stuff for you in it - don’t share it with the others if you don’t want contaminate your own bottles…” She knew Jemma knew that but they were are worn out, halfway to starving and not always thinking straight in this place. “There’s some food in there for you too, your journal and some extra clothes. I found a couple bars of soap too with the dwindling toiletry pile so I put them in there too and, um…” she spoke quickly as she tried to override her instinct to rush forward to Jemma. “Trip’s working on cooking some of what he caught today into broth - he caught a dogfish shark and some sea bass and actually brought some of the bones back with him,” she scratched the back of her neck. “He said he thought making soup would be a nice change from jerky and dried fruit.” she shrugged. “I’ll bring you some of the guava maybe? Would that work? Their mild enough? We can boil and mash some of the tubers too. I think everyone in there can eat those alright without problem?” She hated this. She really hated being helpless but being helpless when their people were sick and when Jemma was possibly stuck in there among what might now likely be airborne, it was unbearable to be stuck at such a distance. Skye couldn’t watch Jemma die, again...and she damn well couldn’t do it from a ten or more foot distance. 

"That sounds good." Jemma nodded to all of Skye's plans. She looked down at the supplies, but Skye was still too close for her to grab them. If she got sick herself helping the others, she could deal with that, but if she got Skye sick because of carelessness she would never forgive herself.    
  
"Take a few steps back so I can get the supplies." Jemma didn't leave any room for protest in the way she said it. "If it makes you feel any better I'm not feeling nauseous at all. Just hungry." Jemma tried to give Skye a smile and pretend she wasn't as worried about their friends as she was.

Skye couldn’t make herself move right away. It was the guilt she felt at knowing Jemma wouldn’t come closer even though she was hungry for the food Skye brought that made her backpedal a few feet even though everything in her told her to pick up the items and march them into the cave herself. She brought her hands to rest on her waist to avoid digging holes into her palms with her nails again. Instead, she bit  hard into her bottom lip as she forced her feet to move those few steps backward. “None of this makes me feel better.” She said without ever taking her eyes off Jemma. 

"I know." Jemma sighed. None of it made her feel better either, but they needed to find a way to not let this capture them and halt their progress. "This time take a lesson from the British: keep calm and carry on." Jemma wasn't sure if she meant it as a joke or in all seriousness, but the words were out there so she let them hang in the air. Once Skye was the proper distance away, Jemma collected the water and took several steps back again. "Thank you for the supplies. See about getting that soup for the sick. And don't let everyone stop working on the boat tomorrow.”

Skye nodded mostly to the food. There was no fucking way Skye was going to the boat tomorrow. She doubted the others would either and how would she make them go if she refused? She deflated even further when Jemma was gone again. Skye did not do well with helplessness. She almost wished Ward was in camp just so she had someone to punch. Skye waited and paced again for a while before she went to check in with Trip. 

_________________  
  


After dropping off food for Jemma and having to, again, back up so she could gather it, Skye went back to the cave her and Jemma’s bed was in. She took the bedroll their blanket and Jemma’s book and brought it out to the grass about ten feet away from the imaginary line. About twenty feet stood between her and the mouth of the cave. She gathered enough rocks to set up a fire pit nearby since she was putting herself out in the open and then laid down and attempted to distract herself with the book. It didn’t work. So instead she spent a long time pacing. Trudy came to investigate when the bed was missing from the cave and, somewhat disgruntled, laid down on one side and watched Skye pace for a while, occasionally squawking at her as if to tell her to knock it off. 

She made regular trips to refill the water and coconut water (and Jemma’s private coconut water bottles) and kept reminding Jemma to take care of herself too. It wasn’t fair that Jemma was in there alone. Skye could have easily helped her and Jemma could have just told her what to do to take precautions to keep from getting infected by something. Skye stopped trying to convince Jemma of this as night fell since she could see how exhausted Jemma was, even from a distance. Eventually, though, she forced herself to lay down. She needed to pretend she was going to get some rest even if she knew she couldn’t out here by herself without Jemma next to her. 

Trudy, who had gone close to the cave but never close enough to enter it only to be shooed away repeatedly, flopped her head down on Skye’s stomach and let out a disgruntled noise while staring at her. Skye, who’d been lying with her hands folded behind her head, rolled her head to the side and looked down the dinosaur. She didn’t often lean against Skye with any kind of affection, though she and Skye had gotten along much better over the last few weeks. “Yeah,” Skye nodded. “I don’t like it either,” She told Trudy who exhaled what Skye could only assume was her version of a sigh. Skye pulled her hand out from behind her head and slowly moved to pat Trudy’s feathers the way Jemma absently would to calm her down and was surprised when Trudy didn’t actually get up and move as she did it. She supposed this was a firm truce right now. 

It was well into the darkness of the night when Skye had finally started to doze off with Trudy still lying with her head on her stomach, when she heard something that snapped her eyes open. Retching. Someone was puking. Skye sat bolt upright without thinking about. Trudy startled and jumped to her feet, loudly squawking away. Skye was on her feet almost as fast, her flashlight on and aimed in the direction of the sound, which was toward the camp entrance that led to the outhouse are. The bright LED light shined on Joey, who hadn’t made it quite to the outhouse area and was on his knees, heaving his guts up about thirty feet from the cave entrance and fifteen or so feet from where Skye and Trudy were standing. “Jemma!” She screamed as she started to move toward Joey reflexively. 

Jemma had just been dozing off when she heard Skye shouting and she jumped to her feet, pulled on her CDC vest for a little extra warmth and hurried out of the cave. She put the pieces together quickly when she saw Joey and her eyes widened when she saw Skye's path.    
  
"No, Skye, stay back!" Jemma yelled. Trudy, excited, started squawking and ran over to Jemma and she had to shove her snout away to continue her sprint to Joey. The complications of this were numerous. Joey had been in the non quarantine cave and somehow still fell sick.    
  
"Hey, just breathe." Since Skye had stopped, Jemma got to Joey first and had a hand on his back. She rubbed circled and helped him get back to his feet, pulling an arm over her shoulders to get him back to the quarantine cave.    
  
"Stay back, Skye." Jemma warned. Her slight glare would tell Skye that this was serious and she shouldn't try to challenge her.

Skye almost didn’t stop. She had to skid to a stop because she didn’t want to. She didn’t want Jemma to have to touch Joey even if she was already dealing with sick people in the caves. She kept the flashlight aimed on them and shifted on her feet, inching forward. She frowned even further at the close contact of Jemma pulled Joey over her shoulder and hefting him along. She walked parallel to Joey and Jemma’s path and lit the way. Unlike earlier, she was unable to stop the words that tumbled out of her mouth. “Jemma, this is absurd. Let me help. Joey’s been out here all day with us. If it’s contagious and he’s infected now then we’re all infected, right? I can help - you don’t have to handle all of this on your own.” 

"No," Jemma shot right back and shook her head. "If there's even a slight chance you haven't caught the bacteria or virus or whatever this is- you're not coming into this cave." Jemma said it as an order. She continued pulling a groaning Joey back toward the cave and making sure to keep a sharp eye on Skye and the distance between them.    
  
"I'm the closest thing to a doctor there is so I need to do this, but I need you to be safe or I won't be able to do my job." Jemma explained.

‘That’s not fair!’ Skye actually bit her tongue so hard she tasted blood to avoid the tantrum-worthy outburst she immediately wanted to let out. She didn’t care about chances. If there was even a slight chance (and there was a fuck ton more than a slight chance now) that Jemma was going to get sick, Skye couldn’t stand by this quarantine shit. “Jemma-,” 

"Skye." Jemma cut her off. Skye was complaining but Jemma was firm and her cutting tone made Skye go silent. "I will not argue you on this. Stay out." She stopped at the mouth of the cave and looked back to make sure she stayed at the bedroll.

Skye stayed where she was and barely resisted the urge to continuing arguing or to forget arguing and march right into the fucking cave herself. She sat down at the imaginary border - the halfway point between the bedroll and the cave entrance. She brought her knees up and loosely wrapped her arms around them. She wasn’t moving from the spot and the moment she heard  _ anything _ at all to warrant breaking quarantine next, she was taking the opportunity. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t sit on this sideline and just wait for bad shit to happen to people she cared about while being absolutely useless. She shouldn’t have called out for Jemma. She should have just run for Joey and helped him first. She cursed herself for not having the presence of mind to make that snap decision when she could have. So now Skye waited, watched and listened. 

_____________  
  


Jemma had to block out Mack's quiet crying and it was just a dull buzz in her ears as she shambled out to the entrance of the cave. They'd woken up that morning to another nightmare. She squinted at the bright light that assaulted her eyes when she left the cave and when they adjusted she saw Skye, looking half asleep on the grass. Not even the cute way that Trudy was resting against her could make Jemma's mind come off of the horror that was the result of the sickness.    
  
"Elena's dead." Jemma said it loud enough that Skye would be able to wake up and hear it. She leaned against the rock wall for support and suddenly, out of nowhere, the pit in her stomach formed by fear, frustration, and helplessness finally reacted and the bile that rose up in her throat burned. She dropped to her knees and expelled the contents of their sparse dinner from the night before out onto the rocks.

Skye was half asleep in the same spot she’d been in for hours, the same spot she’d been in while the sun came up. She might have fallen to her back if it hadn’t been for Trudy leaning against her, actually. But when she spotted movement from the cave, her eyes popped open quickly. Jemma looked wobbly on her feet and Skye nudged Trudy in warning before pushing to her feet. Her joints revolted, stiff from sitting still for so long. She almost stumbled and then Jemma spoke and, for just a moment, Skye’s muscles locked and she froze. _Elena’s dead._ _Elena’s dead_. It echoed in her brain over and over. _Elena’s dead._ She felt the burn in the bridge of her nose as tears pooled in her eyes. _Elena’s dead._ Skye should have known she’d lose more of them. She’d expected it. She’d never expected it to be Elena.   _Elena’s dead._ What about the others? Were they - Skye’s brain caught up at just about the same time Jemma leaned against the wall. “Jem…” she took two steps forward and then suddenly, Jemma was on her knees, puking.

That was all it took for Skye’s restraint to completely snap. She sprinted the distance between them and set a hand on Jemma’s back, moved it up and down slightly. The other hand reached for Jemma’s cheek and forehead, trying to feel if she had a fever or not. “Just breathe,” she said when it seemed like she’d finished puking and was trying to catch her breath. “Just breathe, Jem.” They had to take this one step at a time. She had to get Jemma settled somewhere. She’d have to get Elena out of the cave and they needed to see how the others were doing on top of it and they still needed to figure out how to stop this. Was Mack the second person that got sick or was Victoria? Joey was after that. Now Jemma. How long did that give them before someone else died?

"They're just getting worse and all I can do is watch." Jemma's voice was a small, sad whine. She'd been nonstop moving around between everyone and getting food and water into them, cleaning up when they threw up. It was all she could really do because without a lab she had no idea what was going on.    
  
"I'm okay." Jemma made sure to let Skye know. She wasn't feeling weak or sick besides the vomiting and she figured it was from the stress and the panic. "I'm not sick, but you need to get back." Jemma started reaching beside her and trying weakly to shove Skye away.

Skye wasn't going anywhere. She blinked away the welled tears in her eyes, still trying to process everything. "I'm staying," she reached out and tucked some of Jemma's hair behind her ear. "We have rules, Jem, and I'm done breaking them." She wrapped her arm tighter around Jemma and leaned her forehead to hers. "Wherever you go, I go...I love you, and I'm staying. So you might as well make use of me because you're stuck with me so we can figure this out together."

Jemma let out a heavy exhale and she was surprised that she felt almost relieved when Skye insisted she was staying, because selfishly Jemma didn't want to fight her on it anymore because she did want Skye to stay with her. She was afraid. She didn't want to get sick but she wanted to help, it was all a big jumbled mess of obligations and desires.    
  
"Thank you." She breathed. She grabbed for Skye's hand, held it tightly, and leaned into her as her stomach finally settled. "I don't want to be alone, so don't you dare get sick." It was almost a chastise, but it was an affectionate one.

Skye kissed her cheek and pulled Jemma properly into her arms. “I won’t if you won’t,” She agreed. She waited until Jemma had time to catch her breath and organize her thoughts before they ventured back inside the cave to take of things, this time together. 

___________  
  


"Ace, you need to take ten big steps back." Jemma had her hands out and her eyes were wide. Ace and his small horse friend had come to the cave looking for Mike, who had come inside vomiting only minutes ago. It was more than concerning to Jemma that two people in the non infected cave had come down with the illness, but she still wasn't going to let Ace walk right into the cave when they had no idea how this was spreading.   
  
Two more had died. Victoria's heart gave out during the night and Joey had lasted halfway through the next day. When Mike got sick Jemma immediately wondered who was going to primarily take care of Ace when his father was gone. Nobody had gotten better from this sickness and Jemma wasn't sure she was going to see it happen for anyone when people were starting to die more quickly. Mack and Mike were the only sick ones left in the cave (Elena, Victoria and Joey had had as sensitive a funeral as possible when their bodies had to be burned) and Jemma and Skye worked around the clock keeping them hydrated and trying to get food into them, just trying to distract themselves from their loss. Again.    
  
"Go on, go play tag with your friend. I'll take care of your dad." Jemma forced a smile and thankfully Ace was too innocent to not believe her. He seemed to think about it for a minute and then nodded and gave in.    
  
Jemma turned around and came back into the cave. Skye was helping Mack drink some water out of one of the bottles reserved for the sick and suddenly Jemma's heart raced and adrenaline shot through her entire body and to her hands, which lunged and grabbed the bottle away from Skye.    


After Elena, Skye had cut her emotions to the smallest compartment she knew how to in order to control her emotions. She’d spent a great deal of time with both Mack and Elena on the island and they’d saved each other numerous times from certain death. Skye hadn’t had any way to defend Elena from this terrible death. Neither of them could stop any of the three deaths that happened. Mack and Mike were both sick and they still had no idea how to help them both. Mack kept rejecting food and water now that Elena was gone. It was a struggle to get him to even communicate, let alone eat or drink. Skye cursed herself for not preparing for something so terrible to befall them. It had been too quiet. They were making too much progress with the boat and preserving food stocks with minimal injury or setbacks. She should have known something would derail them to this magnitude. 

Skye was just about to beg Mack again to take a sip when Jemma suddenly lunged and wrenched the bottle out of her hands. Skye jumped, not at all prepared for such an intrusion and leapt to her feet and threw her hands up, palms out as if she was going to stop whatever was attacking. Logically, she knew it was Jemma but the suddenness of the moment had sent her heart into overdrive. “Wha-,” She never finished the word before Jemma was suddenly speaking rapid fire.   
  
"Don't let him drink that!" It probably seemed like she was having a mental breakdown, but her mind was running at a mile a minute and she was trying to catch up herself. "I think it's the water." She said in a rush. She looked around her and her brain was doing a quick analysis.    
  
"You and I aren't sick because we've been eating less food and making up for it in coconut water. All of the people who got sick were drinking more regular water than coconut water. That's why people who weren't exposed to the sick still began vomiting even in the other cave." Jemma hurried to explain. Before Skye had time to react Jemma was shoving her things into the bag Skye had brought her.

Skye’s eyebrows arched up her forehead. She blinked as her brain processed all of that. She frowned and her brow furrowed as her brain caught up to everything said. “But…” Skye shook her head, still trying to suss it out. “But...we’ve been drinking it for months, Jem - why would it suddenly be no good??” It couldn’t have been the storm since they’d all been drinking from the waterfall since then. “What, wait - Jemma! What are you doing?” She stepped toward Jemma and grabbed her wrists to stall her for a minute. “Slow down for a second! Tell me the rest of whatever’s running through your brain, I’m not psychic.” She really wished she was at the moment. 

“I think I know how to fix this!” Jemma was nearly shouting. Her entire body was buzzing and she was itching to pull her hands away from Skye and continue her packing. They needed to get going and find out what was poisoning their water so they could remove it and let the river clear it out naturally. “Something is contaminating our water and if we can’t see it, it means it’s upstream. On top the waterfall.” She said it all quickly. They needed to find out what it was. Nobody else could die. “I’m going, you coming?”

Skye blinked as Jemma shouted. “Of course I’m going - we’ve already discussed the rule,” Skye let go of her wrists. If Jemma was going, Skye was going, duh. “We have to let the others know and someone needs to stay with Mike and Mack,” Jemma was probably already ahead of her on that thought but Skye was catching up as she grabbed her messenger bag. “I need to stop at our cave.” She needed to grab a few things if they were going in the jungle. 

"Alright, let's go." Jemma waited a moment for Skye to collect herself and then they both hurried over to the other cave.    
  
"Whoa, wait-" Trip jumped up to his feet when the two girls from quarantine showed up in the other cave.    
  
"It's not contagious, it's something in the water. Skye and I are going to investigate." Jemma explained before anyone could even ask and murmurs were buzzing through those that were left of their camp.    
  
"Do you need backup?" May asked.    
  
"Just someone to take care of Mack and Mike while we're gone. No pond water, just coconut water." Jemma ordered. Bobbi and Trip volunteered without hesitation and Jemma moved over to her and Skye's things along with her and gathered up her rifle, knife, and the small first aid kit. "Ready to go?" Jemma asked Skye.

Skye headed over to their things as soon as Jemma announced that it wasn’t contagious. She loaded her gun magazine to make sure it was as full as possible and hooked her holster to her belt and leg. She already had her hunting knife on on her belt but she grabbed up her machete and put it into the sheath at the back of her belt. Raina tossed her a couple of bottles of coconut water and Skye stuffed them in her back and threw it back on crossways over her shoulder. “Can they boil water if they run out of coconut water?” she asked Jemma, worrying about how long they would be versus what was available around camp. 

"That might work, but we don't have anything to boil water in." Jemma shrugged and looked around her, but she didn't see or think of anything sufficient to withstand the heat. She decided to leave it up to May. Jemma could stop their little plague, but she needed May to handle the camp while she and Skye were doing it. It was split duty and it would be better to have more minds on the task.    
  
"Come on Skye, we should get going before we lose too much daylight." Jemma waved her on. She had turned into quite the survivalist on the island and she could tell just by the shadows of the trees that it was already getting on past noon.

Skye made sure her flashlight was in her bag before she nodded and followed Jemma with a last glance over her shoulder to the others. As they made it toward the entrance, Skye put her thumb and forefinger in her mouth and let out a whistle. Buzz came to join them but Trudy ignored them as she was playing with Ace and his horse (and maybe because they’d had to keep stopping her from going into the quarantine cave over the past couple of days too). Skye knew this was supposed to be a fast trip and it was on the fly but she felt ill prepared for the trek. They didn’t have nearly as much food or liquid as she would have preferred but there wasn’t all that much she could do about it. Jemma was right, they were running out of time. There were a couple of different paths that could go up to where the river fed the waterfall and Skye led them to the fastest one. It was a somewhat steep climb but it wasn’t anything they hadn’t handled before anyway. 

"It can't be too far upstream, whatever it is." Jemma said between heavy breaths. It was getting into early evening and they had finished hiking up the cliff and were walking along the stream. They couldn't see any cause for the poisoning immediately, but as they kept walking Jemma started to notice a slight discoloring in the water.    
  
"There!" Jemma pointed. There was a tree that had fallen across the river, and long ago by the amount of life growing all over it, but there was something caught at the bottom. Jemma didn't know what it was, but she could see ribs and she knew something was dead and rotting in the river.

Skye kept her eyes peeled as they moved. She wasn’t just looking for obstructions but that was just as well because she knew Jemma was single-mindedly after the answer. Skye could understand that. She stayed just a few paces behind Jemma as they walked along the stream, enough so they weren’t tripping over each other but if trouble found them it would only take her a couple of quick strides to cut off whatever might come after them. Her head snapped over to the direction Jemma was pointing. Skye took a few quick strides to take the lead in approaching whatever it was even though whatever it was was clearly dead. She stopped at the water’s edge and crouched. It was obviously an animal and it was very large and very decayed. Skye grimaced at the smell and swatted at some flies that buzzed nearby. The back end she could see had fur on it and from the general shape she categorized it as some form of large cat. “So...mountain lion-type something?” She asked since it was just the backend they could see on the shore. She poked at a few spots along the body to try and see how stuck it was and whether or not limbs would come off if they tried to pull it by the back legs to get it out of the water. 

"If it's what I'm thinking..." Jemma trailed off and came up behind Skye. She laid a hand on the log and leaned her weight on it, testing its strength. Before Skye could stop her, Jemma climbed up onto the log, which was several feet wide, and walked about seven feet to the other side of the animal's body. Half of its flesh was missing and the smell made Jemma want to throw up again, but she stomached it. She could see the back of the skull above the water, the front was submerged. Jemma reached into her back pocket, pulled out a rag, wrapped it around her hand and reached into the water. She pulled the skull up out of the water and even after what it had caused, somehow a smile was on Jemma's face because of the discovery. On each side of the front of the skull were fangs just as long as the creature's head.    


“Jesus, Jemma!” Skye chided as her eyes widened. Okay, the log was sturdy for the moment but if it let loose...Skye looked down the river toward where it would drop off to the waterfall, unsure how strong the current would be once the water was too deep to stand. “Please think about what you’re doing before jumping on old fallen trees in rivers that lead to waterfalls…” She pled. “For the sake of my weak heart if nothing else…” she sighed as she stood up from where she’d crouched and moved her weight onto her toes she she’d be ready to spring into the water after Jemma if it was at all necessary. She really hoped it wasn’t.   
  
"Smilodon. Saber toothed tigers live here apparently." Jemma concluded. She let go of the skull and looked back up to Skye to see her reaction.

“A wha…” Skye knew she shouldn’t have been surprised at this point - they had a pet gigantic dragon fly, a resident dinosaur and a horse-cat and they’d killed pack hunting compys, gigantic snakes and massive alligator gar! But the idea of a saber toothed tiger - at least an ancient animal she could picture with its own name - Skye blinked a dumb stare at Jemma. And then she frowned. Big cats meant packs, or prides or whatever the fuck they were called for saber toothed tigers. “We should move it and get the hell out of here,” before they became dinner. She lamented not trying to coax Trudy along with them in that moment. 

"You're right. I'll try to get the head and shoulders and you get the hips and back legs?" Jemma suggested. It was going to be difficult, but at least the decay had significantly decreased the weight. It made her sick to think that this was what their group had been drinking. Jemma instead chose to focus on the fact that they would be getting the body out of the water and clearing up their supply again.

Skye frowned. “Please don’t fall in the river,” She sighed as she nodded to the plan. She put the machete in its sheath and found something in her bag to wrap around her hands. She crouched down and got a good grip on the back legs and hips. She pulled while Jemma worked on freeing the front end of the carcass so it wouldn’t go floating down the river once it was free, hopefully. “Careful now...remember whatever happens here ends up in the book and eventual movie based on a true story…” She warned with just the tiniest hint of a smirk. 

"If anyone will believe it." Jemma grunted as she helped haul the beast out of the water and onto shore. A few times some bark scraped off and her foot nearly faltered, but she held steady as they slowly worked their way to having the carcass completely removed from the river. Jemma hopped down from the log and they moved it a few extra feet for good measure.    
  
"What do you think happened to it?" Jemma pondered. "Don't touch your face until we clean up." She added. She unwrapped her own hands and washed her arms up to her elbows in the river upstream from where the body had been to make sure she was actually clean.

Skye was prepared the whole time to drop the decaying beast and dive into the water every time Jemma’s foot slipped or she saw bark crack loose. Her heart was jumpier than normal by the time they were done. She examined the rest of the body now that it was on dry land and tried to take shallow breaths because of the stench. “Hard to tell with the condition it’s in,” She pointed to the stomach area which was largely open and empty. “It could have be eaten by something bigger or its guts could’ve exploded from all the bacteria.” She nodded and looked around on the ground nearby for a moment while Jemma washed her arms. “Doesn’t look like there are any bigger tracks around here for something to have eaten it.” She reasoned as she unwrapped her hands and dropped the useless cloth on top of the carcass. She moved to crouch near Jemma to clean off her own arms. “We should probably burn it. Scavengers aren’t going to pick it clean, it’s too rancid.” They couldn’t bury it and leaving it seemed like they’d be asking to get contaminated again somehow. 

"Let's do it. We aren't likely to make it back by nightfall so we'll need to make a camp anyway." Jemma reasoned. It made her think back to the last time they'd camped out here and she had to swallow the lump in her throat and move her focus elsewhere before she could begin to think about Fitz. She took in every detail around her: the rushing sound of the river, the rustling of leaves, the buzzing of insects, and something Jemma couldn't quite decipher. It sounded like a whine, something she could describe as a mew.    
  
"Do you hear that?" Jemma shook excess droplets from her arms and put her hand on Skye's shoulder, using the other to put a finger to her lips to indicate that Skye should be quiet and listen.

Skye stood up and shook her arms out and stood up. She hadn’t heard it when Jemma asked but a few moments later, craning her ears, she did hear it. She thought it sounded like...nahhhh, it couldn’t be, right? This thing had been dead for days at least and anything with it would have left by now right? She turned and shuffled slowly in the direction of the sound, moving slowly to sneak up on it. She grabbed the handle of her hunting knife and quietly pulled it free. She paused, waited for the sound again. She moved aside a bit of tall grass and found the source - a kitten-sized version of the dead animal lying a few yards away. Her first lizard brain thought was  _ awwww, kitteh _ , and, perhaps, her face crumpled a little before she managed to pull herself together. “Oh, hell…” 

Skye put her knife away just as the kitten (tiger??) stumbled toward her and let out a sound that was more like a happy squeak than a whine now that it’d been found and wasn’t alone. It angled right for Skye and immediately started rubbing its cheek against the outside of her hand and wrist. When she’d been a kid, she’d spent hours with her face pressed up against the window of the pet store playing with the kittens and wanting nothing more than to take them all home with her whenever they’d gone by it. This, however, was not a cat. It was a future tiger, with very large fangs. 

"Oh my god." Jemma said it as a whisper from behind Skye's shoulder. She'd followed her over and her heart nearly melted seeing the infant, orphaned kit stumbling and trying to make its legs function. It was probably the most adorable thing she had seen and the part of Jemma that had helped the baby baboon immediately came back to the surface, but this time there wouldn't be a parent to attack her.    
  
"Look at it," Jemma's voice softened and she moved around Skye to get to the baby. She put her hands underneath its front legs and lifted it like a human child, tucking it into the crook of her arm. Little paws came up and swiped at Jemma's hair and Jemma looked up to Skye with an already pleading look on her face.

“Jemma…” Skye drew her name out and tried to form a protest. They were going to be on a boat soon. They hadn’t even figured out if they would be able to take the animals already with them for sure yet. This was another problem in the making. Also, “...It’s a saber toothed tiger,” she pointed out. The (admittedly adorable) baby tiger turned at the sound of her voice and let out another squeak, which made Skye’s resolve falter for a moment as she realized it was trying to talk to her via roar...which was only a squeak because it was a damn baby. Shit. “We can’t,” She blurted before Jemma could try and start talking her into it. “What would we feed it? How will it fit in the boat? We don’t know how long will be in the boat. What about Trudy? You saw what she did when she saw Ace’s horse the first time…” Skye fumbled for reasons - valid reasons!

Jemma frowned. Skye was making very valid points. It wasn't convenient at all, it was the exact opposite, but thinking about the alternative was almost worse. They either took it with them or they didn't. Leaving it here would mean certain death, either by starvation or predation. The dead mother of the creature in her arms was the cause of the deaths of three of their friends... but maybe that was the point. If they let the previously extinct animal die, their friends died for nothing. And then Jemma looked at the tiger's face.   
  
"But look at him." Jemma held him out like Simba at the beginning of the Lion King and he began to squirm, kicking his feet at nothing. "He's coming with us."

Skye had trouble fighting against Jemma’s determination. She didn’t want to leave a helpless little kitten...tiger…damnit whatever, to die. She really didn’t. In fact, it was probably amazing that this thing was still alive how many days after its mother died and poisoned their camp? They were about to burn its mother in fact. She wanted to reach out and pet him with Jemma holding him out right in front of her like that and had to actively resist on principle of her own comments alone. It didn’t help at all that this preyed on all of her orphan inadequacy emotional heartstrings at all. Skye sighed. “He can stay with us til morning but we can’t take him with us, Jem,” she tried again. She had to. She didn’t want to, but she had to. 

Jemma had a crushed look on her face, probably similar to a child's, but she didn't care. She brought the wriggling ball of fur back to her chest and stroked the back of his head.    
  
"What if he's the last of his kind?" She argued. If the mother was dead for unknown reasons and they hadn't spotted any others or their prints in any of their expeditions, there probably weren't very many left, even here. "He stays." She huffed. If she had to she'd give the little cat her own rations. She'd wanted Skye's approval, but she didn't need it.

“Until morning,” Skye sighed and turned to go so she could start collecting fallen, dead firewood. She kept a careful eye out for anything edible in the trees as she started her collection, knowing she would need a lot of it to burn the carcass and then to last through the night. Eventually they managed to gather enough wood to pile up a pyre and get it burning. It smelled awful at first and then, for a bit, it almost smelled like barbecue, which made their stomach growl up something fierce. Skye had her solar blanket in her messenger bag so she strung it up at a proper distance from the fire to still get heat but to be safe and give them shelter. She found some coconuts, three in total that looked ripe enough to possibly bust into. They gathered ferns to lay down on the ground for a bed so they wouldn’t be on the ground when it got colder. Skye climbed up into one of the larger trees to cut down some of the more gigantic-sized leaves to lay on top of the ferns and maybe to pile up for some kind of jackets besides whatever jackets or sweatshirts they had in their bags. 

By the time it was dark out they also had some kiwi and, of course, a bunch of mango. It would be enough to hold them tonight and into the morning until they could go back down to camp. The kitten, however, was too young to get any of the solid food they had stuffed in their bags or the fruit. So when they were finally settled around the fire and working through the fruit, Skye cracked open the third coconut, careful to refill their bottles with the water inside, trying to avoid spilling as much as she could. She took one half of one of the coconuts and used her hunting knife to scrape the meat inside until it was a soup milky mess in the bottom of it. Then she dumped some of the coconut water into it and mixed it around. She grabbed a clean cut up piece of cloth from her bag and stuffed half of it into the bowl, stirring it around. She set it in her lap and then held her hands out toward Jemma. “Hand ‘im over for a sec - is it a boy or a girl actually?” she arched her eyebrows.

As soon as she had the little fuzzball in her arms she shuffled him around until she was cradling him like a baby so he could get free but he wasn’t uncomfortably squished. She reached for the cloth with her free hand and balled it up a couple of times until it was about the width of her own thumb and then brought it to the kitten’s mouth so he’d be able to suck on it. She couldn’t think of any other way to feed it considering how young it was. Maybe they could mush up one of the kiwi’s and see if he could eat it if this didn’t work. Skye knew she’d lost this battle already but she was going to keep insisting that it was only until the morning for now. She had to. 

It was getting darker, so Jemma didn't think Skye would be able to see her little righteous smile as Skye started to attempt to feed the kitten. She would fall for him, Jemma knew. If she had been able to bond with Trudy she would have no problem with this little animal, especially with it looking up at her the way it was while it sucked and gummed at the wet cloth.  
  
"It's a little boy. We'll need to get him on solid food as soon as possible." Jemma said it like they'd be taking him back because she already knew she would. Skye wouldn't have the heart to kill him herself and Jemma wasn't going to leave him behind, so Skye was stuck with him for now. "Maybe he'd eat the meaty broth Trip makes. Slowly transition to solid foods." Jemma suggested. He would be a bit more difficult to feed if he was indeed a carnivore, but maybe he would prove to be adept at fishing or hunting for himself.

Skye shook her head slightly and sighed. “She’s practically already named you, dude,” She said to the tiger. She pulled the cloth away when he’d sucked it nearly clean and as she was reached out to dunk it into the coconut shell against, received a light paw to the shoulder and a squeak of protest. “Oh hush,” She filled the cloth as much as she could, bundled it up again and brought it back up to let the tiger eat again. “See that and you were complaining,” She smirked down at the tiger when he went back to contently sucking at the cloth. She looked over at Jemma and promptly flushed pink in her cheeks and the tops of her ears. “May’s going to disapprove of this, y’know,” She said. 

"She wasn't a huge fan of Trudy at first either." Jemma pointed out. Now Trudy was responsible for bringing in more than half of their meat through hunting. The benefits would not be as great for an infant animal, no, but it was an incredible find and Jemma thought his line was worth preserving, cute face or not.    
  
"Consider this for science, then." Jemma chuckled. She'd taken a lot of samples during their time here and the living samples were easily her greatest accomplishments, but of course she saw them as more than that too. "Just think, when we get home we could revive multiple species. Or at least let people have the chance to see it and learn about it."

Skye chuckled. “You’re gonna breed saber toothed tigers, huh?” She gave Jemma a lopsided smile. If anyone could she was sure it would be Jemma. Skye looked back down at the fuzzball in her arms when he wrapped his paws around her hand to hold on while he ate. She sighed and felt the heat still in her cheeks. “I used to get in trouble whenever I was brought along on shopping trips when I was little,” She confessed. “If there was a pet store window, I would break free of any and all grasps held on me to go smush my face against the window to look at the kittens…” She shifted the cloth around to another side for the tiger to suck on. 

After a few moments she pulled the coconut shell over and leaned over to dunk it in the liquid again and when she did the tiger leaned up and snuffled at her jawn with his wet mouth and nose, gave her a quick lick and then rubbed the side of his face against hers. Skye had no control over the face she made when it happened. It was cruel to lose a battle this way, where Jemma could watch her go all mushy over a cat. When she leaned back to bring the cloth back up for him, the tiger was purring loudly as he started eating again. “I suppose you’re gonna need a name, huh…?” 

"Well don't look at me, I named Trudy." Jemma held her hands up in a mock surrender even though she was most definitely not going to surrender on the matter of keeping the tiger around. As she looked closer at his face, she could see little fangs growing and it probably should have scared her because of their potential, but instead it just made him seem even more cute for some reason.

"He'll need a name fit for the land of dinosaurs he was born in," Skye mused now that she really had no code by to drop her protest against keeping him. There would be protest that they came back with another mouth to feed, and one that could grow into a predator on a similar scale to Trudy. Skye looked down at him and he watched her while he ate. Was that a good thing? Would it keep him from trying to eat them when he was old enough to overpower them? "Which means the only fitting name here...is Rex," she smirked.

"Rex." Jemma repeated and nodded a bit as Skye continued to feed the baby animal she claimed she wasn't going to fall for. "It suits you." She spoke to the cat and scooted closer to scratch at his chest with her pointer finger. He squirmed and tried to tug the cloth out of Skye's hand. He started to reject the coconut water and his eyes were drooping, so Jemma scooped him from Skye's arms and started gently rocking him in her own.

Skye put the cloth and coconut shell aside and, when she looked over and spotted Jemma actually rocking Rex to sleep she was absolutely powerless to stop her heart from melting and her face from crumpling completely at the adorable scene. Unfortunately, allowing that emotion in buckled the defensive system keeping all the other ones at bay since Elena’s death. Her eyes welled a moment and she moved away from Jemma and Rex both under the guise of going over to build the fire up so it would continue burning well into the night and also so she could reclaim control over her emotions. It wouldn’t do either of them any good to fall apart right now. They needed to get through the night and get home so they could take care of the camp and get back on track. They needed to find some way to boil water, which would probably take some trips to the fuselage on the beach to see if there was anything at all they could salvage and repurpose. They would need to set up new troughs to take care of that water, would need to sterilize the bottles that’d had contaminated water in them as well. There was a lot to do on top of still needing to finish the boat and their food stocks. Skye would insist on still preserving the amount of food they’d already figured out despite the fact that they had less mouths to feed now. It would be better to have more than less. 

______  
  


They stayed the night out in the jungle under a quickly made shelter. Their fire warded away any predators and the two of them slept facing each other, kitten snugly pressed in between them. They got up early in the morning and packed up their things. As Skye put out the fire, Jemma urged Rex to walk on his own and was giggling at his clumsy attempts.    
  
"Still convinced he won't be coming back to camp with us?" Jemma asked with a cocky grin on her face. Skye had been quite snuggly with their friend overnight.

"I think we both know I lost that battle yesterday," Skye said as she dosed the last of the smoldering remains of the fire. Even if she hadn't,  Watching Jemma giggle like that with the kitten would have changed her mind she was sure. When she was some with the fire and has all her gear,  she walked over toward the two of them and Rex let out another one of his mighty squeaky sounds and stumbled toward her. Flopping over on the toe of her boot, he pawed at the air and squeaked at her. Skye smirked and shook her head. "Okay show off, we know you're cute," she stopped over and collected him up into her arms. Rex squirmed around and settled against her shoulder,  nuzzled into her jaw and the crook of her neck, purring away. Skye sighed. "You're going to be trouble,  aren't you? " she asked. Rex squeaked in reply. Skye looked over at Jemma. "Ready to go home?"

Even if the island was a hell on earth for humans, Jemma very much liked the sound of that word. Home. She hadn't thought of anywhere as her home since she left England. She supposed home really was where your family is, and if that was Skye, here, then the camp was home for now. "Let's get going then." Jemma lifted her bag, secured her rifle on her shoulder, and started to lead the way back home.    
  
It took several hours, probably a little longer than the way there since they kept switching off with carrying the extra weight that was Rex and stopping occasionally to feed him or let him down to use the restroom somewhere other than their clothes. The more they took care of him the more Jemma knew he was going to stick. Maybe he could even bring a little joy to their other group members after the tragedy.    
  
"We're back, we found the source of the contamination and removed it!" Jemma finally called up to the guard, who happened to be Will. For a moment his face showed relief, but then something else flashed across it before he made his way down from the tree to open up the gate.    
  
"What is it?" Jemma asked once they were through. Everyone was working, but moving at a sluggish, tired pace. The light that was Ace (usually playing) was nowhere to be seen. Instantly her heart fell to her stomach.   
  
"Mike didn't make it." Will shook his head. He pulled Jemma in for a quick hug and that was when he saw the kitten in Skye's arms over Jemma's shoulder.    
  
"What the hell did you two bring back this time?!" He exclaimed. May looked up from chopping firewood and they could see the exasperated look on her face from a mile away.

"Long story..." Skye couldn't be bothered with the escalation over Rex at the moment after the news about Mike. Her wide eyes welled over and she almost tossed Rex to Jemma immediately to go find Ace, but Trudy came trotting their way to investigate before she could. "What about Mack? Is Mack okay?" She asked Will as she braced for Trudy to spot/smell Rex.

"He's fine. Well, not fine exactly." Will scratched at the back of his head.    
  
Trudy came barreling up to Jemma, excited to see her again, but came to a skidding halt when she smelled the foreign creature in Jemma's arms and all over her clothes. She didn't attack, but she started squawking in apparent annoyance and what Jemma thought was jealousy. If she hadn't just heard that their friend had died, she would have found it amusing.    
  
"Spit it out." Jemma urged Will on and turned some to keep Trudy's big sniffing head away from Rex.   
  
"Nobody's been able to get him to eat or drink since Elena. But his sickness is starting to go away." He explained.    
  
"You go find Ace, I'll talk to Mack." Jemma sighed. She'd get Trudy accustomed to the new non-food animal in the camp and then she'd go back to her medical duties and talk Mack into some soup.

Skye nodded. She stooped over to kiss Jemma’s shoulder and ruffled up Rex’s fur lightly. “You be nice,” She said to Trudy before she started walking, heading toward the area of the pond by the waterfall that Ace was sitting with his horse. It was nearly the same spot Jemma sat when she was staring at the waterfall lost in thought. She didn’t need to see his tears or hear the sniffles as she got closer to know they were there.   
  
“Hey,” Skye spoke softly as she sat down to Ace’s left since his horse was on his right with her head resting in his lap trying to comfort him. Skye would have approached an adult differently than she approached Ace. Ace was an affectionate kid. He wasn’t closed off from his emotions the way Skye had been by the time she was his age and so her immediate action was to put support in place. She pressed her hand to his back and took a careful breath, tried to pick her words carefully as Ace dropped his face to his hand and wiped his cheeks. “Ace, I’m really sor-,”   
  
Before the words were out, Ace had thrown himself into Skye’s side and was loudly crying into her shoulder. Skye quickly pulled him into her lap and wrapped her arms around him, unsure what else she could do. She was sure some of the others had wound up in this same position with him for however long it had been since Mike had died. “I’m sorry,” she said rather than telling him it was okay. It wasn’t okay. Mike was dead. They’d been too late figuring out the problem in order to save him and now Ace had no dad. It was far from okay.   
  
“It’s not fair!” Ace bawled into her shoulder, his voice scratchy from the crying he’d done. “We’re a team! He can’t be gone! It’s not fair!” The outbursts came between the sobs.   
  
Skye clenched her eyes as she cradled the back of Ace’s head and rubbed his back, rocked with him while she fought off her own tears. “You’re right,” she sniffled softly. “It’s not fair,” she agreed. She kissed the side of his head and rocked with him in her arms, let him cry as much as he needed to without telling him to stop. Maybe it might bother the others in camp, because it was truly heart wrenching, but Skye wasn’t going to tell him to stop crying. If there was a cry worthy moment, it was this. The world wasn’t fair. Skye knew that. Ace hadn’t learned those lessons fully yet. He’d learned some hard lessons but this hadn’t been one he’d had to learn until now and it was more than brutal to have to learn it this way. Skye stayed right there with Ace, held onto him and murmured reassurances for him. Some of the others came and sat with them for a bit here and there as Ace fell in and out of crying jags. Eventually, he exhausted his energy and fell asleep on Skye’s shoulder.   
  
Skye didn’t want to let Ace go, afraid he’d wake up and she’d be gone when he’d fallen asleep on her in such an emotional state. Bobbi and Trip helped moved Skye and Jemma’s bed back to its regular spot. Skye headed that way and settled down on her side of the bed with Ace in her arms. His horse trotted after her the whole way and once they were lying down, she curled up on their legs and rested her head on Ace’s lower back with a sad hum. Skye patted and stroked her hand up and down his back in steady rhythm as he slept, hoping to get him to sleep as long as possible since she knew he’d wake up to realize the pain all over again. She fought her own tears, blinking them away to keep any from seeping down her cheeks and tried her best to take long, slow, deep breaths. They would get through these losses…just like they’d handled the others. She had to convince herself of this.     
  
______________  


"Hey, Mack." Jemma found him in his spot in the cave while Skye had gone to see Ace. Once she’d introduced Rex to Trudy, she’d left him with Will so she could focus on her friend. Mack was quieter and had less energy than Jemma had ever seen him and it made her heart sink to see her friend in such a terrible state. "The others tell me you won't eat or drink." She started. She gathered up some fruit and coconut water and sat down on the stone at his side. She crossed her legs and made it clear that she could stay for a while.    
  
"There's no point." Mack grumbled. If Jemma wasn't mistaken she saw tear tracks on his cheeks and his eyes looked like they were beginning to water again. But it was his statement, so lacking of hope, that made Jemma upset. It was dangerous for him to think this way.    
  
"There's always a point." Jemma reached out and laid a hand on his arm.    
  
"Not without her." He countered. Jemma sighed and gave his arm a squeeze. She knew he was in unimaginable pain right now.    
  
"I know I can't understand completely, but I have lost people I've cared about. We all have. And I don't mean to diminish your pain because it's completely valid. I'm just saying that it doesn't give you the right to give up. It doesn't give any of us the right to give up." Jemma didn't think Mack wanted babying, but he did need at least a small dose of tough love. "We all need each other if any of us are going to survive this. So you need to be strong and help yourself to be a part of saving all our lives." Jemma offered the bottle of coconut water and waited patiently for a good minute before Mack reached out and took it. He drank it in slow sips and they sat with each other quietly. Jemma saw Skye come in but she didn't want to interrupt the understanding silence, so they just stayed with their friends and tried to be there for them as they dealt with their losses.

________________   
  


It took at least a week to really return to their old schedule of building and prepping. Proper mourning time was needed and they had to get back into the swing of it, build up momentum. When Skye came back  from the beach with Trip, Mack and Will that first full day they returned to building, she was kindly inform by everyone who had been in camp all day that she was to take Rex with her whenever she went to the beach because he spent the entire day she was gone searching and crying for her. So Skye carried the tiger through the jungle the first few days and let him free in the sand of the beach. He wandered out of curiosity at first but never lost sight of Skye or went too far from her.    
  
Skye spent some time at night trying to teach him some commands. Rex spent a lot of that time trying to pounce on her and play. He was pretty smart considering he was so young, though. He picked up sit and stay quickly. Heel, they worked on that one on their walks from camp to the beach as Rex got his wobbly legs under him a bit better. She taught him to come to her on specific whistle commands that sounded different than the one they used for Buzz.    
  
Today in particular had been a good day. It had been almost ten full days since they'd cleared the carcass from the river that fed the waterfall. The weather was actually nice. It was in the mid-70s but the humidity was nearly absent and there was a nice breeze coming off the water. After getting an early start and working most of the morning, the beach group, which today consisted of Skye, Jemma, Mack, Trip, Raina, Will and Ace were eating lunch.    
  
Ace's horse, Ruby, was playing with Rex near the edge of the surf but every time the horse raced into the shallow water, Rex ran away from the approaching water.    
  
Skye chuckled as she watched while sitting with the others. "We'll have to get him used to the water soon," she said. "Before he's surrounded by it," otherwise that might be a nightmare. She'd long given up on insisting there was no way they could take the animals on the boat for sure. They had extra space now. It would be cruel to leave them behind after caring for them so long. Although truth be told, she was a bit worried about how Trudy would handle being on the boat.

"If you want to be the one to put the quickly growing killer cat into the water, you go for it." Will joked and took a bite of some preserved compy meat. They had a wide variety with Trudy hunting for them.    
  
"Maybe it's best he hates water, it'll keep him in the center of the boat and he won't bounce around and cause chaos." Jemma pointed out. She was sure he'd get to the point where he was used to the water anyway if they would be sailing for months.

"He loves me far too much to bite me - and it's not like he hasn't managed to get into the shallows of the pond despite Trudy hovering,'" Skye joked and let out one of the Rex-specific whistles. Rex turned, mid-run, toppled into the loose sand and then scrambled back to his feet and raced through the sand to Skye, where he immediately pounced into her, thankfully empty, lap and started licing at her face and nuzzling at her neck and jaw, covering her with the sand he'd been rolling around in most of the day. Skye grimaced but snickered. "Okay, okay, okay settle down," she grabbed him by the scruff of his neck to pull him away and set him down in the sand with a few pets and scratches behind the ears. "Sit," she commanded when he seemed like he was going to move on to pouncing Jemma. Rex looked at her as he plopped his butt down in the sand. Skye tossed him a small piece of jerky and Rex laid down and flopped his paws and chin on Jemma's legs and looked up at her with big, pleading eyes as if asking permission to pummel her with kisses and nuzzled like he had with Skye.    
  
"Are they still looking for us?" Ace asked out of nowhere after being unusually quiet for the day. He hadn't quite returned to himself after what happened to Mike, but he was slowly getting there.

Jemma held out a hand and smiled as Rex batted at it and then climbed into her lap, but Ace's uncertainty made her lower herself and remember yet again that they had lost people. As bad as it felt to admit it, Jemma had begun to get used to it. She was recovering from it faster and faster and it was one of the many reasons they needed to get off the island.   
  
"No, I don't think so, Ace." Jemma shook her head. She lifted Rex (who was already quite a bit heavier than when they'd picked up him at first) and plopped him down in between herself and Ace so he could pet him. Rex reveled in the attention and leaned into Ace's side. "It's been 84 days since the crash, any search parties have long given up." Jemma explained. Boy would they be surprised to see their raft show up on the west coast of the United States. If they could make it there at least. “But that’s why we’re rescuing ourselves.” 

Skye forced herself not to frowned at Ace’s question. It was something the adults had known for quite some time. She hadn’t considered how the news would affect Ace and she wasn’t sure at all how much Mike had talked with Ace about this kind of thing. The others fell silent in the wake of Jemma’s answer. “Jemma’s right,” Skye said as Ace leaned right back into Rex and looped an arm around him as he purred away and nuzzled into his shoulder. Ace was frowning and Skye knew that shouldn’t be unusual all things considered, but she wanted to try and help ease his mind. “Soon we’ll have the boat finished and then we’ll be out of here and on our way home,” Of course…they had no way to know which direction they should go or whether or not they were going to happen upon a ship of some kind or maybe an inhabited island that had ways to contact the mainland. They didn’t even know if they would make it for sure, but they couldn’t just stay here and let the place kill them all. Skye was not going to say all of this out loud of course. 

Ace seemed to consider this information as Ruby shook off her fur and came to cuddle up on Ace’s other side. “Can we take Ruby and the other animals with us?” He asked. Ruby was the smallest and he didn’t think she would be a big burden since he could mostly keep her controlled. 

Jemma wanted to immediately blurt her preferred answer of yes, but the others all started exchanging glances. Rex, Ruby, and Buzz where all manageable sizes, but Trudy... she was about the size of a person. It would be difficult to keep such an active beast entertained for months on open sea and she didn't know how she would react. She also would take up resources like food and water. They did have extra though now that some of the others hadn't made it, but this didn't mean they were expendable. Then again, Trudy had hunted and killed most of the food they had. She had betrayed her own pack to save them, what would become of her if she was left alone? She was incredibly intelligent and Jemma had no doubt she would feel abandoned.    
  
"I think we'll try to take them with us. If they don't want to come, we won't force them." This seemed like a suitable answer for now because nobody objected. They had probably all thought about the logistics and obligations Jemma had.

Skye tried to imagine leaving any of the animals they lived with behind at this point. Logically, she knew all the reasons why they shouldn’t bring them along. Emotionally, it hurt to imagine leaving them after the way they’d all bonded. Extra room was good but adding the animals meant they couldn’t pack even more food and water in the raft. Water was going to be the absolute most important thing. They had salvaged every single life vest they could and were going to fill them all up and seal them off so they could hold the water. They had the plastic bottles as well and they had done everything they could to route through any and all supplies that might be able to double as a container to fill. There was no telling how long they would be at sea. It could, hopefully, be a short time and they wouldn’t run out of water, or they would be at the mercy of any storms they came across. It would be difficult to hope for storms when they were on the open ocean in a homemade boat. 

Skye reached out and put a reassuring hand along Jemma’s lower back to try and help set her at ease. “I think Ruby will follow you into the boat. We’ll be sure to give her a tour of it before we go home tonight, so he won’t be afraid of it when the time comes, okay?” she asked. There couldn’t have been a single one of them that would be willing to force Ace to part from the pet after the way he’d lost his dad. Likewise, Skye didn’t want Jemma to have to leave Trudy behind. Hell, Skye didn’t want to leave Trudy behind. Skye wasn’t exactly okay with abandoning things, so there was that too.

Ace wasn’t sure about either of their answers but he gave a nod of agreement. “Okay,” He climbed to his feet and started calling Ruby to come with him. Rex happily flopped through the sand to follow after them. The others finished off their food and began to stand up so they could head back to work. 

Skye leaned over and kissed the top of Jemma’s shoulder after watching them go. “We won’t just leave them behind, Jem,” she assured. 

"We've lost enough friends to last a lifetime." Jemma said sadly. It was accompanied by a small exhale, not quite a sigh. She turned her head and kissed Skye's cheek as a thank you for the comforting reassurances. "Let's not lose any more, people and animal alike."

________  
  


Skye tried to keep a mental count of the days now. She wasn’t sure if it was better or worse for her mentally to do this in the long run, but some days she couldn’t help it. Today was day eighty-five. For seven weeks and one day, they had been living on this island after surviving a plane crash. That plane crash was possibly the result of sabotage by members of the group of survivors that had broken off into their own faction. The island they lived on was some kind of refuge for animals and plant life that hadn’t existed for millions of years. They had grown very close as a group of survivors, became friends and family alike and had lost far too many of their numbers in many horrific manners. Now they were almost finished building what they hoped was a sturdy enough boat to see them through an attempt at sailing away from the island and back to civilization. It was amazing that they were alive to begin with. It was amazing that their group had come together the way they had in order to continue surviving and taking care of each other. It was amazing that they’d found animals among the extinct species to bond with them rather than to eat them. Most amazing, at least for Skye, was that amid all of this chaos and calamity, she’d found Jemma.   
  
These were the types of thoughts that crossed Skye’s mine on a day like day eighty-five, while she was trekking back to camp in the waning hours of the day with Mack, Trip and Will. Jemma, Raina, Ace, Buzz, Ruby and Rex had all made their way back a few hours ahead of the, but with the boat so close to completion, Skye’s boat crew wanted to get in as much work as they could for the day. They were about halfway back to camp when Skye spotted some particularly large aloe plants. They had been preserving and storing so much that they beach crew hadn’t been using all that much on the patches of sunburn they were getting throughout their deeply tanned skin. Skye saw the opportunity and decided she should take it.   
  
“Guys, I’ll catch up in a minute. I’m gonna grab some extra aloe from down the way,” she pointed, “and use the restroom.”   
  
“I can hang back and wait for you,” Trip offered.   
  
Skye could see they were all exhausted so she shook her head and said, “Nah, I’m good. I’ll catch up in fifteen, twenty minutes, tops,” she assured them with a smile. The others were too tired to argue and it wasn’t like Skye wasn’t well armed and capable of protecting herself. After they moved on, Skye diverted over through the trees off the path. She uprooted a number of larger aloe plants and carefully stored as much as she could in her messenger bag. When she was done she walked a few feet further into the forest and pulled released her belt buckle, the button on her worn jeans and slipped the zipper down so she could crouch to relieve herself.   
  
When she was finished peeing, she slipped her messenger bag strap back over herself crossways as she stood and tugged her bottoms back up. They were looser now than they had been when they’d landed; in fact she knew that if it wasn’t for the belt, they’d have fallen off her hips even with the button and zipper fastened. As she pulled the material together, preparing to button her pants, something rustled in the trees in front of her. Skye’s head snapped up but before her eyes could focus on whatever was advancing on her, the towering figure - which turned out, unfortunately, to be a human - advanced on her and had her slammed into the trunk of the tree behind her, pinned tightly by her throat. Reflexively, Skye’s hands flew up to her neck and tried to pry the hands free as she gasped for air.   
  
“Well, wellllll,” The thick, deep voice belonged to John Garrett and it made Skye’s spine shudder as his eyes wandered the length of her body. “Looks like I caught the big bad spy with her pants down,” He grinned at her.   
  
If he hadn’t pinned her so tightly to the tree, her pants would have slipped right down her legs. As it was, they had slipped past her hips and were at the tops of her thighs. She dropped her left hand down while still struggling with her right, to try and reach for her gun. She ground her teeth together and tried to calm herself down. If she panicked, she’d lose consciousness faster. She couldn’t scream for help and her friends were probably too far to hear her at this point. She couldn’t reach her gun, her knife or her machete right that second so she had to make the smartest decision possible right now.   
  
“Tell me Skye…do they know it’s your fault they’re dying one by one in this hell hole?” Garrett asked with a sneering chuckle. “Hm? Have you told them who you really are?” he leaned closer to her, brought his nose near the back of her jaw and inhaled a long, deep breath through his nose as the end of it drew along the back of her jaw. Skye ground her teeth together tightly as her spike shuddered uncontrollably as his closeness. Just as he was taking that disturbing sniff of her scent, he jammed his leg between hers and Skye’s nails bit harder into the flesh of Garrett’s hand. They dug deep enough to draw blood but Garrett just snickered. His grip on her neck released just enough to allow her to gulp down gasps of air.   
  
“You,” Skye spit out between gasps.   
  
“Me?” Garrett arched his eyebrows, amused at the way she looked like a fish out of water, taking its last gasps of life. “What about me, Skye? What’s your real name anyway? Hm? Do you know it? I bet you don’t do you? I do though…Do you want to know it?”   
  
Skye blinked, caught off guard by the words. She ground her teeth a moment and spit a few more words out as she caught a tiny bit of her breath. “You brought that plane down,” She spat at him.   
  
Garrett grinned at her, beamed even. “Now what makes you say that, Daisy?” He asked.   
  
Skye stared at him. Her skin felt like it was crawling with fire ants at his proximity, pressed up against her after she’d been left vulnerable by her own stupid choices. She mentally cursed herself for not letting Trip stay behind with her, for dropping her guard in the jungle like she had. How long had Garrett been watching her before he pounced? Long enough. She tried to ignore his taunts about her name. “You and Ward. I knew you were trying to take him before we could get to Los Angeles,” she ground out. “You fucked up…whatever you were tryin’ to do…you fucked up and landed us here.” She choked out, even managed a snort of laughter.   
  
Garrett’s eyes darted back and forth as his smile drooped, taking in her words. He pulled her off the tree by her neck and slammed her back against it again. Skye groaned as her head, neck and shoulders slammed into the tree. “You think anything you did matters? Hm? Do you?” He demanded. Delirious, Skye laughed and Garrett clamped his hand down on her throat. “You lost, Daisy. You lost. You’re all going to die here. That little useless raft you’re building? You’re never going to set sail. I see your dwindling numbers. One by one you’re dropping like flies, aren’t you? Spread a bit thin. Look at you right now, you’re skin and bones, can’t even keep your pants up…” His dragged his free hand roughly down along her side, against her ribs and down to her hip. Skye clenched her teeth and her eyes as his finger traced along the inside of the waistband of her underwear.   
  
Skye dug her nails in deeper to his hand, pushed at his shoulder with her left hand. Her heart beat so fast in her chest in conjunction with the lack of oxygen that her vision began to blur. She was starting to lose consciousness and if that happened, she knew she was a goner. She opened her mouth and moved it like she was trying to speak.   
  
Laughing, Garrett very slightly loosened his grip. “What? What was that Daisy? What were your trying to say?” He taunted her, turning his head and leaning his earn close to her mouth.   
  
“I…s-sent…sent the…drives…ahead,” She gasped out. Just before Garrett pulled away, Skye lunged forward and sunk her teeth into the flesh of his ear. She clamped her jaw shut and yanked her head back. Garrett’s grip on her neck loosened as he shouted in pain and yanked his head away, further tearing the flesh and cartilage of his ear. Skye spit out the piece that came free in her mouth along with the blood that wound up in there with it, both hit Garrett in the face. At the same time she balled her left fist, reeled back and swung as hard as she could at Garrett’s lower right side, near which she knew Jemma had performed surgery on him. The sight was healed by now but Skye was hoping that the fact that it had been makeshift last resort surgery would mean he was full of scar tissue in the area. In conjunction with his ear, the punch was enough to send Garrett stumbling backwards.   
  
As soon as she was free, Skye yanked her jeans up and hooked the button as she gasped loudly. She rushed forward and swung her knee up into Garrett’s groin. As soon as he stooped over, Skye swung her stronger, right fist at his face. Her knuckled caught him in the nose and then her elbow followed through and slammed into it a second time until he was on his back.   
  
Skye’s hands shook as she yanked her gun out of its holster and aimed it down at him. Garrett threw his hands up in surrender from the ground as he gasped from the blows she’d delivered him, bled from the face. “Now, now, don’t be hasty, Daisy-,”   
  
“Shut up!” Skye rasped roughly. Her vocal chords strained.  “You…you shut up!” She spat at him. It took some heaving breaths for her aim to steady. Garrett tried to sweep at her legs but Skye was prepared now. She jumped over his booted foot and slammed her own boot down into his gut to knock the wind out of him. When he doubled over, on his side, gasping for air, Skye swung the butt of her gun at his temple twice until he was writhing on the ground in pain. She dropped down to her knees and grabbed him by the scruff of hair at the back of his head, pulled it back so they were face to face and jammed the end of the gun into his other temple. Garrett grimaced. “Look at me you sick fuck – look at me!” She ordered. Spit and blood flew from her mouth as she shouted it and splattered Garrett’s already bloody face.   
  
Garrett opened his eyes and they stared at Skye. There was a bemused look on his face, like he thought it was hilarious that she might blow his brains out right then. “You and your worthless piece of shit little lapdog were too late. How’s that make you feel, huh? I sent three copies of the hard drives I had on that plane that I got from the informant stateside to difference safe houses. And I sent fifteen copies of coded instructions for how to access them – all of them days ahead of that flight.” She spat at him. Garrett’s eyes widened. “Yeah,” Skye nodded. “I’m smarter than you. I’m stronger than you. I’m faster than you. I’m not a worthless, sadistic scumbag.” She ground out through her tightly clenched teeth. “Tell me, how’s that make you feel, huh?” she demanded. Garrett struggled and Skye tightened her grip on his hair, pushed the point of the gun muzzle into his skin until the metal dug in. “Give me a reason…go ahead…taunt me again. You want to throw me quote-unquote real name at me? Go ahead, say it. Say the whole thing. SAY IT!”   
  
“Daisy!” Garrett sputtered. “Daisy Johnson! That’s your name! Your real name!”   
  
“You think I didn’t know that already? Hm?” Skye asked. “You think you know something about me because you found a piece of paper before I expunged it from the records, huh? Is that what you think?” She practically shook with rage over him – all the fear and anxiety she had bottled up for so long was ready to blow. It would be so easy. All she had to do was pull the trigger and Garrett would be gone. They wouldn’t have to worry about him. Ward, Creel, the others? They would be lost without him pulling their puppet strings. Just one bullet was all it would take. What would Jemma think of her if she did it, though? She had Garrett subdued. He was no more a threat to her now than any of the other times she’d bested him. It wasn’t self-defense if she did it this way. It was cold blooded murder. But it would be murder for the sake of protecting the others, wouldn’t it?   
  
“You can’t do it, can you?” Garrett suddenly realized.   
  
Skye clenched her jaw. Did he want her to kill him? Was that what this was? He was taunting her into killing him? Was he that much of a coward? “My name…is Skye,” she reeled back with the gun and swung it at him, this time ensuring he was unconscious as she let him collapse back to the ground. She swiftly stood up and kicked him hard in the ribs a few times before he jeans slipped a bit. Backing well out of arm’s reach, she pulled the zipper of her jeans up and buckled her belt firmly back in place. Her hands trembled as she backtracked her way to the path quickly before she left temptation talk her into murder.   
  
At the path, flicked on the safety with her thumb and shoved the gun back in its holster and then turned to head for camp. Her feet moved swiftly, taking her at a speed walk that soon turned into a jog, then a run and then she was downright sprinting along the path, dodging known pitfalls. She was soaked with sweat by the time she reached the clearing and didn’t even greet Raina standing guard in the tree. She pushed through the door and within feet of heading for the pond, literally ran right into Bobbi.   
  
“Sorry,” Skye breathed as she jumped back to keep the collision from toppling them to the ground. “I…” She took another step back without looking at Bobbi, glad her hair was loose and in her face, covering most of her neck. “I found a ton more aloe,” she whipped the bag off and shoved it out toward Bobbi quickly, giving her no choice but to take it. “Can you give this to Jem? - I need to, um, clean up, I’ll be…I’ll be back,” Right.    
  
Skye didn't wait for a reply. She quickly turned and headed for the most secluded side of the pond she could. There she kicked out of her boots and peeled her shirt off. She took off her belt and climbed into the shallows without peeling her pants or sports bra off. She immediately scooped up handfuls of water, washing her face off and her mouth out. She scrubbed Garrett's blood off her mouth, her chin and her neck. Next she scrubbed at her forearms, her elbows and her raw knuckles until she'd broken open the one she'd split on Garrett's face. The harder she scrubbed at the red, raw skin, the dirtier it felt and more she felt his touch crawling across her flesh. Her breath came out in frantic chops and she struggled to control it and her pulse while trying in vain to rid herself of his scent, his proximity, his unwanted touch imprinted on her skin.    
  
“Skye told me to give these to you.” Bobbi found Jemma in the cave feeding scraps and guts from the fish Trip had caught to Rex, who was gobbling them up like he hadn’t just started eating solid food only days ago. He had grown tremendously in little over a week, he had gone from the size of housecat to a medium sized dog. It was quite astounding really and Jemma was thankful Skye was good at training him. When she was interrupted by a voice that wasn’t Skye’s, though, she looked up with a frown. Bobbi was back, which meant Skye should as well. Every time they were separated Skye always came to check in with her before she did anything else, so it was more concerning that Skye seemed to have something more important on her mind.

“Is she okay?” Jemma took the plants and set them on her opposite side from Rex so he couldn’t destroy them. He tried to crawl over her lap to bat at the leaves but Jemma lifted him up and moved him back to his assigned spot.

“She stopped to pick up plants and go to the bathroom and when she caught back up she looked in disarray and had blood on her face. She wasn’t injured though.” Bobbi informed her. She knew Jemma would ask so she hadn’t led with it. It hadn’t appeared to be serious and she’d clammed up about it when she’d asked before, so she hadn’t wanted to push it, knowing Jemma would be able to get it out of her when she got back anyway.

“Watch Rex for me?” Jemma held out the toddler sized tiger from under his arms and Bobbi awkwardly took possession of him. Jemma slid past and Rex started crying, but she shushed him and continued walking. She found Skye cleaning up in the pond and she jogged to the water’s edge. She considered calling out to her, but it would be much more comforting to join her and she was about due for a washing anyway, so she pulled off her shoes, vest, shirt, and pants and walked waist deep into the water.

“Hey,” Jemma put a gentle hand on Skye’s shoulder blade to get her attention. “Did something happen?” She asked.

Skye's mind was a maze of thoughts at the moment. She hadn't known that anyone else knew her birth name. It was the only thing she'd ever found on her birth certificate, no name for her mother or father as the original paperwork had been destroyed to begin with and Skye had erased all traces of it she could find from the web, expunged them down to a single SD card which resided in the hidden compartment that still held Miles' original hard drives in her messenger bag one copy was also in a safe deposit box in San Diego under a carefully crafted fake identity. Whoever Ward and Garrett worked for, they knew more than Skye originally suspected. Garrett confirmed that the plane went down because she and Miles boarded that plane, but it was also clear that she was right, the intention hadn't been to down the plane so much as to dispose of Miles.    
  
She was still trying to sort through everything, still trying to just clean the filth off of her skin, when she felt the hand on her shoulder. Skye was wholly unprepared for human touch at the moment it happened. Her muscles locked for a split second before she spun away and, stumbled on the river rocks below her bare feet as she tried to place distance between herself and the person and whipped around, fixed wild wide eyes on the culprit. Even though she could see it was Jemma, the color was drained from her face and her now soaked hair stuck to parts of her face and her bruise neck as her hands sat suspended in air in preparation of protecting herself.    
  
"It's fine," she blurted, winded from the exertion of running and from the sudden scare. "I'm fine, it's nothing," the lie came before she could even think to stop it. "I'm fine." She was still trembling so she dropped her hands into the water to take them out of view. She didn't need to defend herself from Jemma. It was just a reaction, she took care of the problem herself and she was perfectly fine. Too many memories had flooded her brain from the moment Garrett pinned her to the tree until now for Skye to compartmentalize everything in her brain the way she normally did. Everything was out, open and sprinting around her brain and she couldn't quite wrestle everything back into submission.

Skye’s jumpiness alone was enough to make Jemma concerned. Her adamant refusal that anything was wrong only confirmed her suspicions. She was more observant than the average person and she could hear the strain in Skye’s voice, how gravely and forced it was. She had seen how quickly Skye had plunged her hands into the water. It was hard not to notice the bruising.

“Skye,” Jemma sighed. She stayed put, not wanting to come forward and touch her or startle her further. Something had happened, determining what was Jemma’s mission and she wasn’t going to just let it go if it affected Skye as much as it was. She had a few unconfirmed ideas. “You can’t lie to me.” Jemma tried to not sound accusatory, but she needed Skye to know one, that she could see through her poker face, and two, that there was nothing she needed to hide from her. Whatever it was, Jemma could take it, just like Skye always did for her.

Skye's still wide eyes darted away, searching for any escape she could take right now to avoid this conversation. She'd been stupidly caught by surprise by Garrett and it was her own fault she'd been caught in the position she'd been in but that didn't mean that she had to tell everyone about this and make a big deal about it. It happened. It was over. Skye was okay. "It was nothing," she cross her arms this time, tight across her chest and backed toward the shallows again. Her soaked jeans, which she never would have left on while combing into the water to clean off unless she had to, hung low on her hips, exposed a red scratch above her waistbands from Garrett’s assault. "Everything's fine. It's handled. I just...needed to clean off." There weren't many places she could escape to around camp but somehow in her mind at the moment a retreat from the water and covering backup was somehow going to assure Jemma that she was really okay. She didn't realize at the moment that, aside from the scratches at her waist, her back was already fading from red splotches to purple bruises from being slammed  against the tree trunk.

"It was one of Ward's group, wasn't it?" Jemma kept prying. She wasn't going to let it go and she knew from experience that Ward and his friends were creeping around in the jungle watching them. It was clear Skye had been in a fight and she wasn't convinced it was a dinosaur or that Skye was fine.

Skye made it to the knee deep water before Jemma’s question hit her ears and made her stop. She knew she had to tell Jemma. She knew it meant she had to tell her other things too, more of those things she’d kept to herself for so long. For now, she hung her head as water dripped from her soaked hair and gave her head a small nod or two. “Garrett.” 

"Did he hurt you?" Jemma came closer to Skye but didn't touch her in case she didn't want to be touched. Her fists were clenched at her sides and her jaw was tight. If she had saved him and he had repaid her by doing something to Skye…

Skye shuddered at the thought and the terrible memories it kept far too close to the surface for Skye’s liking. She shook her head. “Didn’t let ‘im,” She answered. She took a long breath and hazarded a glance over her shoulder toward Jemma but kept her eyes down and away from hers. “Was my own fault,” she shook her head, angry with herself that she’d let any of them get the drop on her, let alone Garrett. “Wasn’t paying attention.” Skye was caught between the overwhelming urge to flee and hide herself away until she’d managed to get control of herself, to put all of those carefully crafted semblances of control back into place and the strong urge to fall into Jemma’s arms and allow herself to be coddled in the wake of what happened. It could have been much, much worse. Skye knew that. Even so, too many parts of her were warring with the other parts of her so she stood still, stuck and shivering, her arms tucked tight and defensively around herself. 

"It's his fault and you should know it." Jemma said firmly. She couldn't help the anger seeping through to her voice. It wasn't with Skye, but with Garrett and herself for allowing this to happen. Jemma had been the one to save Garrett and not only had it caused them both a world of hurt immediately after, but whatever happened to Skye was also partially Jemma's fault. Trying to decide what was right and wrong only became more difficult the longer they were on the island. Having this information, Jemma was no longer sure if, given the opportunity, she would do everything the same way.    
  
"If you need to talk about it..." Jemma forced herself to take a deep breath and walk up to Skye's side. Skye needed Jemma to be calm and collected so it would help seep into her too. If she was angry the negative emotion would only stress Skye further. "You know I'm here for you." She didn't know if Skye was comfortable with her touching her shoulder, so she tried something easier like her hand. She grimaced at the split, swollen knuckles, but tried to hide it.

Skye tried, she really tried, to reign in her emotions. It seemed that was something she’d lost the most control of since landing on this island, or maybe since she’d started opening up to Jemma after they ended up here? She wasn’t sure. Either way, she shook her head about talking about it, but still wound up saying. “I saw the aloe plants...Trip offered to stay behind with me, but they were so tired I let them go ahead,” Her voice shook here and there, came out raspy from the soreness of having been choked. “I had to pee, then I was gonna c-catch up, but he just...out of nowhere,” the tears actually welled and sprung free from the corners of her eyes before she’d realized they’d happened. She pulled one of her hands up - the one that wasn’t curling around Jemma’s despite the gnarled knuckles - and quickly wiped at her cheeks before she dropped her eyes immediately and sniffled. “I should’ve been more prepare-,”

"Did he...?" Jemma's words got stuck in her throat. She knew it was a common thing for sexual assault victims to obsess over cleanliness afterward. That was how she had felt when Ward had tried to do the same thing to her. But if Garrett had succeeded, Jemma knew she would never be able to forgive herself for saving his life. "I'll kill him." Jemma grumbled before Skye could even answer. Just the fact that he had done something to get her so shaken up made Jemma's blood boil.

Skye shook her head. She wiped off her cheeks again and as she dropped her hand her fingers fell over the scratch marks below her navel from his unwanted touch. “He pinned me by the throat,” She answered quietly. A few more stray tears sailed down her cheeks when she closed her eyes a moment as she thought about the way he’d jammed his leg between hers a moment. She cleared her throat, grimaced at the pain in her throat. “Taunted me, smelled me,” She couldn’t help the shudder that shook down her spine. “Groped…” She closed her eyes again and shook her head. “It doesn’t matter, I’m fine, I’m fine, I handled it and I’m fine,” The last words came out rapidly, more to herself than to Jemma, as if the repetition would make it true. 

"Skye," Jemma called out to her softly to get her attention back from where it had wandered to. She wanted to hold Skye close and coddle her until she felt better, but she was unsure if the physical contact was welcome. She started with a gentle hug, ghost light touch as her arms wrapped around Skye's waist.    
  
"I swear if I ever see him again, I'll kill him." Jemma meant it. If this was how he was going to act when he was alive because of Jemma's extreme risk and generosity, he didn't deserve it. She didn't care that before she would never dare to hurt another human being. She'd never wanted anyone to be killed before, but she found herself wanting to have eye contact with Garrett as the life drained out of him.

At first, Skye stiffened, her muscles tensing reflexively but a moment later she buried her face into the crook of Jemma’s neck and shoulder and leaned into the embrace. “I couldn’t do it,” Part of Skye was mad at herself that she hadn’t done it. Garrett did deserve it. But she’d neutralized him by that point, her brain had been thoroughly unraveled by then and she just, she couldn’t do it. “He knew my name, I don’t know how he...and then I just...I couldn’t…” she sniffled quickly and exhaled a shaky breath. ‘I’m okay,” she breathed and repeated it a second time, a third, a fourth, a fifth time. Her legs wobbled a bit as the last of her adrenaline faded and the true weight of the day hit her from all the work on the boat to the fear and shock from what happened with Garrett. It was all too overwhelming. She needed a reset. What she wouldn’t give for a bottle of any strong liquor right then...

"It's okay if you're not okay." Jemma assured her, giving gentle, period squeezes to help calm her down. From what Skye was saying, Garrett had confirmed himself as the terrorist, so in Jemma's mind, his trial was over. He was guilty. He had caused every single bad thing that had happened over the last 85 days. Hundreds of lives were cut short. He had probably done much more before the plane crash had even happened and the fact that he knew so much about Skye made Jemma fear for her. If he had had enough ammunition to spare it to trade with her, then what did they have at their camp? They knew about the boat, too, so Jemma didn't know what they were waiting for.    
  
"The sails on the boat aren't completely finished." Jemma's comment seemed random, but it was the start of a much bigger idea. "They'll think we're launching when the sails are done. I say we load up what we need and finish the sails once we're off shore." She suggested. A distraction would do nicely for Skye. That and a long rest with cuddling from both herself and their animals.

Skye’s arms slowly released from her or torso and circled around Jemma’s to hold on in an attempt to ground herself. She didn’t have a choice on this. She had to be okay. There was work that still had to be done. She had to pull it together and she had tonight alone to do it. It was her fault they were on this island. Maybe Garrett brought down the plane, but Skye had boarded it with Miles and Garrett and Ward were after the two of them. It was Skye’s fault. She sniffled quickly and then shook her head. “Is that a good idea?” she asked, unsure if setting sail without actually having a sail was a dangerous move or not. After a moment, she rasped out, “...Is it okay if we lay down?” She felt like a coward, wanting to just burrow and cower but she couldn’t seem to help it. 

"Of course. Come on," Jemma kept one arm wrapped around Skye's waist and helped her the rest of the way out of the pond. Once back in the cave, the others turned away so Jemma could help Skye into her pajamas. She got dressed herself and pulled back their blankets, gesturing for Skye to get under them. Bobbi brought Rex over and passed him off to Jemma, who sat him down in the bed as even more of a temptation for Skye. Once she laid down, Jemma slipped in behind her. Skye was holding onto Rex and Jemma had herself tucked against Skye's back, arm around her waist and forehead against the back of Skye's head.    
  
"It'll be alright. We just need to get off the island and then we can put up the sail and be on our way." Jemma brushed Skye's hair out of her face and over her shoulder and very softly kissed at the side of her neck. "I've drawn up a few plans so we know which direction to head once the sail is up." She added. This was just as important an accomplishment as the boat itself, so they were practically ready.

Skye tried her best to relax her muscles as much as possible. It took her some time, even with Rex nuzzled up against her front and Jemma behind her sandwiching her in a protective cocoon. She leaned back against Jemma and turned her head a bit to look over her shoulder. “How’d you figure that out?” she asked, genuinely curious. She wanted off this island so bad even though they had no idea what was in store for them by taking this chance to leave on the boat. She just wanted to keep her promise to get Jemma home and back to her parents. She wanted to get the others home too but her promise had been made to Jemma and Skye didn’t make promises just for the sake of it. She made them to keep them. 

"It's an incredibly crude plan." Jemma shook her head against Skye's. It wasn't like she had spent hours grueling over the notebook and she didn't know any constellations to help guide them, it had been simple logic. "We were flying northeast to get from Indonesia to Los Angeles. This means that we crashed on the west side of the island and need to travel around the island to head northeast again. Follow the sunrise. We could hit the United States or we could land in Mexico or even South America, but it would be hard to miss the entire land. We'll get there." Jemma explained. "So what do you think about convincing everyone to pack up tomorrow?"

Skye turned her head back to face Rex when he squirmed around and wiggled closer to nuzzle at her chin. She wondered how many days it would take them to cross so many miles. Islands would be hit or miss in the Pacific. There was a lot of ocean to travel. There were a lot of things that could go wrong. What if they were just sailing to their deaths? Was that any better than trying to keep living here as long as possible and eventually dying some way or other? She reached for Jemma’s hand with her own. “...Do we have enough supplies?” She asked. Should they try to add more in place of the weight they would be missing with the others? While Skye was pondering this, Trudy wandered in, assessed the situation before her and climbed into the end of the bed, laid across their legs and settled her head down against their hips without fussing over not being able to steal Skye’s spot. 

"I... don't know." Jemma sighed. She was no sailor and she had no idea how long it would take, so she didn't know if they would have enough supplies of if they would eventually starve or die of dehydration on the open ocean. "I just don't want to let this situation with Garrett play out on his terms. If we want a shot at getting away it needs to be soon." Jemma pointed out. They were clearly being watched so if they waited until the boat was done and gathered more supplies, they would know the date they were leaving and would probably find a way to ruin everything.

Skye nodded but stayed quiet a moment. “I get that,” she said finally. “But we can’t rush supplies because we’re scared. We can started packing up the cases tomorrow and take inventory. If it’s enough, maybe we can go in a day or two...once we’re further on the sail too?” She wanted to leave. She really, really, really wanted to leave...but she couldn’t let them do it haphazardly. They had to use caution, even if it meant fearing a full clash with Ward, Garrett and crew. Skye wanted them to have the best chance possible because she knew it was going to be a very long, very tough road. 

"I trust your judgment." Jemma kissed Skye's temple and laid back down. She gave Rex's fur a ruffle and rubbed her hand up and down Skye's arm to help comfort her. She even went as far as to tuck the blankets around them a little more snugly, anything that would mean Skye felt safe, or at least as safe as a person could feel in a place like this. "Everything's about to change." Jemma breathed. It would be no cruise, that was for sure.

“I love you,” Skye brought Jemma’s hand up and kissed it. That, at least, wasn’t about to ever change. It was their one static, solid grounding to keep footing on through whatever came next. 


	23. The Avenger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warning:** TW: sexual assault, there's also a lot of bloody violence in this chapter. 
> 
> HELLO AND WELCOME TO A SURPRISE EARLY CHAPTER POST!   
> It's shorter than our normal but since we're a bit ahead and have it done, here it is for you! Why? Because we love you and you deserve it!   
> <3 for all of you for sticking with us, for the comments, kudos and love you always give us!   
> To anyone in areas affected by disasters be they rain, flooding, fires, hurricanes, mudslides or any of the other ways the planet's trying to pick us off, stay safe! Floridians - get out before there's even a chance of you being in the way of Irma!! <3<3<3
> 
> Without further ado, hang onto your butts and #whereverwednesdays!!
> 
> __________________

"Alright, group one, let's move!" Jemma called out. They'd packed all of their things over two days and finished up the sail, they just had yet to hoist it up so the boat didn't appear complete from an outsider's perspective. Hopefully it was enough to trick Garrett, though Jemma wasn't convinced, so they made sure to be as heavily armed as possible. They'd organized into two groups so that one could haul things down to the beach while the other watched their things at the camp. When group one returned, group two would depart, and it would go back and forth until everything was loaded. They were planning on leaving the moment everything was on the boat. If they left it overnight it would be impossible to defend and all their supplies would be gone.   
  
"Ready? This could be one of our last hikes on this island." Jemma positioned her rifle over her shoulder and grabbed for Skye's hand once it was freed up. Soon they would be rid of this place and would never have to see it again.

Skye took a deep breath and looked around. “Feels weird,” She said as she squeezed Jemma’s hand. She smiled and leaned over to kiss her. “Remember our first hike together out here from the beach?” she asked with a small smirk. She let go of Jemma’s hand only so she could free up her hand for grabbing her gun if needed. She grabbed the handle of a rolling hard shell suitcase that had a full duffel bag hanging from its short handles and sitting on top. She had a heavy backpack on plus her usual messenger bag. “Seems like years ago, doesn’t it?” she asked as they started out of the place that had been there home for multiple months now. She whistled for Rex and he came pouncing along next to them while Buzz and Trudy followed behind too. 

"It's been far too long." Jemma agreed. She had on a messenger bag, a backpack, and her rifle and was carrying a medium sized duffel bag. Bobbi, Trip, and Mack were just as heavily loaded. It was a lot to carry, but they were trying to get this done in one load for each group. "Let's just hope our non human friends decide to join us." Jemma smiled, but inside she was worried. Rex she had no doubt would follow them, but Trudy could be testy and she wasn't certain the dinosaur would want to get on a boat. They were just going to have to see.   
  
"Enough with the nostalgia, we all know this place is a hellhole, we don't need to relish it." Bobbi grunted. It made Jemma laugh and Will opened up the doors in the tree to let them out.

Skye smirked at Bobbi. “I’ll be sure to keep mentions of it out of my speech at your and Hunter’s wedding when we get back stateside,” She teased with a wink. She glanced at Trudy and hoped that Trip’s leftover traps still on the beach had a fish or two in them so they could entice Trudy on the boat with food if she was finicky. One of the last things they had been doing over the last week or so had been digging a water trench. They had created a wooden damn for the trench that they could use to hold the water off until they were ready for it. When they pulled the damn up, the ocean water were dump into a trench under the boat so it could be floated out into the shallows since it would be hard to push through the sand otherwise. But their main goal was to get all the gear into its proper holding places balanced throughout the assigned places of the boat. 

"Just do everyone a favor and try to keep it pg on the boat." Jemma chuckled. "It will be quite crowded and there will be a child present."    
  
"Oh yeah, and what about you and Skye? As I recall you two stripped in the pond only a few days ago." Mack pointed out. Jemma slapped at his shoulder playfully, but didn't say anything because only she knew the true nature of why that had happened.

Skye snickered initially at Jemma’s comment but cleared her throat and gave Mack a mock salute while turning forward and falling quiet, at least until Rex tried to run ahead. “Rex,” She called his name and he skidded to a stop a few feet ahead of her and looked back. “Heel,” She told him. He looked ahead, like he was considering making a break for it until Skye said another stern, “Rex,” which made him grumble before he walked back and circled her to walk at her side. Skye grinned at him. “Good boy,” she reached down and scratched the top of his head which put a bounce back into his trot. 

The exchange made Jemma grin from ear to ear. Who knew Skye would be so good at training? And even more importantly, who knew a saber toothed tiger could act more like a dog? Jemma remembered the conversation she and Skye had had about getting a dog. Maybe this was the universe's weird way of giving them one. Though he was the size of a dog now, he wouldn't be in a few months. He would probably be bigger than any one of them, even Mack. That would be a sight to see if he still acted like a puppy.   
  
"Let's hope he behaves that well on the boat." Jemma chuckled, but she was starting to get out of breath. Lugging all their things to the beach was not an easy task, so they stayed mostly quiet the rest of the way to the coast because talking used up to much energy. By the time they finally hit sand, everyone groaned their way across the last few meters and dumped all of their bags onto the ground.   
  
"I think we should edit the system, at least someone should stay here to protect our things while group one goes back." Jemma said. They hadn't factored in the thought that maybe they were being watched right now.

Skye took a few deep breaths since she was a bit winded. She took a good look around the beach and the tree line,  looking for any signs of sabotage as she let the ocean breeze cool her sweaty skin. She turned to Jemma.  One of them would have to stay behind to keep a loaded gun with the boat crew. "Why don't you, Mack and Trip stay?  Bobbi and I can go back for the last group and gear?" She suggested as she took her backpack off to leave it behind. It was a relief to unload the weight and she rolled her shoulders to stretch them out.

"That sounds like a good plan." Trip agreed. Jemma and Mack nodded and shrugged their shoulders. They showed no signs of disagreement, but inside they were mostly just happy they wouldn't have to make the trek back, even empty handed, because they were so tired. Instead they just sat on their suitcases near the boat while Skye and the others started heading back to camp to fetch everyone else and the last of their things. It felt odd to Jemma that she had seen their camp for the last time, but she didn't exactly love the place so she didn't need a heartfelt goodbye. She just wanted them all to leave.   
  
Over an hour into the wait, they started to relax and didn't have their eyes constantly scanning the treeline. They loaded all the suitcases and bags onto the boat in an evenly distributed fashion and then sat back down in the sand. It wasn't too hot, but it was warm enough to start to put them to sleep. Trip laid down, rested a hand over his eyes, and started to actually softly snore. Mack and Jemma exchanged a small laugh and continued to keep a relaxed watch on the place.    
  
Mack got up to go to the bathroom. He didn't go far into the tree line and of course she didn't watch him, but she did keep an eye out on the section of trees where the well worn trail from their camp let out onto the sand.   
  
"Earth to Jemma." Mack waved his hand in front of Jemma's face when he came back and she shook her head some, trying to bring herself back from a daydream filled with air conditioning, showers, and food.    
  
"Sorry. At least I'm doing better than Trip." Jemma pointed her thumb over her shoulder at their sleeping friend and laughed. Mack was laughing along with her, and it made them even more amused that it didn't seem to wake Trip up.    
  
"Just think," Mack shook his head. Jemma enjoyed seeing him smile again after what happened to Elena. It had been difficult but it looked like the prospect of escape for them all was helping to pull them out of it. "In a few weeks we'll be-"    
  
Blood splattered across Jemma's face and as she shrieked, Mack's lifeless body toppled over into the sand. His eyes were unblinking, mouth still partially open, in the middle of a sentence.   
  
"What?!" Trip shot up and Jemma frantically crawled backward away from Mack's body. Someone had shot him in the head. Her eyes darted to the treeline just in time to see Ward, Garrett, Creel, Bakshi, and Hall charge from the trees. Ward had a rifle no different from Jemma's, and Garrett and Creel each had a smaller gun about the size of Skye's. Jemma scrambled to get to her rifle when she was still on her hands and knees but she stumbled over herself in the sand and a boot connected with her side just as she was reaching for it.   
  
"Jemma!" Trip shouted. He unsheathed his knife and Jemma's turned to see him. He was soon stuck in a struggle with creel, who hadn't shot him but hit him over the head with the butt of the gun. Killing Mack had probably been to get the numbers more on their side, and it didn't look like they were going to kill them. If they were going to, they'd both already be dead.   
  
"What have you done?!" Jemma managed to grab onto Ward's boot when it came at her again and she pulled it back behind her, causing him to slam his back into the sand when he fell backwards. Jemma knew when she did it that they were outnumbered more than two to one, but she wasn't going to submit. Hall joined in to subdue Trip and she could see them struggling but couldn't tell what was going on with the sand flying about.   
  
Before Ward could recover, Jemma frantically crawled from his feet to his head and slammed her fist into his throat. His hands came up and he started immediately coughing and wheezing, but Jemma's pride didn't get to last for long. Arms wrapped around her stomach, hauled her to her feet and even a few inches into the air, and threw her to the side. While she tried to catch her own breath, Garrett pinned her to the ground with his shoe on her stomach. It felt like her organs were being crushed and she groaned, but it didn't stop what was coming.    
  
Once Ward was back on his feet Garrett kicked at Jemma's ribs. They had never completely healed so the intense pain it brought on again made her cry out. There was no response from Trip, who as Jemma turned to see, was unconscious, a head wound across his temple and Creel, Bakshi, and Hall standing around him.    
  
"Sorry Sweetheart, it's nothing personal." Ward grabbed at her shirt and pulled her up to her feet. He hooked his arms under Jemma's, pinning them to her back. Before Jemma could get her bearings again, Garrett's fist came into contact with Jemma's face with jolting force. Her head swung back and was on Ward's shoulder and as disgusted by it as she was, she couldn't bring herself to lift her head when she was suddenly so dizzy. As soon as her head lulled forward, Garret hit her again, and a third time, and a fourth. Each time Jemma had less and less time to recover and by the time he stopped, Jemma could feel her left eye swelling shut and blood dribbling down her face from her nose, her busted lip, and her cheekbone where Garrett's ring had cut her face.   
  
"...why?" Jemma managed to cry. She couldn't get Mack's face out of her head and she was limp in Ward's arms, completely helpless and vulnerable. Mack was dead, Trip was unconscious, and she didn't know how long it would be until Skye got back with the others. It was her versus six men and she didn't like her chances.    
  
"Well you're about to leave us here for starters." Ward snapped, but Garrett gave him a look that told him to shut up.   
  
"Skye's clearly your leader and the best way to get to her is you." Garrett said it like it was completely logical, as if nothing he was doing was wrong in any way. "We're going to make a deal." He chuckled and cracked his knuckles, causing Jemma to flinch.    
  
"I saved you." Jemma grunted. She straightened out her legs so she was standing on her own, still held trapped, but at least showed some form of strength. Skye had been right about not saving Garrett. If he was willing to do this to her after what she risked for him, then what was he willing to do to the others?   
  
"This isn't your fault, dear Jemma." Garrett cupped Jemma's cheek and she jerked away from him, but as punishment Ward tightened his grip, nearly pulling her arms out of their sockets behind her. She whimpered and Garrett smirked. "Our quarrel is with Daisy."    
  
The way he said it made Jemma want to throw up. It was him. She was being held hostage by the terrorist that killed hundreds of people and had planned to kill thousands more. He knew who Skye was and he knew how much Jemma meant to her. It felt like game over.    
  
"What do you think she would do if she saw us?" Garrett chuckled. He stepped closer and Ward held her firm as his hand came up and he grasped the zipper of her CDC vest with two fingers. Jemma growled and he pulled it down one little click at a time.    
  
"You both look a little skinny, but I think you'll be more fun than Daisy. She was too difficult." Garrett's suggestion made Ward grin. Jemma didn't even have to see him to know, she could just feel it. Garrett's hands soon fell at her waist, gentle at first and then rough as he jerked her toward them, Ward moving forward with it to hold her still.    
  
"You wouldn't dare." Jemma hissed at him. The zipper came free and even though she was wearing a tank top under it Jemma suddenly felt exposed. The air on her upper chest and neck made goosebumps rise all over her skin even in the heat. Garrett looked her up and down and then the metallic sound of a knife being unsheathed made Jemma jump.   
  
"You don't know what we're capable of." Garrett tapped the tip of the blade against her cheek and Jemma flinched away from it. He found it a new home in between her collar bones and slowly, very carefully and without cutting her, dragged it down until it was at the top of her chest, pressed against the fabric of her tank top. Ward shifted and Jemma's jaw clenched because of what she felt behind her. She brought her foot up and jammed her heel down into Ward's toes, causing him to cry out. His grip on her faltered and she jerked free. She didn't even get a chance to move before Creel had come in from the side and shoved her with so much force that she immediately lost her balance and fell into the sand. Ward grabbed at her shoulder while she was still on her side and forced her onto her stomach.    
  
"Skye will kill you!" Jemma shouted at them while they tied her hands behind her back. Once they were secure, Garret jammed his boot underneath her and raised his foot, forcing Jemma to be roll onto her back or be jabbed in the ribs again. He immediately straddled her and with her hands tied behind her back, Jemma could do nothing but kick and lash out at nothing with her feet.    
  
"We'll see how tough you really are." Garret pushed the knife against her chest again, the tip digging in and drawing a bit of blood. He moved it to the hem of her shirt and while Jemma kicked and screamed he cut through the thin material from bottom to top and completely exposed Jemma except for her bra. He stood up and with a handful of her hair, he yanked Jemma up onto her knees.    
  
"Who wants to go first?" He called out. Ward stepped forward and got down on one knee in front of Jemma so he was on her level. Jemma's shoulders were tense and pushed forward, trying and failing to conceal herself.    
  
"I've been waiting for this." Ward laughed.    
  
"You're pathetic." Jemma spit in his face and Ward growled right back at her, brought his arm up and backhanded her across the face so hard she was sure it left a red imprint.    
  
"I'm not the one who's bound and weak." Ward countered. Jemma wanted to point out that they had them outnumbered and had more weapons, but she didn't have time before Ward's hands were at the front of her pants, unbuttoning and unzipping them. Jemma tried to jerk back, but Garrett's grip on her hair was too tight and there was no slack.    
  
He roughly shoved his hand down her pants and Jemma shrieked, a last call for help and shut her eyes tightly so she wouldn't have to look at him. She couldn't do anything but take it with dignity.

Skye and Bobbi led the way back through the jungle to the beach from the front and back of the last of the group. They were careful to keep an eye out as they went, Rex walking to Skye's right and Trudy to her left. Fatigue wasn't a terrible factor for Skye at the moment as her energy was bolstered quite a bit by the realization that they were leaving this hellhole once and for all. Whatever happened from here on out would happen because of what they'd done for themselves. The hike was quiet as everyone carried their gear.    
  
They were still about fifteen minutes out when they heard the first alert of commotion - a rifle shot. Just one. The group froze for a moment.    
  
"Skye," Bobbi called from the back of the group but Skye had dropped the duffle and messenger bags from her shoulders and was already off in motion, running.    
  
Bobbi caught up to her first while the others began dropping their bags and pulling their knives to run. They stopped as they approached the tree line, Skye only stopping when Bobbi pulled her arm roughly. “Wait, let’s see what we’re running into first!” She hissed.   
  
Sweaty and winded, Skye barely managed to keep Rex and Trudy back. “Mack…” she breathed, her eyes landing on his body by the boat first. Mack was lying bloodied and clearly dead from the gunshot wound to the head. Trip was in the sand and from their distance, it was impossible to tell if he was breathing or not. Skye almost bolted immediately when she saw a bloodied Jemma being forced to her knees in the sand. Bobbi grabbed her again and Skye had to force herself to order Rex to stay. Trudy shuffled on her feet and stayed put most likely because of the order to Rex.   
  
“We need to spread out and come at them from different angles. They’ll expect us to come from the path,” May whispered.   
  
Skye’s eyes were glued on the scene. She didn’t have time to sit here and formulate a solid, detailed plan. She grabbed her machete and gave it to Bobbi. “Will, Hunter, left flank. Bobbi, May right flank.” She turned “Raina, stay with Ace and Ruby.” She looked at Rex. “Stay,” he whined softly at her. “You stay until I tell you,” she looked at Trudy. “Go with Bobbi,” she nodded toward Bobbi and May. Trudy looked at the two and cocked her head. “Do it,” she said and Trudy stamped her feet and ruffled her feathers.   
  
Jemma screamed and Skye’s already boiling blood burst into flame in her veins. She took off at a full sprint from the path. Skye sprinting was no laughing matter. She was fast on her feet, even in her weakened island survival state, and especially with Jemma’s life on the line. As Creel, Bakshi and Hall laughed at Jemma’s screams, distracted, Skye switched to short, quick steps in order to steady her aim and took a shot at Creel to announce her presence. Creel dropped to the sand, his gun gone and clutching at his shoulder where Skye’s bullet hit. Skye, by then, was angled behind Garrett, Jemma and Ward so they couldn’t get a clear shot at her. She swung her gun up and aimed it, keeping her position carefully situated so they couldn’t take shots at her and aimed at Ward.   
  
“Let her go,” she growled loudly at him. “Now!” They’d signed their own death warrants as far as Skye was concerned now. Will and Hunter left the tree line near where the boat was, using it as cover to make their way around to try and flank Bakshi or Hall from the left. Bobbi and May were waiting for a distracted opening to charge. 

“Ah-ah, I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Garrett yanked Jemma up to her feet by her hair and Ward backed off, but pulled the rifle from his shoulder and aimed it for Skye. Jemma whimpered and made eye contact with Skye for a split second and closed her eyes when she saw the fury in Skye’s. This wasn’t going to end well. Garrett already had a knife to her throat and before anyone else could speak, Creel fired off a shot to the left flank and Will fell where he stood.

“No!” Jemma’s eyes flashed open and she twisted her head around Garrett’s shoulder to see Will and the big red spot growing in the sand. He was quiet, no groaning or sounds of pain. He was dead. Mack and Will were dead, and for what? They still didn’t know, but the shot fired at Will were the scissors that cut the rubber band tight tension on the beach. Trudy screeched and attacked, lunging for Hall and ripping out his jugular before he could even scream, sending blood spurting through the air in front of him. Garrett swung his free arm behind him, grabbed his gun, and tried to take a shot at Trudy. It missed, but Trudy jumped and her eyes zeroed in on Garrett, but it seemed that she could somehow sense that Jemma was in trouble.

“Don’t move or the doctor dies!” Ward shouted just as Bobbi raised her machete to try to attack Bakshi from the other side from Trudy. Creel had gotten back to his feet and had his gun trained on Bobbi and May. It was an overall tense, dangerous situation for everyone. They all knew Garrett and Ward had the power because none of Skye’s group was willing to sacrifice her. Once everyone was still and quiet, Ward rubbed one fist with his other hand and then turned on his heel and struck Jemma in the face. Her head swung back and then lulled forward accompanied by another groan. “That was for Hall and Creel. Feel like trying anything else?” He asked. Garrett held Jemma tightly with his arm around the front of her shoulders and had the blade firmly pressed against her throat in case anyone tried anything. They weren’t bluffing.

“Good. Now we can make a deal. We take the boat and you can have Jemma back, or you take the boat and we keep her here with us.” Garrett spoke up. He used the extra hand with the gun and stroked Jemma’s cheek just to taunt Skye into giving them what they wanted.

Skye ground her teeth together. Her hands were steady but the rest of her was shaking with rage. This wasn’t a choice for her. Garrett and Ward knew that. Everyone standing on the beach knew that. Mack and Will were dead already. She didn’t want anyone else to die but she couldn’t be solely responsible for handing over their escape to these terrorists. She damn sure wouldn’t let them have Jemma. Most importantly, they weren’t going to get away with what they’d done to Jemma, today or any of the days before it. “Option three...you let her go now and I’ll kill you quickly.” Skye’s voice was a deep rumble, authoritative and laced with a lethal calm, as if she knew she’d win and as if her heart wasn’t pounding in her chest, as if she wasn’t reeling by the fact that two more of their people were dead, as if she wasn’t just barely holding back from diving at Garrett and tearing his throat out with her bare hands and teeth. “I’ll repeat that if you’re having trouble hearing after I bit half your ear off,” She said to Garrett.

Garrett just laughed. For a sadistic psychopath who had nothing to lose, the situation was hilarious. Skye had everything to lose. Her escape, her friends, her... Jemma. It was all in his hands and Skye seemed to think she had the power.    
  
"Ward." Garrett gruffly grabbed his attention and made a jerking motion with his head from Jemma to him. In one fluid motion, he lowered the knife, pushed Jemma toward Ward, and had the gun aimed at Jemma's head. Ward's gun pressed into Jemma's temple and he was grinning with Jemma pressed up against him.    
  
"You think that's just hilarious, don't you?" Garrett spit at Skye. With his hand with the gun, he grabbed for Jemma's ear with two free fingers and with the other he brought the blade to Jemma's head where her earlobe met her skull. Jemma struggled, but Ward clamped his fingers around her throat and kept her still.

Skye’s eyes locked with Jemma’s just long enough for her to unlock her clenched jaw and press her lips together to let out a very specific, swift whistle. The leaves rustled and Rex let out an angry growl before racing the few feet across the sand. Ward dropped Jemma and started to whirl to aim at him but Rex leapt at him, clamped down on his arm and began scratching as his back with his front paws as they landed. As Garrett’s attention jerked to Rex, Skye took a carefully aimed shot that blasted through Garrett’s wrist of the hand that was holding the knife without hitting Jemma or causing him to take her ear off. Garrett fell back and as the others began to race in and fight, Skye blasted another shot, this one into Garrett’s knee cap. Trudy raced for Jemma to try and shield her from any other fighting and Skye ran for Garrett as he tried to scramble away in the bloody sand. 

Skye dropped the gun in the sand by Jemma and said, “Rope!” to Trudy so she’d know to free Jemma’s hands. She pulled her hunting knife from her belt and stalked after Garrett. She’d given him the chance to die quickly and he’d opted for the other option. Skye was more than willing to comply. She dropped to one knee next to his leg and swung her knife down into his already mangled kneecap. Garrett screamed and thrashed back, swung his bloody hand at her. Skye batted it away and punched him hard in the gut to knock the wind out of him. “Not so tough now, Big Man, are ya?” Skye asked. She twisted the knife and then yanked it out. She wanted to hear him beg now and didn’t care how sadistic that was at all. He gasped for air and when Skye brought the knife down this time, it was into his groin. That actually made Garrett sob in pain. She left the knife where it was and began to lay into him. She threw furious punches at him, dug her fingers into his eyes, dug her nails into his throat and tore at the flesh beneath her fingers as she began to see nothing but her fury for the man beneath her, swinging blow after blow, tearing and clawing until she was nearly elbow deep in his blood. 

Trudy dipped her head to Jemma laying on the ground, but she was interrupted by another shot going off. With Ward incapacitated by Rex and Garrett by Skye, Creel had the only gun left. Bobbi, Hunter and May were charging Creel and Bakshi and Creel was panicking and shooting. He managed to shoot May, who he hit in the neck. She collapsed into the sand groaning in pain and Jemma started screaming. Trudy screeched and Bobbi finally made it to Creel, swinging the machete and taking off the hand with the gun.    
  
"Fuck!" Creel shrieked. Bobbi swung the machete again and it slashed across his chest, sending him stumbling backward. Hunter tried to disarm Bakshi, but they got into a power struggle and before Bobbi could finish with Creel, Bakshi turned the knife around on Hunter and jammed it into his abdomen. He was choking and gurgling and Bobbi started screaming. She dropped to her knees by Hunter's side and her eyes shot between all of the dead lying on the beach.   
  
"Hey, stay with me, don't go." Bobbi grabbed for Hunter's hand and begged him, but by the blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth it was too late. May was still and silent and bodies were lying all around them, blood staining the sand.    
  
Creel managed to stand up and reach for the gun with his only remaining hand, but Trudy screeched and vaulted onto his back, sending the stray shot into the air to split bark at the tree line. When Creel's shrieking finally went silent as Trudy ripped into him with teeth and claws, the only sounds left were the crashing off the waves and the sobbing from Jemma and Bobbi and frustrated growling from Skye. Hunter's chest stopped moving and Bobbi slumped over his body and cried.

Skye didn't stop swinging at Garrett with her hands or her knife until he was writhing in agony, choking on his own blood. She climbed to her feet and grabbed her knife from where it was buried to the hilt in Garrett’s chest and stalked toward Ward and Rex. Ward let out high pitched shrieks as he tried to get away from Rex. Skye whistled again and Rex stopped what he was doing and sauntered over to stand at her side. Wide eyed, Ward dug at the sand to try and crawl away. Skye reached out, dropped a handful of sand into one of the large gashes on his back and then twisted her knuckles into them until Ward screamed for mercy. Skye grabbed him by a fistful of his hair and yanked his head up out of the sand and jerked it to face the devastation. "Give me one reason why I should show you an ounce of mercy," she growled at him. She yanked his own belt off of him, tied his arms behind his back and threw him in the sand on his back, wiped her bloody hands on his shirt.    
  
Skye climbed to her feet again, ignorant of the tears streaking her cheeks as she headed for Jemma. She cut Jemma's hands free and then reached for her face and shoulder. "Jem," Her voice cracked as she said it, relieved that Jemma was alive, horrified at what happened to her and that she hadn't been here to help her sooner. She quickly reached for the ends of Jemma's vest and zipped it up as apologies spouted off her tongue rapidly.

Jemma was hyperventilating. She had no idea who was even alive at this point and she initially flinched at Skye's touch. She was curled into a ball in the sand and only started to realize it was Skye when she zipped up her vest to help cover her and keep her decency. She let out a shaky breath and brought a hand up to her ear, where she felt a bit of dampness and pulled away to find blood on her fingers. It was all over her face, which was throbbing, and she had to squint through fuzzy vision to see Skye's face. When she did, she started sobbing and sat up, cradling an arm around her torso as she had after her ribs were broken. She threw her free arm over Skye's shoulder and held on tightly, sobbing into the crook of her neck.

Skye spotted the way Jemma was holding her torso and resisted the urge to go beat Ward into further oblivion between that and the terrible mess of Jemma’s face. She wrapped her arms around Jemma very carefully to avoid hurting her but applying enough pressure to let Jemma know she was there. “I’ve got you,” she promised. “You’re okay, I’ve got you, I’m sorry Jem,” she murmured against her uninjured ear. They could asses the rest of the mess in a moment. Right now she wanted Jemma to know that she was safe. They would need to bury their friends. They needed to get Ace and Raina from the jungle. They had to clean and dress wounds. But right now, Skye held onto Jemma. “I’ve got you,” she reminded her. 

"He..." Jemma couldn't finish. She felt disgusting and pressed her knees together so she couldn't feel Ward's hand. Her ribs ached and her face was throbbing. She didn't yet know how injured she was or who else was left alive but she couldn't think about anything other than what they had done to her and what could have happened to her if Skye hadn't shown up.

“I know,” Skye ran her hand along Jemma’s back as gently as she could. “You’re safe,” she promised. “Just breathe, Jem,” She coaxed as she forced herself to bite back another apology for not getting there in time. “You’re safe. Just breathe, nice and slow, okay?” She leaned back so she could look at Jemma, wanted to use her shirt to wipe Jemma’s face off but was afraid of hurting her. While looking her over, she spotted Jemma’s unfastened pants and her blood boiled again. She could only hope Ward lived long enough to either die of infection from the injuries Rex gave him...or compys would be attracted to his blood and devour him while he was still conscious enough to really feel it. “Jem...is it okay if I fasten your pants?” She asked gently, all her venom reserved for Ward and Garrett, none of it accidentally released toward Jemma. 

Jemma sniffled and froze when Skye asked her. Somehow she felt ashamed, like she had been caught doing something wrong even though she knew that wasn't the case at all. She nodded and brought her hand up to wipe some of the blood from underneath her nose and on her chin and cheeks, but she could feel that she was just spreading it around. Her vision was starting to come back but one eye was swollen and sore and her lip felt puffy. Her nose ached and she tried to just take a deep breath. There were more important things going on, but somehow she couldn't seem to focus. Maybe it was because she'd been hit in the head a few too many times.

Skye didn’t move at all until Jemma gave her the okay. “I’m just gonna fasten the button and pull up the zipper,” she said as she did both things. She let go right away once she was done and then gently touched a spot near the back of Jemma’s jaw along the side of her neck. “Is it okay if I move you?” she asked. “I want to bring you to the boat so we can clean you up and check on the others.” 

"I think I can walk." Jemma said quietly. She'd been tense while Skye fastened her pants but was starting to calm down, or at least come down to a level where she was aware of what was going on around her. Rex was nuzzling at her hand, Trudy was making small squawking sounds behind her, Bobbi was faintly sobbing, and she could hear footsteps in the sand. Her head shot up to see Raina approaching with a confused and very shaken Ace. Ruby cowered by his feet, aware of the bloodbath that had occurred.    
  
"Trip..." Jemma mumbled. She'd seen him go down but she didn't know if he was dead or just unconscious. She gripped at Skye's clothes to help haul herself to her feet and make her way over to him.

“Easy,” Skye said as Jemma climbed to her feet. She finally got to see the massacre around them. May was down. Will. Mack. Hunter. Skye shuddered. She turned to Raina as she helped Jemma move. “Help Ace into the boat, okay?” It was bad enough the kid had to see all of this, they could at least try to minimize the damage. When they made it to Trip, Skye helped Jemma back down to the sand. “I’m gonna check on Bobbi, okay?” They weren’t far from her but she asked first.

"He's alive." Jemma said when she saw him breathing and found a pulse. "Go," she looked up over her shoulder and advised Skye. Bobbi would need consoling after losing her copilot and boyfriend along with other friends all at the same time. Jemma wasn't even able to take it all in herself, but had it been Skye... she knew she wouldn't have been okay. 

Skye exhaled a relieved sigh when Jemma confirmed that Trip was alive. She nodded and kissed the side of Jemma’s head before she broke away to go to Bobbi’s side. “Bobbi…” She didn’t know what to say. She wanted to apologize. It wasn’t beyond her that this situation was her fault. They never should have split up into teams. They should have stayed all together. They would have had more numbers. Jemma wouldn’t have been used as leverage. This would have gone differently. She put her hand gently on the back of Bobbi’s shoulder. She couldn’t even fathom how she would be if Jemma hadn’t made it. She would have given up. That’s how it was before when she thought Jemma was dead after the night in the jungle. Bobbi had lost Hunter and May in one fell swoop. “I’m sorry,” She said. It was all she could say. When they’d left camp this morning, everyone was joking around. Now they were surrounded by a bloodbath. This was not how today was supposed to go. 

Bobbi made a small choking sound, holding back sobs, when Skye approached. She removed the knife from Hunter's body, put his hands over the wound, and closed his eyes so it looked like he was just sleeping.    
  
"Let's just get the bags and get the fuck out of here." Bobbi said. It would take too much time and be too traumatic to bury them all. In Bobbi's opinion, it was better they attracted predators to come for Ward. If they buried them the compys would just dig them up anyway. "How's Trip?" She asked. She at least wanted to know which of her friends had survived.

Skye gave Bobbi’s shoulder a squeeze and nodded. “He’s alive,” She said. “Jemma’s with him now. You go help them and I’ll grab Raina so we can go grab the rest of the bags?” she asked. It was down to five of them and some animals. They would have extra supplies now, but at an expense Skye had never wanted to pay. She couldn’t think about the list of all they’d lost, though. They needed to focus on getting the rest of them out of here alive before the predators came looking for them. 

"No, you go to Jemma." Bobbi shook her head. She'd seen the shape Jemma had been in and she wasn't oblivious, she had seen the way Jemma's shirt had been torn open and her pants were undone. Ward had been in a bad position when they'd shown up and Bobbi knew Jemma would rather have Skye than her.    
  
"I'll go with Raina to get the bags, you stay here with Jemma, Ace, Trip and the animals." Bobbi suggested. She needed some time to get away from the bodies for a little bit and Skye needed to be with Jemma and help her clean up.

Skye had figured she and Raina would be quickest for the bags but bobbi clearly needed to escape this and Skye honestly didn’t want to lose sight of Jemma again so she nodded. She gave Bobbi a quick hug then let her go and stepped over to Jemma and Trip. 

“Hey, Sleeping Beauty,” Skye said, the weak jest directed at Trip as she approached them. She set a hand down along Jemma’s back and looked Trip over. “Bobbi and Raina are going to gather the last of the bags. We’ll clean you guys up and gather whatever else we dropped out here, get the animals on board too so we can get out of here,” She told them. “Can you walk?” she asked Trip. 

"I should be alright, was just a bump on the head." Trip mumbled. He sat up, but when he caught sight of the carnage around him and the state of Jemma's face, something in his eyes changed. "I'm sorry," he said. "I couldn't stop them-"   
  
"It's not your fault, we were outnumbered." Jemma put a hand on his arm. She looked around them and for a moment she could see it from Trip's perspective. He'd been knocked out trying to protect a few of them and woke up to nearly everyone dead. It couldn't be easy.    
  
"Us, Raina, Ace, Bobbi, and Ward are the only ones left." Jemma sighed and shook her head. Just saying his name made her shudder and her muscles tense reflexively, but he was unconscious about twenty yards down the beach. "The island will take care of him though."

Skye gave Jemma’s shoulder a light squeeze. “Yeah it will. Right now we need to focus on us. I’m gonna check on Ace and grab the first aid kit so we can clean you guys up, okay?” she glanced between them and then stood up to head to the boat. Rex followed as her shadow. Skye spotted Trudy and nodded toward Jemma and Trip. “Keep an eye on them,” she told the dinosaur and Trudy went to circle Jemma and Trip. 

Climbing into the boat, Skye crouched in front of Ace and Ruby who were sitting in the main part of the boat, in the shade, which his knees drawn up. “Hey,” She said and reached out to put her hand on his knee. “We’re okay,” she assured him even though it didn’t feel like it. “We’re going to be leaving here as soon as we can, alright? Bobbi and Raina went to grab the last bags. I’m gonna patch up Jemma and Trip and then we’re going to load Rex and Trudy and we’re all going to leave together.” 

Ace was quiet, trembling slightly. Skye pulled him in for a hug and held on for a few moments. “It’s scary, but we’re going to do this together. We’ll take care of you, we’ll take care of each other. I want you just to stay here for right now okay?” She waited for Ace to nod and then said, “If you need anything, you just call out to us okay?” She reached into one of the bedroll packs and freed a blanket, which she wrapped around Ace’s shoulders and tucked around him securely. It was hot out, sure, but shock did terrible things and she wanted to make sure he stayed warm. She kissed his forehead and pulled him in for a careful hug before she finally grabbed the first aid kit and went out to clean up Jemma and Trip’s wounds. She’d need to clean up Trudy and Rex too before they got in the boat but figured that could be done with the ocean water after they handled Trip and Jemma. 

Once Jemma finished checking out Trip's head wound and determined he didn't need any stitches, she reached up to her own ear and felt the blood dribbling down the back of her jaw. It hurt to touch, but she needed to figure out how bad it was. Garrett had only cut about half a centimeter into her ear, but it made Jemma want to throw up to know they'd beaten her, violated her, and mutilated her. If she wanted it to heal back to as normal as it could get she would need to put a stitch or two in to keep her earlobe and the skin on her head together.    
  
"Skye, I'm going to need a favor." Jemma sighed. She really didn't want Skye to have to stitch her up again and see what Garrett had done in response to her comments, but she couldn't see it on her own and she didn't want her earlobe to be slightly cut off for the rest of her life.

Skye was finishing up patching over one of Trip’s cuts that didn’t need any kind of stitching. She spotted Jemma touching her ear and felt dread building in her gut. Regardless, she nodded easily. “Whatever you need,” she said without hesitation at all. She shifted and knelt next to Jemma. “What do you want done to it?” she asked as her eyes zeroed in on Jemma’s ear. She trembled still with rage over the fact that all of this had been done to Jemma because of her. “I’m sorry,” she blurted before she could bite her tongue as her eyes traveled among all the marks all over Jemma’s face, her swollen lips and eye, the open wounds, the mental image of Ward assaulting Jemma was one she knew she’d never erase from her mind.

“It’s not your fault.” Jemma shook her head. She knew Skye would assume the responsibility and guilt, but Jemma didn’t want her to. They couldn’t have known that Garrett was going to attack once Skye left. “They were terrorists and sociopaths, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Jemma assured her as she got out the suture kit and began to thread the needle. She was really dreading the stitches since she had gone so long without any, but she wanted to heal completely more than she wanted to avoid the sharp pain of the needle that actually wouldn’t be too bad compared to what they were used to at this point.

“I just need you to reattach my earlobe with a stitch or two in the front or back.” Jemma cringed at the sound of the beginning of her sentence, but it was easier to be straightforward than not.

Skye tried not to grimace and failed. She hated the fact that this happened to Jemma solely for the reason that she could be used as leverage against Skye but more than that, she really hated that in order to patch Jemma up she now needed to hurt her further by stitching it up. Skye swallowed against the lump in her throat and reminded herself that they were both alive and this was something minor. She nodded without hesitation. “Of course,” she cleaned the cut off with water and a cloth and then took the threaded needle from Jemma. In the end it took two stitches to close the wound and keep Jemma’s ear properly attached to her head. Skye fell quiet after that as she helped Jemma clean off her face so they could make sure no other wounds needed stitches and whatever could be patched was patched. 

“Thank you.” Jemma lightly touched her ear after the stitches were in to make sure it was secure and she was happy enough with the results. It was the best care she was going to get out here. Soon they wouldn’t have to be out here. “I just can’t wait until we can sleep soundly without worrying about dinosaurs eating us or people attacking us.” She tried to point out the positive here that they were getting off the island for good in probably less than an hour. She flinched when Skye dabbed some of the places on her face, but it couldn’t be avoided. Most of it would heal on its own, but she wanted to make sure the cut on her cheek wasn’t too deep. Skye had a good enough judgment about it on her own though. “Do you think this one needs stitches?” She touched near the wound on her face and asked.

Skye nodded. She wasn’t completely at ease. They might not have to worry about the dinosaurs or other people attacking them but they had to worry about storms, wave swells, running out of supplies and a number of other issues. She didn’t want to say that right now. Right now she wanted to keep focusing on the fact that they were leaving the island. This would keep one of her promises to Jemma, to get her off this island. Getting her back stateside and getting her to her parents would be another hurdle but she was glad they’d pass this one at least. She gently cleaned off Jemma’s cheek a bit and tilted her head to get a proper look at it. She shook her head again. “It looks really shallow, almost scabbed over already even.” She cleaned off the suture needle and put it away in the kit and then grabbed some of the last stirrup bandages so she could fix them to the cut on Jemma’s cheek just to hold it shut in case. 

“Okay.” Jemma couldn’t help the small sigh of relief. None of them enjoyed getting stitches and the less necessary, the better. “How do I look?” Jemma asked with a grin once Skye was done cleaning her up. She was sure her face was a swollen, bruised mess but she was trying her best to get Skye to smile even after all that had happened to them that day. 

“Goddamn gorgeous,” Skye murmured in an attempt to joke back that fell flat just before she leaned over to kiss the corner of Jemma’s mouth that wasn’t swollen. Jemma was alive, that was what counted. She leaned back and tucked some of Jemma’s hair behind her good ear. “Want to go check on Ace? I wrapped him up in a blanket. He and Ruby are on the boat. He was pretty shaken up.” She said. “I want to try and clean Trudy and Rex up before we finish loading everything.” 

“That’s a good idea.” Jemma smiled slightly. Skye’s compliment made her blush a bit even though she knew her face wasn’t exactly gorgeous at the moment. She helped Skye pack up the first aid kit and then got to her feet and helped Trip up as well. He told them he was going to check on his traps one last time for extra fish for Trudy and then pack up the traps to try to use on the boat. He headed down the coastline a bit to do that as Raina and Bobbi came back from the treeline with the first load of the bags that had been left behind. Jemma came and sat down beside Ace in the shade of the boat. Ruby was resting in his lap and Jemma stroked a soft hand across her back.

“Are you okay?” She asked Ace. He seemed to have a distant look on his face and Jemma hated Ward and the others even more for what seemed like the final step in taking away Ace’s innocence.

“Everyone dies.” Ace said. Jemma was taken aback by his response, but didn’t say anything until he elaborated. “We all die eventually. Them and my dad are just going up to heaven a little sooner.” He pet his horse and Jemma sighed. She didn’t believe in heaven herself, but it was a nice thought and if a belief in God and heaven helped Ace get through this, there was no way in hell she was going to spoil it.

“You’re right, they are in heaven.” Jemma said. “I bet they’re eating ice cream and having fun together. Your dad is probably watching us right now and rooting for us to win and get back home.” Jemma smiled. It was a nice thought to imagine all their friends and lost group members in a perfect world where nothing could ever hurt them again.

Skye broke away to gather Trudy and Rex. It was easier at first to get Trudy cleaned up at the water as she told her what she was doing and Trudy gave in to it. Skye thanked her and Trip tossed her a fish to make up for it. Trudy was more than happy to get some food. It was a little harder with Rex. He tried to scale her shoulders and rest there to get away from the water so Skye to keep soaking a cloth and coming back to clean the blood off of Rex. It took awhile to get it done. Eventually, she let Rex roam while she searched everyone for any supplies they could take. She found that Mack still had his wallet so she tucked that away in her pocket. She took the small square purse May had hooked around her waist like a belt pack and took her necklace off of her to tuck into the pocket of the bag so that if any family members were waiting for her stateside if they made it back, she’d be able to give it to them. Will had a ziplock bag with folded paper in it tucked into his pocket. Skye assumed it was a letter to someone so she stowed that as well. Hunter had a wallet in his pocket as well so Skye grabbed it so she could give it to Bobbi later. 

Skye reclaimed her gun from the sand, cleaned it off and put it in its holster on her thigh. She rounded up any bullets that she could for her magazine from the guns of those who’d fallen. When her magazine was full, she took one of the other handguns and filled it with some of the rest of the bullets. The third handgun held about half a magazine when she was done. She gathered holsters and decided they were taking them all. She grabbed both rifles and scrounged for bullets for those too. Her reasoning was twofold. One, they didn’t know what kind of people they would run to on ships. They could run into what amounted to pirates and be in big trouble. Two, if they happened upon another island in their travels, they could temporarily stop and restock some supplies - food, water, etc - while protecting themselves. She gathered all the hunting knives she could, sheathed her own and her machete after cleaning them and loaded the others into sheaths and then she made sure all the safety latches were properly in place and carted the weapons (two rifles, two handguns, 4 hunting knives) to the boat and secured them into a free cargo space. 

When she hopped down from the boat, she met Bobbi and Raina to start taking bags to load them. It took some time, gathering the last of the bags, stowing them on the boat, gathering the traps and securing them as well. The should have left by late morning, working all together if the attack hadn’t happened. Instead the afternoon snuck up on them. Skye felt a fatigue that seeped into the depths of her bones. 

“I think we’ve got everything,” She announced and glanced at her watch, which told her it was almost two in the afternoon. “Let’s get the animals on board then we can pull the dam and float the boat out...get the hell out of here, yeah?” 

“Finally.” Jemma commented when Skye mentioned getting off the island. It was hard to leave all their friend’s bodies behind, but staying any longer than necessary could mean death. It was time to leave the island for good and find their way back to civilization. Just the thought was unreal. Seeing other people, having access to food, clean water…. It was all too hard to even believe. She was sure they would be big news if they made it back, but all Jemma cared about was that the last six of them were safe and they could see their families again. And Skye… Skye would stay with Jemma, she knew. They were a family now.

“Let’s do this thing.” Trip finally smiled a bit as he tied down the very last of their cargo. It was time to go. “Everybody on board, Skye and I can open up the dam.” Trip suggested. 

Skye smiled, trying her best to keep everything as optimistic as possible. There was sadness in her eyes of course, because of all that they’d lost, but the six of them and their animals were going to leave this place. Whatever happened, that was something to be proud of, that they had taken this chance to save themselves rather than just succumbing to what looked like their original fate. They’d lived through so much already. They could do this. They  _ were _ doing it. “Hey Ace,” Skye called out. “Our boat needs a name before we set sail - what should we call her?” She scooped Rex up into her arms with a grunt and climbed onto the boat. She made him sit next to Ace and Ruby and told him to stay, kept him there with a bit of fish from Trip’s traps. Next it was time to get Trudy loaded. 

“How about ‘The Avenger’?” Ace asked. It was based off of his favorite comic books, Jemma knew, but as she thought about it, it really was a good name for the boat. After all the losses that had haunted them, this was the final winning battle. It meant they could spite the island for all it had done to them by escaping it.   
  
“I like it.” Jemma nodded. Bobbi and Raina agreed as well. “Come on, Trudy, we don’t want to leave you here.” Jemma sighed and looked at the stubborn beast. Trudy was having trouble getting on, testing out the surface with one foot and then removing it and screeching at Skye to just give her the fish. “Trudy, come.” Jemma said sternly. Trudy narrowed her eyes but obeyed and finally stepped all the way onto the boat. Jemma just hoped she stayed when it started floating.   


“Good pick,” Skye told Ace with a grin. It was entirely appropriate for the situation and she made a mental note later, after they’d processed this day, to ask Ace which Avenger was his favorite and who he thought the rest of them were in order to get him talking and engaging again. Trudy was a stubborn hold out but Skye was so relieved when she finally came on board. “Thank you,” she whispered to the ethos and tossed Trudy the fish she was holding and wiped her hands on her pant leg. She gave Trudy’s side a few grateful pats and then left it to Jemma to keep her occupied with the rest of the fresh fish while they worked on getting the boat floating. 

“Bobbi, Raina, you pull the dam and climb back on the boat. After the water fills in the trench under the boat, Trip and I will float it out past the wave crests and climb in. Sound good?” She asked. She was already kicking out of her boots and stripping her way down to her sports bra and boyshorts to avoid having to sit in her wet clothes for the rest of the day. Trip nodded and pulled his way down to his boxer briefs and hopped off the boat to head around the back of it. 

The boat’s bottom section that would be in the water was dug down to a set of trenches that supported the pontoons out to the side and a section of the middle. Below it were deep trenches that would fill with water below it first due to the angle of the slope they’d dug out. The water would fill in and rise up, lift the boat to the water level and provide them the channel to bring it out to the water with more ease than all of them trying to heave it through loose and then muddy sand. Skye stepped over to Jemma and gave her a quick kiss - for good luck! - and then hopped off the boat behind Raina and Bobbi. 

“Everyone ready?” Skye called from the back of the boat. She was prepared to untie the mooring line they tied to it and some of the nearby trees once it was floating. All she could hope was that they’d built the most secure boat they could with the available supplies on hand and that it would float. All of this, the trials, tribulations and loss couldn’t be for naught. It had to work. It would work. It would work. It would work. Skye let the words repeat in her head the whole time as Bobbi and Raina counted to three and pulled the dam free by the ropes in place to pull up the hinge. The water rushed in from the deeply dug canal and began to fill the space under the raft. Skye’s heart raced as she shifted on her feet and waited anxiously. Bobbi and Raina watched a moment and then climbed back into the boat. 

It was agonizing waiting for the water to get to the bottom of the boat then, when it finally did, within another minute, it was high enough to begin lifting the boat up. The water filled up the last foot of depth, leaving Skye and Trip in the muddy sand but with a buoyant boat. Skye let out a cheer. The water was a couple feet below the part of the boat they would be in because they had built it up on a riser to keep them clean. There were drainage spots for when the water might sweep over the boat with a big swell or if it rained so they wouldn’t have to bale it out, but The Avenger floated and stayed dry. IT. WOULD. WORK. She looked over at Trip. “Ready?” She asked. 

“Let’s get the hell out of here,” He grinned and nodded. 

“Everyone sit down and hold on!” Skye nodded and they began to push. It wasn’t a light boat but with the water helping them they pushed it out into the waves. They tried to time it as best as they could to crest over the waves without getting hit by too many harsh waves. Thankfully it was a relatively calm day. There were no storm clouds on the horizon so nothing to churn the tide up too much and it was heading into low tide which helped pull the boat out as they pushed. 

When they were to the point that all the waves were merely swells lifting the boat and passing under it, Skye and Trip were at the back of the boat still, holding on and kicking to aim it. The outgoing tide pulled them further out to sea and they were sure it wasn’t going to wash them back onto the beach, Trip climbed up first into the boat from the small two step ladder they built into the side for good measure. Skye pulled herself around and under the bars of the pontoon and pulled herself up into the boat by the two step ladder next, shook herself off at the top of it and then climbed inside as Raina and Bobbi were pulling the sail up and turning it at Jemma’s directions so she could get the wind to pull them in the direction her crudely draw out plan dictated they should go (northeast) to take them around the top of the island. Skye sat down, somewhat winded, on one of the edges of the boat, sitting high enough so she could look back at the beach, where they could hear Ward screaming from the beach but couldn’t hear what he was screaming or see if it was happening because he was being attacked. She didn’t care. She just wanted to watch the island disappear. 


	24. Brace Yourselves!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warnings:** Nightmares and brief discussion of sexual abuse
> 
> How's everybody doing??   
> Thank you guys for sticking with us for so long and for all your kudos, comments and love! You're the best!! <3   
> Blame me for the all the typos I didn't catch since they were all in my written parts of it and not skimmonsfiction's!! sorry!! <3<3
> 
> Keeping this short and to the point - hang onto your butts and #WereverWednesday!!!   
> <3 <3 <3
> 
> ________________

 

It took over an hour to get the Avenger around the island, but when they did finally start on their long distance journey, the view behind them was incredible. The sail was set and the wind was carrying them in the direction they wanted to go. Jemma was sitting in Skye’s lap with her head leaning against Skye’s shoulder. Rex was in Jemma’s lap, probably making it difficult for Skye to feel her legs. Bobbi sat with Ace reading his comic books and Trip started to set up traps on the side of the boat to catch fish along the way. Raina sat in the shade reading Jemma’s book and Skye had her music playing softly from her recently solar charged phone. It was something slow and calm, but Jemma didn’t care much to listen to the lyrics. Instead she just watched the sunset behind them, making a silhouette of the island. It looked beautiful from a distance, where nothing on the shore could eat them.

At the moment, the song playing was the Jeff Buckley version of of  _ Hallelujah _ but it had been a steady stream of mellow songs before it. This one seemed appropriate for the waning sunlight and their venture unto the breach. Skye and Jemma were seated on tripled up bedroll by the back of the boat near the rudder, which was in a locked position currently but could be moved at any moment. Skye felt a bit wary of the darkness approaching them. For the moment they still had some light but they were heading into pitch blackness. There would be nothing but the light of the stars above them and they wouldn’t be able to see anything around them unless they opted to use Skye’s flashlight. She had spent painstaking hours in the evenings when they first landed taking batteries out of watches from the leftover luggage so she would have power for her LED flashlight and now they had to be careful about using it since they didn’t know for sure how long they would be out here. She didn’t know how Ace would be about the pitch darkness, but they would make do. 

Skye ran her fingers gently along Jemma’s back. She kissed the top of her head and leaned her own against it, kept her arms around Jemma’s back and over her lap and Rex. Her hand landed on one of Jemma’s that was resting in Rex’s fur as the tiger purred away in his sleep cuddled with them both. “Hey, guess what,” She murmured as they watched the sun and disappearing below the horizon. “We’re off the island,” She spoke softly so she didn’t disturb the others, just so Jemma could hear. 

“I’m well aware.” Jemma giggled quietly. She turned her hand palm up underneath Skye’s and closed her fingers around Skye’s hand. It was starting to get a bit chilly, but Jemma didn’t mind with the warm bodies cuddled up with her. Starting a fire would be a problem on a wooden boat, but they had plenty of extra blankets and she was sure that together they would all find a way to keep warm. It was better than the alternative, which was still being stuck in those caves.

“We did it.” Jemma whispered. She lifted her head and kissed Skye’s jaw a few times. They were all exhausted and had droopy eyes, but she wanted to stay awake for a bit longer to watch the sunset and then set up a system of shifts so that someone was always awake to make sure they didn’t drift off course and no problems arose.  
  
Skye smiled thought there was still a bit of sadness in her eyes that she couldn’t shake. Part of it was guilt that she was alive when others weren’t. Part of it stemmed from everything they’d been through, from what had happened to them and what had been done to them either by animal or fellow human. Part of it was probably a good bit of fear that she’d led what was left of what she considered her family into a floating death trap, but that part she forced into the depths. She would do everything possible to keep them safe and alive long enough to find a boat or civilized land. She brought Jemma’s hand up and kissed the back of it and a few of her knuckles before she turned her head and caught her lips in a quick proper kiss then rested her forehead against the side of Jemma’s. “I can’t believe we actually left,” It felt almost as surreal as waking up that first day in the sand on the island so many days ago. It felt like years. 

“I still can’t believe we ended up in this mess in the first place.” Jemma chuckled. If anyone had asked her a year ago where she thought she would be at this time, it would not be in a homemade raft with the love of her life, several friends, and three prehistoric animals (plus an insect!) sailing across the ocean. It wasn’t exactly a believable story and their animal friends, along with Jemma’s collected evidence, was probably the only reason they wouldn’t get locked up in the loony bin upon arrival in civilization.

“Now we just have to pretend we’re experienced seamen. Fake it ‘til you make it and all that.” Jemma breathed. Bobbi seemed amused by their conversation, but didn’t say anything. Raina didn’t even seem to notice, too wrapped up in the book and/or her own thoughts. 

And the pictures from their disposable camera and Skye’s phone! They had more than enough evidence, Skye thought. It didn’t matter if anyone believed them, what was true was true and whatever they didn’t believe, they’d still put in the book and movie. She let out a small snort of laughter. “Good thing I’ve been pretty skilled in that since childhood,” She smirked. “It’s old hat.” She leaned her chin onto Jemma’s shoulder and buried her face into Jemma’s neck for a second, inhaled her scent and exhaled a sigh. When she lifted her head and looked over at Jemma, she asked, “What do you think your dad will think of our Odyssey epic?” 

“I don’t think he’ll find it necessary to email me self defense class advertisements anymore.” Jemma grinned. Her father always had been protective, trying to teach her to stand up for herself and to educate herself so she was prepared for what life brought her. She hadn’t been prepared like Skye had, but it was partially because of her father that she had the mental fortitude to survive the entire ordeal.

Skye grinned. “No, definitely not,” She shook her head. She fell quiet for a few moments, shifted to grab their sewn together blanket to pull it around behind her shoulder and wrap it around Jemma’s as the cool breeze turned chillier. They at least had the walls of the boat and the tied off supplies to block the wind somewhat. During the day they had visors that could come up to block the sun going forward to prevent sea blindness and sunburn. They’d prepared all they could and now it was just a matter of passing the time and taking problems as they came at them. And sometime soon...they might make it home. They  _ would _ make it home. Skye would make sure only to use concrete terms to keep the backbone of belief up for the group. It was necessary. She couldn’t lost faith in them. They could do this. If they could survive everything else, they could do this. “I hope you know you’re stuck with me once we get back to the states because I refuse to have to deal with custody hearings over Rex.” she joked. 

Jemma laughed and moved her arms to wrap around Skye’s waist, hold her closer, and snuggle into her neck. Rex made a grumbling sound and burrowed further into Jemma, trying not to lose any ground as his parents grew less interested in petting him.

“Well then you’ll be happy to know that you’re stuck with me as well.” Jemma said back in a bit of a sing-song tone. It was time for them to start looking to the future and Jemma definitely saw them together for the rest of their lives. It was hard to imagine a world where they would leave each other for work and meet up again at their home for dinner, but it was also nice. “We can buy a house with a big backyard for Trudy, Rex, and Buzz.” Jemma suggested.

“We’ll need a decent porch for those rocking chairs,” Skye reminded her, more than a little relieved by the confirmation that they were stuck with each other. It was hard to imagine buying a house, but the chairs, Skye could imagine that. The closest to a house she had was the Brodys for that short time and it was hard to imagine anything like that as something she owned herself. A van? She could imagine that. An apartment? Yeah, she could imagine that one too. A hotel room in a city for a short time while working? Sure, why not. But a permanent house of her own and not only that but with someone she loved as much as she loved Jemma? It felt too abstract to imagine in a concrete sense. 

"We'll live to be old and grey together and spoil our grandchildren." Jemma smiled. This one she was only slightly unsure of. They had mentioned children briefly and in passing but now, when it would soon be a real possibility, it was much more serious a topic to bring up.

Skye felt the heat in the tops of her ears as she thought about that one. It was kind of mindblowing for her to even be anywhere near a position to consider something like kids and grandkids before she’d boarded that plane. Now they were here and it was on the table and part of Skye wasn’t even sure she deserved to have this, let alone an actual family. “I love you,” She turned her head and stole a kiss so she didn’t have to pay attention to the parts of her brain that wanted to remind her that she wasn’t worthy of this windfall. Rex stirred in Jemma’s lap and rolled over onto his back, flung his paws up in the air at random angles and wormed about until he was comfortable before he started purring louder. 

"I love you too." Jemma grinned into the kiss and when Skye started to pull away Jemma surged upward and kissed her one more time. Rex seemed unhappy with their movement and rolled around a bit himself, making small purring sounds, attracting Trudy, who came over and started nudging Jemma's shoulders and ruffled her feathers before plopping down next to them. It was a strange little family, but it was theirs.

__________  
 _Day 2 on The Avenger_  
  
After the sun set, they turned off the music and stowed loose items away then set up shifts for staying awake. Trip and Bobbi offered to take the first one until morning. If either of them started getting drowsy after a few hours they were to wake up one of the others to take over. It was going to take teamwork to get through this and they all had to pitch in. When the morning came, they shared a small family breakfast before Bobbi and Trip pulled up some visors to block the sun and went to sleep.  
  
Skye was seated at the head of her and Jemma’s bed roll which was situated on the right side of the boat in the back near the rudder. The rudder was locked in place at the moment as the win pulled them along by the sail. She was entertaining Rex by teaching him new tricks with a small portion of his breakfast that she’d held off to the side for this purpose. They had only been working on Sit, down and roll over for a few minutes when Trudy, who had been watching them with an angled gaze caught on and started trying to mimic the actions which led to her and Rex flopping into one another as they both tried to roll in opposite directions and toward each other. Skye snickered and tossed a small bit of food to each of them. Rex soon tired of the game and scaled Skye’s lap to curl up for a nap. Skye gave him the last of his food and gave Trudy a small portion of what was left of her own portion when the dinosaur propped her chin on Skye’s shin and gazed at her expectantly. “You’re so needy,” Skye teased Trudy as she reached out to pet at her feathers affectionately.  
  
Skye took a look around the boat. Trip and Bobbi were dozing under their sun visors. Jemma was in an animated conversation with Ace trying to keep straight all of the Avengers and their specific super powers while he told her their detailed backstories. Ruby was sniffing around Raina as she used one of Trip’s fishing poles over the side of the boat. The boat moved with the swells of the water but it was relatively calm despite the size of their boat compared to the vast amount of water around them. It was admittedly scary to look around them and not see anything but water at every horizon but at least they weren’t being hunted by monsters or other humans. The boat, at the moment, was serene. Even though Skye knew that couldn’t last, she gave in to the urge to simply let herself enjoy it for this moment, to take it in and store it as a memory for the future should their travels become more perilous along the way.  
  
She had her phone charging by the solar charging pack in the bright sunlight so she pulled it up and took a slow, discreet panorama to take in the entire scope of the boat from one side to the other including the water. She covered the screen with her hand when she was done to view the picture afterward, and smiled fondly at it before she powered the device down. When she looked back up, Jemma was glancing her away with her eyebrow arched curiously. Skye merely smiled at her and mouthed a silent, ‘I love you,’ to her. She felt her heart pick up a few paces at the smile Jemma shot back at her afterward and leaned back, closed her eyes as she pet Rex’s fur while he became a purring machine once again.  
  
Nothing too taxing or chaotic befell them through the morning and early afternoon. Around noon, Trip woke up and switched off with Raina to take over fishing while she took a nap. Bobbi slept until a little later in the afternoon and was currently spending some time with Rex curled up on her lap and stomach nuzzling at her. Jemma was lounging back against Trudy, using her as a pillow as she wrote and sketched in her journal. Skye stood up to stretched in the late afternoon, cracked her joints and tried to get her blood flowing a bit. She yawned and closed her eyes as she stretched her arms up over her head and leaned back to curved her back, let her back crack in multiple spots.  
  
Just as she stood back up and was stretching her arms behind her back, grabbing one wrist with the other and pushing her shoulders back to crack the spot between her shoulder blades, Skye heard first a scream and then a loud splash that cut the scream off. She spun around as Ruby started racing circles and trying to climb the side of the boat that was too tall for her to properly scale. The boat wobbled and shifted as everyone suddenly rushed toward the back of it to see what was going on, though they could all guess. Skye was the first of them who had kicked out of her boots, peeled her shirt and pants down and was up and over the back of the boat in as swift dive right into the open ocean after Ace, who had fallen into the water.  
  
In the shallows at the beach and in the shallows at the pond, Ace was able to handle himself. In anything that was over his head, he wasn’t a strong swimmer and he panicked. They’d first found this out during the compy attack when Skye had rushed him into the ocean to get the compys off and he’d panicked when she tried to leave him there to go get his dad. Someone always kept an eye on him after that at the beach or the pond to ensure he didn’t go any further than the places where his head was above the water when his feet touched the bottom. Now he was in the open ocean with wave swells and undertow. Skye raced toward him, kicking as pin wheeling her arms as fast and hard as she could to cut the distance to him as she struggled to stay above the surface. Ace panicked. His screams for help were cut off by dips below the water line and coughs from inhaling the water mid-shout.   
  
"Take down the sail!" Jemma shouted. The boat was still moving away from Ace and Skye and Trip frantically untied the bottom of the sail so it came loose and they weren't being blown away as quickly. "Get the paddles, we're backtracking!" Jemma ordered. Raina and Trip, along with Jemma, each picked up one of the handmade paddles. They wouldn't do much, but hopefully it could slow or stop the boat so Skye could get Ace back to it.  
  
Skye reached Ace just as he was sinking under again. She gulped a deep breath and dove under, opened her eyes immediately and kicked down to Ace where she wrapped her arms around his torso and hauled him to the surface with her as quick as she could. Unfortunately, even in her arms, Ace was still panicked. Skye struggled to keep her own head above water as Ace scrambled in his panic to push up on her so he could push himself above the waterline.  
  
“Ac-“ Skye choked on a mouthful of water as she kicked harder to keep them both above the surface. “ACE!” She managed to get the air to shout it. Ace looked at her, sobs cutting into his panicked pleas for help. “I’ve got you,” she promised him, adjusted her grip to keep him above the surface while she tread water a moment. She turned them so she could see how far the boat was from them. Even though she could see that the others had already started to turn the boat and were using the oars to speed the movement along, Skye was immediately dismayed to see that they were at least a football field length of space away, if not more. With the way that Ace was panicking and squirming, she wasn’t sure she could swim them back and she wasn’t sure she could keep them both above the waterline long enough to wait for them.  
  
“Ace – Ace!!” Skye shouted for his attention, not because she was mad but because she needed to get through to him so she could keep them both afloat. Ace cried and trembled as he stared at her only half seeing her through his fear. “Ace, I’ve got you. I’m not going to let go, I promise,” She swore between bouts of spitting saltwater out of her mouth. “Look, they’re coming back for us, see?” She nodded toward the boat and adjusted her grip on him.  Ace clung onto Skye, wrapped his legs around her waist and his arms tightly around her neck and shoulders.  
  
Skye forced herself to stay calm. She couldn’t panic or they would both be in trouble, though her body was struggling to keep them buoyant. “Ace, listen, okay? I need your help,” Skye kicked harder to tread above the waterline. Ace blinked at her. “I need you to move around to my back okay?” she told him. “Hold onto my shoulders and keep your legs around my waist.” She said between gulps of air between waves swells. “I need to swim us back over to meet the boat, okay?” She had to pep talk him a little bit move before she managed to shift them around a bit. 

Eventually Ace was behind her, his legs wrapped around her middle, he had his arms wrapped around her neck and clung tightly to his own arms. Skye would have preferred that he held onto his shoulders but she had to work with what he gave her. She wound up stuck doing a somewhat truncated breaststroke in order to swim with the weight on her back. “We’re okay,” she said when she could get her mouth above the water for more than a breath. “We’re almost there,” She repeated the encouraging words whenever she could. “I’ve got you,” she promised. “Just hold on,” she kept murmuring reassurances between breaths whenever she could, kept her eyes on the boat and focused on heading directly for it. “Almost there.”   
  
"Keep it up Skye, you can do it!" Jemma shouted encouragement as she tied one of their longest ropes to a sturdy part of the boat. She took off her shoes and her CDC vest and jumped in herself. She wasn't exactly an amazing swimmer herself, but if she could just get the rope to them then they could pull themselves in. Skye would run out of energy before they reached each other so they had to meet halfway.   
  
Jemma probably looked like a nervous dog as she tried to swim, but she paddled herself out there and tried not to remember what it felt like to drown and tried very hard to not imagine what kind of creatures could be just under the surface.    
  
"Here, pull yourself back!" Jemma finally reached Skye and held out the end of the rope for her to grab onto.

Skye wasn't in the kind of shape she'd been in when they mended on the island so she was definitely quickly fatiguing. She felt alarmed when Jemma jumped in but her arms felt ready to give out by the time they reached Jemma and the rope. Ace was crying,  softly whimpering as he clung to her and Skye was too tired to speak at that point so she nodded to simultaneously tell Jemma 'thank you, ' and that she should also name her way back.     
  
Skye pushed on, kicking her legs as she pulled herself and Ace along the rope. In the boat, Bobbi, Trip and Raina put down the oars and grabbed the rope to tow them all in. Trudy squawked and joined in the effort,  careful not to snap the rope. Rex paced back and forth, crying for Skye and Jemma and Ruby was still racing circles and letting out distraught whinnies unable to see or find Ace.    
  
When they reached the boat, Skye pulled them to the side and grabbed the ladder. Trip let go of the rope and hurried over and reached out for Ace. "C'mon, little man, we've got you, " he had to coax Ace into letting go of Skye so Trip could haul him up, all while Skye's muscles strained to hold on. As soon as Ace reached for him,  Trip caught him by the under arms and quickly hauled him up into the boat and out of the way of the ladder. Skye leaned her forehead against the ladder and gulped down some air, mustering the energy to pull herself up. Bobbi and Raina leaned over the edge of the boat on either side of her and pulled her up by the biceps.     
  
Skye scrambled up the ladder with their help and went tumbling, soaking wet, over the side of and into the boat. She collapsed on her back,  energy and adrenaline spent, trying to catch her breath. As Rex and Trudy raced to inspect her, Trip and Raina hurried to help Jemma back into the boat.

Jemma hauled herself up onto the boat with the help of Raina and Trip while Bobbi draped towels around Ace and over Skye.    
  
"Everyone okay?" Jemma asked. She crawled over to Skye and wiped her wet hair out of her face. "That was brave of you." Jemma smiled and squeezed her arm. She scooted over a bit to Ace and made sure he was breathing alright. "And you, you should stay away from the edge of the boat." She put her hand on Ace's cheek and wiped away his tears. Ruby hopped into his lap and nuzzled his hands and Rex started nudging Skye's side with his head.

Skye's huffed and puffed as she caught her breath and coughed a bit. She leaned her cheek into Jemma's brief touch. Skye twisted her head around as Jemma checked on Ace, just to make sure he was okay.    
  
Ace wrapped his arms around Ruby on his lap and cried harder.  "I-I'm sorry," he said between catching his breath and sniffling.     
  
"It was just an accident," Bobbi rubbed his back over the towel.  "We're all okay and thankfully so are you," she gave him a reassuring smile.    
  
Skye's hand fell from where it was absently on Jemma's closest leg, to the top of Rex's head to give him a few scratches so she could let him know she was alright.  In return, Rex crawled right on up onto her stomach and chest and began licking Skye's cheek, chin and jaw. Skye turned her head and ruffled the fur on his head up to deter him then brought the towel up to wipe her face dry.

"Let's get the sail back up." Jemma was the first to realize they were moving too slow. They needed to utilize every minute possible moving as fast as they could to minimize the time they were out on the open ocean.

Skye moved to attempt to sit up to help  but Rex wormed forward and flopped down on her, purring and nuzzling at her neck and collar. Trip laughed at the sight. "You relax, I'll help," he told her before he moved to work with Jemma to get the sail back into place. Raina moved to adjust the rudder to aim them in the proper direction again while Bobbi pulled Ace into her lap and rocked him as she rubbed his back and tried to warm him up from the cold water.

Once everything on the boat was back in place, Jemma found herself sitting with her legs crossed at Skye's head. She lifted Skye's head up and let it rest in her lap, slowly rubbing circles into Skye's temples. She admired how brave Skye always was, but it had been a bit frightening to see Skye get so far away from the boat like that. Hopefully that was the worse that would happen to them while they were out here.   
  
"I think we've had enough terrible water experiences." Jemma chuckled, referring to both of their drownings, the accident when they first swam near the waterfall, and Ace's spill into the ocean.

Skye closed her eyes and shuddered a moment. Quite a few times while Ace was pushing her under in his panic,  she'd thought about the pond incident but it was the reminder of Jemma's drowning that caused the shudder. She reached for one of Jemma's hands and turned her head to kiss the heel of it as she nodded. "I'd be alright if we had a nice, extremely boring cruise home from here out," she sighed. 

"Here's to hoping for uneventfulness then." Jemma playfully pinched Skye's cheek with the hand she'd caught and grinned. To make up for it, she leaned over and kissed her soundly, giggling some at the awkwardness of the upside-down kiss.

Skye chuckled into that kiss, unable to stop it, and reached up to rest an upside down hand along Jemma’s cheek and into the strands of her hair. “We probably just jinxed the hell out of it,” She murmured through a sigh once they broke apart. 

"Knock on wood." Jemma joked right back and tapped her fist on the floor of the boat, grinning about the ironic fact that they had plenty of wood to knock on. Hopefully it would repel any jinxes that tried to come their way. As a woman of science Jemma knew it was ridiculous, but it was also an entertaining thought so she was willing to let her mind run with it for the time being, just like she had with Ace's view of god. The island certainly had changed her.

Skye gave Jemma a small, slightly crooked upside down smile. She exhaled a soft sigh as her breath finally evened out and her heart rate finally began to slow back toward normal. “We should mark a page in the back of your journal with our allowed and not-allowed list for that house - yes rocking chairs on porches, no to bodies of water.” She joked. 

"So then pools are out of the question?" Jemma laughed at her own joke, but already knew her own answers. It would probably be awhile before she went swimming for fun again.

Skye grinned a little more as her eyes followed Jemma’s face when she laughed. There, at least, was a sound she’d never tire of hearing. “We won’t take it permanently off the table but for the foreseeable future...definitely not,” She chuckled. 

Jemma smiled and took a look up at the sky. The sun seemed to be pretty high, and after the quick ordeal Jemma figured it was time to get some food. It would help Skye regain her energy.    
  
"Who's up for a bit to eat?" The moment Jemma asked it murmurs of agreement rose and they started to pull a few rations out of one of the bags.

____________

It was during their meal that they started to notice something was up with Trudy. Rex, Ruby and Buzz had taken all right to the boat. When they got restless it was easy enough to distract them. Trudy was a different story. She was very intelligent, there was no doubting that. It was harder to distract her on the small boat. Where she normally dug into any portions of food that were even so much as angled in her direction, she was slow to eat her meal portions now. Skye eyed them curiously and then looked at Trudy while Jemma was feeding Rex his food as treats every time he obeyed a command. She reached for a big chunk of jerky and held it out for Trudy, palm up. “What’s up with you?” she asked, lifting the food higher. “Jealous that we got to take a swim?” She smirked and arched her eyebrows at the dinosaur. Trudy caught a deeper whiff of the food on Skye’s hand, made a noise Skye hadn’t heard her make before and then snapped at her hand. She didn’t snap to bite her but she snapped and swung her head to knock the food out of Skye’s hand rather than reaching to snatch it. 

“Whoa,” Skye pulled her hand back and put it up in surrender. “Hey, easy…” She shifted closer and reached out in an attempt to pat Trudy’s feathers and Trudy snapped at her again, nipping this time but not enough to draw blood. 

"Hey! Trudy, that's not polite." Jemma scolded her. She got a deep throated snarl in response and Jemma's eyes widened. Their worst nightmare would be having the carnivore turn on them on the tiny boat so Jemma was apt to take the signal and not bother her.    
  
"Just let her be, I think she's seasick or upset by being on the water." Jemma put a hand on Skye's shoulder and pushed her back a bit so she wasn't so close.

Skye frowned and eased her way back out of range from Trudy. She’d thought they were long past the animosity between them from when Trudy first started lurking around them. Part of her hoped it was something like seasickness but the other part of her feared that as well. Did they have anything in the first aid kit that might help with that? If they did, how long would it even last? Did they have enough for an animal Trudy’s size? 

“Let’s hope not,” Trip said from back by the rudder as he ate an orange. “We don’t know how long we’re going to be out here…” And there was no telling how vicious Trudy could get if she continued not to feel well. They’d all seen how vicious Trudy could get while hunting. None of them wanted that on the boat. They didn’t want her feeling sick either, of course. 

Skye, slowly, reached for Trudy’s empty bowl and filled it a bit with water before sliding it back over within Trudy’s reach with her boot to see if she might at least drink something if she couldn’t really eat. 

Trudy grumbled, lips vibrating up and down as she ignored the water and curled up into a ball on the wood, tucking her face in between her thigh and tail. It was clear nothing was going to make her feel better but some more time to get used to the rocking sensation and the vast expanse of water in every direction. It would take time for all of them, but as Jemma ran her eyes over the rest of their "crew", she noticed Bobbi looking a little green herself while she tried to nap.

Skye shifted her focus, though she did frequently glance Trudy’s way to see how she was doing now and then. She moved over to where Ace was sitting. He’d been rooted to the spot since they’d gotten back into the boat and, honestly, Skye couldn’t blame him. She sat down next to him and leaned over to nudge his shoulder with her own. “Hey...if you’re cold, I’ll grab you some dry clothes to change into?” she offered. “You don’t have to move from your bed roll if you don’t want to.” she promised. 

He was scared. Skye was too, but she had a bit more control over her anxiety than Ace did. He was just a kid, his dad was gone and he’d just nearly drowned because he was too close to the edge of the only thing currently keeping them alive in the middle of the ocean. Skye herself was already back into her clothes since her under things had dried enough for it. “What d’ya say, hm?” She arched her eyebrows at him and reached out to pet Ruby, who was still curled up in his lap. Thank goodness for the little horse. There had been a couple days in there before they’d launched in the boat that the house cat-sized horse had disappeared from camp. Ace had been nearly inconsolable and they’d all searched high and low for her until she finally returned. It was a good thing too because Skye was sure that she was the only thing keeping Ace relatively calm that wasn’t also scaring him. Ace nodded and Skye wrapped an arm around his shoulders to give him a quick squeeze. She leaned over and kissed the side of his head before she moved to go gether dry clothes for him from his bag. When she returned with it, she used one of the blankets to hold up as a barrier even though no one was looking, just to make Ace feel better. Ace never did more than lift his hips up off the floor of the boat to get changed. Skye left his blanket with him and went to tie up the clothes so they’d dry in the sun. 

When she was done, she settled back down next to Jemma. Trip and Raina were by the front of the boating, pulling in his net traps to look for any catches and between reeling them in, Trip showed her certain ways to cast out the homemade fishing rod and Bobbi tried her best to find a comfortable way to nap under her visor, curled up on herself in a similar fashion to Trudy, minus the feathers. Skye leaned over at kissed the top of Jemma’s shoulder. “What’s your favorite seafaring song?” She asked. She didn’t know if Jemma had a song in particular that qualified, but she’d never know if she didn’t ask these hard hitting important questions, right? Right.

"Couldn't say I have one." Jemma shrugged. She paused her failed attempt to catch fish and leaned over to give Skye a peck on the cheek. She wasn't a big music listener anyway, so she didn't have a wealth of songs to choose from as her favorite. "Do you have one?" Jemma asked. If Skye had asked the specific question she probably had an answer herself. "Maybe it can be my favorite too."

Skye grinned, a sappy, overly affectionate grin that she couldn't help after that little kiss to the cheek. "It's lucky for you I am masterful at compiling playoffs for all seasons and situations," she joked. She moved away a moment to get to her phone, turned it on and put the phone back into the tin can they used to amplify the sound. It was a slow mellow playlist with songs like Christopher Cross'  _ Sailing _ , Crosby, Stills and Nash's  _ Southern Cross _ , Bobby Darin's  _ Beyond The Sea _ , Ukulele Jim's  _ The Ocean _ , a handful of Beatles and Jimmy Buffet ocean/water/sea/sea creature songs, Otis Redding's  _ Sittin On The Dock of The Bay _ but, perhaps most importantly, it started with the Ella Fitzgerald version of  _ How Deep Is The Ocean _ ? "There are a lot of good songs on this lost to choose from, but this one is my favorite of them." She told Jemma as she settled back down next to her and looped an arm around her middle, brought her hand to rest against her waist and leaned back against the side of the boat.

"I like it." Jemma nodded affirmatively. She settled into Skye's side and decidedly ignored the aching in her ribs and just let herself melt into Skye's support and protection. Things were going to be different now.

__________  
_Day 3 on The Avenger_

Bobbi and Trip were on the night shift for a good six hours when they both started dozing. Bobbi woke Skye up and she told them to let Jemma sleep. Skye knew Jemma’s wounds were still healing and having to jump into the water the day before to help her get Ace back into the boat couldn’t have helped her ribs at all so she wanted Jemma to rest as long as possible. She carefully slipped out of their bed and Rex shifted with a low grumble to take her place, curled up and snuggled into Jemma. It was dark but they did have a little bit of moon and star light to see just enough around the boat. Bobbi and Trip moved to lay down on their bedrolls. Raina was sleeping on hers next to Ace and Ruby so Ace had someone with him if he woke up in the night, which had happened a couple of times this particular night thanks to some nightmares. 

Skye moved toward the rudder but kept seated near Jemma’s feet, leaving a hand draped over the bottom of her legs so they were still connected in some way. It made her think back to their conversation about otters. She looked over at Trudy, who wasn’t actually asleep. She was still curled up and snapp but she watched Skye since no one else was awake to do so. Skye wanted to go over and try and check on her but it was dark, everyone was sleeping and she didn’t want to wake them up by upsetting a possibly seasick dinosaur. 

Generally, it wasn’t a good idea for Skye to be left alone with her thoughts but at the moment it felt like it was necessary. Even just trying to get off the island, terrible things had happened. Skye felt guilt for a lot of things - the deaths she’d taken part in, the ones she’d failed to prevent, the ones that might be possible on this boat if they weren’t careful. There was no shortage of mental trauma they would deal with for the rest of their lives once they did get back to civilization,  _ if _ they made it back. She looked over at Jemma and Rex sleeping soundly, could even faintly hear Rex purring from her spot, and wondered how different from the island their lives would be if they did make it back. Skye main goals were to get everyone back to the states in one piece and to get Jemma back home to her parents. There was no one waiting for her, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have people she needed to find once they were back. She’d have to explain herself to her bosses. Hell, they’d probably make her fill out field reports. She would need to find relatives for a number of their lost friends, give them last messages or items of their deceased loved ones. Even once they were home, there would be a lot to sort out and do. 

Skye spent a few hours trying to sort through her thoughts until the sky started to turn lighter shades of purple and blue slowly feeding into deep reds and fiery oranges. Eventually, Jemma started to stir even as Rex tried to snuggle her back into sleep so he wouldn’t have to wake up and move from his warm sleeping spot. 

Jemma had been about to wake up to serenity for once, but it was all ruined when Bobbi suddenly bounced up onto her knees and threw her upper body over the edge of the boat, promptly puking into the water. Jemma was up and at her side in a flash, Rex following after her and whining the whole time. She had to ignore him to pull Bobbi's hair back and rest a hand on her back as she continued to vomit. Her first thought was that the sickness was back, but they had fixed that problem. 

“Rex, c’mere,” Skye called to the tiger and ruffled his fur when he sauntered her way, grumpy at the sudden wake up. She made him lay down next to her and told him to stay.    
  
"Do you get seasick?" Jemma asked once Bobbi was finished and pulled herself back into the boat. That made much more sense.    
  
"I don't know. Before this I used to always fly-" Bobbi leaned over the edge and vomited once more. She wiped off her mouth with the neck of her shirt.    
  
"Damn, I would say stick to flying, but we know how that turned out." Trip's joke actually pulled a smile out of Bobbi when he woke up and made his presence known.

Skye moved to grab the closest bottle of water and a clean(ish?) cloth. When Bobbi was back in the boat, she handed the cloth and water to Jemma since she was closer. 

“Well, shit, looks like you’ve got something in common with a dinosaur,” Skye smirked but cringed in sympathy. “Who knew?” 

"At least Bobbi doesn't bite." Jemma threw a pointed glance at Trudy and the dinosaur huffed as if she knew they were talking about her. Jemma wiped off Bobbi's face and her hands and gave her the water to hopefully settle her stomach. She didn't drink much, which was good for both rationing and so she wouldn't just throw up again. Jemma capped the water bottle once she was finished and set it aside so she could rub Bobbi's shoulders for a bit to help ease her obvious tension.   
  
"If you get seasick you're in for a long couple of months." Jemma sighed. Bobbi leaned back into her and Jemma looked to Skye with a concerned look on her face. It wouldn't be good if Bobbi vomited often because they could only eat or drink so much to start with.

Skye glanced over at Trudy and tried not to frown again. It would be a long couple of months if both one of the humans and the dinosaur were seasick. They had no crackers or bread to offer, no ginger ale. She tried to offer Jemma a reassuring expression in return but she couldn’t argue how serious a situation this could be for them. “I’ll check the first aid kit, see if there’s anymore travel packs of pepto or something that’ll help settle your stomach,” she said before she moved in the boat to the suitcase with the first aid supplies in it. 

“We should find one of the pairs of sunglasses in the bags, then you can watch the horizon for awhile,” Trip said. “It should help you keep your equilibrium a bit better?” He hoped that was the case but there was a big difference being on a homemade large raft boat than being on a ferry or deep sea fishing boat, or something larger like a cruise ship. 

"Thanks, guys." Bobbi nodded. She wasn't sure how much it would help since the boat continued to bob up and down, up and down.... but she did appreciate how much her friends cared about her comfort and how they were doing everything they could. She reached up to squeeze Jemma's hand and let her know she didn't have to rub on her, since she could feel Jemma's right hand applying less force and knew it must be difficult for her.

Skye came back with a small travel size container of Tums that were tucked into a corner pocket, untouched over the long months on the island. “All we’ve got as far as store bought goes is some tums,” She said as she held them out for Bobbi. “At least it might help with the acid while your stomach’s empty.” She said. “We have some peppermint leaves, though, if you want to trying chewing on some of those for a bit?” She glanced at Jemma and resisted the urge to ask her how her chest felt if only so they could focus on Bobbi at the moment. She’d asked Jemma if she needed a pain pill when they got Bobbi lying down again and settled. 

"This is good enough, thank you." Bobbi rook the bottle and popped two of them into her mouth. She couldn't help the small moan that came out of her throat as she chewed on the tablets. They were fruit flavored and the closest thing she'd had to candy in months.   
  
"Come on, you guys have one too, it tastes like candy." Bobbi held out the container. Jemma originally wanted to say no to save them for Bobbi, but she was offering and she saw the look in Ace's eye at the mention of candy. A tums wouldn't hurt them if they didn't need it, so they passed around the container and each took one.   
  
"To getting off the island." Jemma raised the little powdery tablet like she was making a toast.

Skye nodded and moved to sit down before the bobbing of the boat sent her own stomach in too much motion. She originally thought Bobbi was going to puke again after she ate the tums, but she smirked a little when it turned out to taste like candy. She took one of the tablets but felt reluctant to eat it herself. 

“Cheers,” Skye and Trip said at the same time. Skye smiled at Jemma’s little toast and but reached out to plop her tablet into Ace’s hand to let him have another. It wouldn’t hurt and if they could give him another little boost after the scared yesterday, why not? She gave him a little wink and nodded when he looked up at her to make sure she was sure it was okay. Afterward, Ace laid back down but this time with his head in Skye’s lap and a blanket around him while he read through one of his comics again. 

Skye reached out and ran her hand along his back gently. “How many times have you read them?” she asked him. 

Ace shrugged. “I don’t have to read them anymore I know all the parts, now,” He admitted. 

“How would you feel if we read you a different story?” she asked, knowing they at least had Jemma’s book among the bags. She wasn’t sure if there had been any other books in camp or among the bags, it had really been too busy most of the time and the times she had read anything, it was Jemma’s book - either Jemma reading it to her, Skye reading the book herself or Skye reading it aloud to Jemma. It wasn’t like they had all that much else to do in the boat. 

“Does it have superheroes?” Ace looked up at her, clearly intrigued. 

Skye grinned and shrugged her shoulders a bit. “Sort of,” She answered. “What do you think? Worth a try?” 

Ace considered it, looked from Skye to Jemma as if Jemma might tell him if Skye was messing with him or telling the truth. 

"It doesn't have a superhero, but it has an epic hero, which is even better." Jemma informed him. Raina had been listening to their conversation and handed over the book since she'd been reading it last. Before Jemma even noticed it, everyone was sitting in a small semicircle around her, animals included, waiting for her to read the story. "Alrighty then, I guess I've been nominated to tell the tale of Odysseus." Jemma grinned and carefully opened up the worn book to the first page.

Skye couldn’t think of a better way to pass some time and entertain them. She figured one of the others of them could take over when Jemma got tired of reading. They had a lot of time to kill and listening to an epic journey that rivaled their own seemed fitting. She settled in with Ace still using her leg as a pillow and Rex curled up across her shins and halfway in Jemma’s lap and listened to Jemma read the story she’d read or had read to her a couple of times now. As the sun kept rising, they pulled up the visors they needed to so they could remain in the shade and limit the reflection of the sun on the water. Their situation gave new dimension to the story as they sailed along on the open sea in their little homemade boat. 

_________  
_ Night 7 on The Avenger _

Jemma woke with a start. Her eyes flashed open and sweat layered her forehead and the back of her neck. Her whole body had started quivering and she swallowed hard, pressing her legs together. She'd had another dream about Ward and what he did to her and it made a shudder run all the way up and then down her spine. Goosebumps rose over her arms despite how hot she felt and suddenly she was keenly aware of Skye's arm draped over her waist, hand on her abdomen, and her skin felt like it was burning wherever they were touching.    
  
Jemma released her hold on Rex when she couldn't take it anymore and, probably a bit too quickly, wormed her way out of Skye's grasp and pushed Rex away when he tried to nuzzle her. Her chest rose and fell more quickly than normal and once she had a bit more space, or as much as she could get on the boat, with her back to Skye, she pulled her knees up to her chest and hid her face between them. She was hugging her torso and rocking quietly to try and contain the sobs so she wouldn't wake anyone up.

Skye shifted in her sleep, shivered a bit at the sudden absence of heat and pressure. Her brow furrowed and she murmured something unintelligible in her sleep. It wasn’t until Rex sat down on her head after being rebuffed by Jemma that Skye woke up. “Rex, what the heck,” Skye grumbled in a murmur as she pushded at the tiger to get him off her head. She was about to ask what he was doing when she realized Jemma wasn’t lying next to her and she quickly sat up. As her eyes adjusted in the severely dim light, she paused, heard Jemma’s cries and shifted to crawl closer to her. She reached out a hand toward Jemma’s arm, “Jem-,” 

Jemma's entire body tensed and she jumped away so suddenly she bumped into the wall of the boat and made it rock a bit more than it already was. Her breath was shaky and wide eyes didn't recognize Skye in the dark at first. She was just a shadow in the dark and it left room for Jemma's mind to fill in the blanks, and suddenly she was seeing Ward and she could practically feel his hand. She whimpered and held herself even tighter into her little protective ball.

Skye almost lunged right after Jemma when the boat shook like that, afraid she was going over the side in the dark. She halted completely when she heard the sound Jemma made and put her hands up and out in front of her.   
  
"Jemma, hey...it's me - it's Skye," she wasn't sure in the dark if Jemma was awake or asleep.   
  
"Skye, is she alright?" Trip asked. Both he and Raina were awake at the front of the boat and both stated moving to head their way.    
  
Skye put her hand up behind her toward them in the dark. "It's okay, stay up there,  do crowd her. I think it's a nightmare." She said quickly. She turned her attention back to Jemma. "Jem, can you hear me?" She spoke a little louder but didn't move closer even though she wanted to reach out for her again.

Jemma rocked for a few more moments before she actually started to recognize Skye's voice. She lifted her face from her knees and it was streaked with smudged tears. She swiped at her cheeks and still held her knees close together, but her shoulders were starting to relax a bit. She nodded to Skye's question, but she didn't know if she could see it in the dark.

Skye could just barely see the movement, but she did spot it. "Okay," she kept her time as calm as possible. "It's okay, we're on the boat. Is it okay if I being one of the blankets over to wrap around you?" She asked. "I won't touch you if you don't want me to," she added the promise just to reassure Jemma of it. Skye knew how vivid nightmares could be after the kinds of situations they'd all lived through. Ace had had a few already,  the others had had minor ones,  but none had caused the kind of reaction Jemma had so far.

Jemma nodded again and brought her arms around herself once again. Once Skye came over with the blanket, Jemma tensed but allowed her to drape it over her shoulders. She shivered some and sniffled, partly from the cold and partly because of her emotional state.   
  
"I try not to let it get to me, let him get to me..." Jemma glanced at the others, embarrassed they were hearing her confession. They seemed to realize this was a moment only Skye needed to be a part of and turned away so they could give them some semblance of privacy. "But he does. Even now." Jemma sniffled again. "He didn't just threaten to, he-" Jemma couldn't even say it.

Skye was very careful with every movement she made near Jemma, made sure to tell her everything she was doing. She moved with the smaller of their blankets first and shifted close to Jemma on her knees. "I'm just gonna wrap this around you before I move back," she said as she draped the blanket and wrapped the sides so it cocooned her I'm the hopes that having an extra barrier to cover herself completely would help calm her down some more.    
  
As Jemma started speaking, Skye listened without interrupting. She grabbed one of their bottles of water and set it next to Jemma's hip before she sat down next to her. The bottle gave her something to measure the space between them so that she didn't crowd Jemma. It took incredible willpower to stop herself from reaching out to pull Jemma to her and coddle her. She knew she couldn't do that right now.    
  
'I'm sorry, Jem," she whispered before she could stop herself, angry with herself that she hadn't gotten the there in time to stop the assault. She cleared her throat and went on, taking a different route to try and help. Bending her knees to pull them up, she rested her hand loosely on top of her knees. She leaned her head back against the boat and watched Jemma’s legs rather than looking directly at her since she didn't want Jemma to think she was scrutinizing or judging her at all. "When I...when it was happening to me...there was no control. Because there was no control, there was endless anxiety. So...I learned to find my center in the things I could control," she turned her head and looked at Jemma. "What can you control right now, in this moment?" She asked. I'm her head she had her own mental checklist: personal space, breathing, hydration, consciousness. They were limited, but starting small was all she could suggest since she has to be very careful not to further panic Jemma in this situation.

"My muscles." Jemma breathed. She looked away from Skye and down at her knees. She took a deep breath, noted every muscle that was tense, felt the stiffness in each one and the effect it had on her mind. Then she started to relax them one at a time, starting with her shoulders, and then her arms, and finally her legs. She slumped over her knees and took another deep breath to calm her nerves. It was strange because she wanted to talk about it, but she didn't. She knew Skye had gone through the same and worse and she knew Skye was a good source for comfort, but she didn't want to bring it back to her either.    
  
"You did come in time." Jemma reassured her. Things had gotten bad and Ward had touched her in places he shouldn't have... but it hadn't been as bad as it could have been. The echoed voice of Garrett asking who was  _ first _ echoed in her head. What would Ward have done given more time? What would any of them have done? It was when she started asking these questions that Jemma realized she was dwelling, but it also didn't make her feelings about what had happened invalid. There were a lot of definitions to rape because there were a lot of definitions to sex, but the thought that Ward had been able to do something to her that she had done with Skye, except against her will, made her feel like she had been raped in a way. It had happened. Dealing with it was what she had to do now.

"Your muscles, that's good, yeah," she nodded and waited while Jemma slowly unwound them. She didn't think she was in time at all. The fact that  Jemma had been violated at all was proof of this,  but this was not the time to air her guilt issues. "What else? " she asked.  "You tell me what you need,  Jem. To talk about it, to ignore it, to distract you from it - anything at all that you need,  just say the word, whatever it is. Anything...except pizza. I'm out of pizza I'm afraid."

Jemma made a sound that was a mix of a sob and a chuckle and she unceremoniously wiped a bit of snot from her nose and then laughed at how pathetic she felt. She sniffled again and blinked away the last of her tears.    
  
What Jemma really wanted was comforting human contact. She inhaled deeply and picked up the water bottle so she could close the gap between them. "Thank you." Jemma tilted her head and rested it on Skye's shoulder.

Skye felt her own muscles relax a bit more when Jemma closed the gap between them. She didn’t want to make any sudden moves without Jemma’s permission right now, though she did lean her head down against the top of Jemma’s. She turned her head, unable to resist the urge to place a quick kiss into her hair before she laid her head back down against Jemma’s. “Would it be alright if I put my arm around you?” she asked. It was weird to have to ask it but asking meant Jemma was in control of what was happening. Whether Skye wanted to assume based on Jemma’s movement that it was alright or even something she wanted, she still asked. 

“Of course.” Jemma leaned into Skye to show her verbally and physically that she was ok with it. The effects of the nightmare had passed somewhat and she couldn’t describe herself as completely comfortable, she was still a bit unsettled, but Skye had a calming effect on her. “Maybe eventually I’ll go a day without being afraid.” She sighed. 

Skye felt an immense wave of relief as she shifted and wound her arm around Jemmam ran her hand up and down the outside of her arm as she pulled her in as close as she could. With the other hand, she reached for their bigger, heavier blanket and pulled then pulled it around them both. “You will,” she assured. “Takes time. Until then,” She reached for Jemma’s hands with her free hand. “I’ll keep you from floating away,” she promised and kissed the top of Jemma’s head once more. “We can stay up if you want?” she asked. “We’ll relieve Raina and Trip, and keep watch?” 

"I love you." Jemma kissed the corner of Skye's cheek and nodded to her suggestion. She didn't feel like trying to shut her eyes yet, so it was a good solution.

__________  
_ Night 10 on The Avenger _

Living on a small boat was a bit more complicated in certain ways than living on the island. There weren’t dinosaurs or giant snakes or other humans chasing them down to attack or devour them, sure but there was an finite number of resources in their boat. They had a complicated bathroom situation that was made more complicated by the animals on the boat with them too. They had a giant dinosaur that was still struggling with seasickness, though Trudy was mostly just quiet now, less snappy and grumbly. Rex spent a lot of time cuddling up on her, which surprisingly seemed to work more often than not compared to when Jemma or Skye tried to sit and calmly pet her feathers and talk to her. Bobbi’s seasickness was a whole different ball game, though. It came and went at all different times of the day and left her largely down for the count most of the rest of the time while the rest of them fussed over her. 

The silence at night could be unsettling. There were no bug sounds. There were no wave sounds. Once in awhile a swell was enough to splash against the boat but that wasn’t a constant background sound. Skye had become used to listening to the sounds around her. Those sounds kept her in rhythm to...everything, really. The ones she became used to around the boat now were; the faint grumble at the end of each of Trudy’s breaths when she slept, the rumble of Rex’s purring as he curled between and all around her and Jemma at night and all hours of the day, the soft hums that ended each of Ace’s breaths when he slept and the way they changed to whimpers when he was caught in a nightmare, the flap of the sail in the wind, the way Trip tended to whistle while he was fishing without realizing he was doing it until someone smirked at him or chuckled about it, the way Bobbi grumbled whenever anyone started talking about the foods they missed and wanted to eat first when they got home, the way Jemma’s voice took on special tones and lilts while she read more chapters of her book to them all. Tonight, after they’d all had dinner and Jemma had read them a new chunk of the story, it was quiet. 

The sun was just about finished setting and the night was upon them. Ace was laying with his head in Bobbi’s lap talking to her about one of his comic books and throwing in stories about his aunt and cousin and his dad in between. Trip and Raina were sleeping so they could take the night shift later. Skye and Jemma were settled down sitting on their bedroll with Jemma sitting across Skye’s lap with her head on her shoulder and the blankets wrapped around them in the cool night. Skye had an arm around her back and the other across her legs, her hand resting against the outside of her knee and thigh, thumb absently stroking back and forth along her leg. 

“So, I’ve been thinking and I want to know you thoughts on this because it’s important, so you’ve got to tell me,” Skye said, allowing it to sound weird and maybe a bit ominous just before she went on to say, “Do you think they’ll break the movie of our adventure up into two movies - The Island and At Sea?” She arched her eyebrows and tried to keep the corners of her mouth from twisting into a crooked grin. 

Jemma frowned while Skye led up to her question but grinned when she realized it was nothing serious and just a joke. "I hope we don't have enough troubles at sea to make a second hour and a half long feature." As much as she hated to be bored, Jemma hated their apparent bad luck even more. A calm, boring trip was exactly what they needed. No more people falling overboard or dinosaurs becoming violent. Just sailing, like a vacation. And a lot of sleeping.    
  
"Hey, look at that!" Jemma said it in a hushed whisper so nobody would wake up if it turned out to be nothing. In a flash, she had seen a tiny light streak across the sky. "My father used to say you're supposed to make a wish." Jemma informed her. Her wish was for those rocking chairs and a nice sunset in fifty years.

Skye tensed for a split second at the suddenness of Jemma's instruction. She spotted the shooting star and smiled a bit.  She had so many wishes that had to do with all of them making it home face and living out the rest of their lives,  but only one shooting star.  The universe seemed to have an answer to that,  though, as a handful of shooting star streaks suddenly began stretching across the star speckled night sky above them. "Whoa..." Skye blurted,  a bit louder than she intended to. The night sky out here had already been something to behold, but this was simply something Skye had never seen before outside of special effects in movies.  "There's  so many - is that normal?" She blurted the words out again before she could stop them as she watched the barrage of streaking light.

"It's a meteor shower." Jemma breathed in awe. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and without lights from civilization in hundreds of miles in every direction, it felt like she was staring directly into space. The streaks continued to flash across the dark canvas. She glanced at Skye's face and the way her mouth was slightly open and her eyes were locked on the sky made her grin. This was definitely a special moment. There were a lot of things about this experience she wanted to forget, but she hoped this moment stayed with her forever.

Skye couldn't take her eyes off of the night sky's brilliant show. She had never witnessed anything like it in her life.  The closest she'd ever seen to it were fireworks and a fireworks show had  nothing on this.  She tried to turn her head to look at Jemma but she really couldn't look away from the racing steaks among the stars.  "We should wake the others up," she hadn't at all been able to look and see if Bobbi and Ace had stopped to watch the show, though she absently leaned closer against Jemma as she watched the light show that seemed almost as if it were meant just for them. If there was a moment to hold onto for the tougher times they'd likely face out here on the ocean,  this was definitely one of them.

“I don’t know, I feel like this was just meant for us.” Jemma whispered. Her eyes were glued to the sky and, almost like the universe was confirming it, the light show suddenly ceased. It had been a brief gift and Jemma was going to appreciate it for the rest of her life.

Skye’s eyes darted backing forth, looking for any last lingering meteors but found none once the show was over. She kept watching the stars for a few more moments. “What’d you wish for?” she asked Jemma quietly. Finally, she tore her eyes away from the sky to look over at Jemma. She was almost sad she hadn’t been close enough to where her phone was stored to try and power it up in time to catch video of the meteor shower. It was a silly thought since she would have been just as captivated and wouldn’t have thought to reach for it in time anyhow. This one would stay as a memory, which was just fine since she’d been awake to witness it at all to begin with tonight, and with Jemma awake with her no less. 

"Rocking chairs." Jemma murmured. She relaxed further into Skye's embrace and sighed. For a few moments she continued to stare at the sky, hoping to catch a few extra shooting stars so she could make a few more wishes. She had too many even for a meteor shower to accomplish.   
  
"I wished for us to get back to the mainland safely. For Ace to get back to his family. For Trip to never lose his optimism. For Bobbi to find happiness with someone again." Jemma swiped a few tears from her cheeks. "And, selfishly, I wished for my hand to get better with surgery." She tried to make it lighthearted again by bringing her right hand up and closing it into a fist, with the exception of the two lame fingers, which just rested in a slightly curled position. “What’d you wish for?”

"Rocking chairs," Skye echoed. She reached up and caught Jemma's slightly fisted hand,  brought it up and kissed the back of it before she brought it to rest against her chest over her heart. She kissed Jemma's forehead next and then leaned hers to Jemma’s. "A lot of the same things you did, about getting back,  and the others,  that they get back to their families,  can move on from all of this, that I actually deserve to make it back there with all of you," she said and dropped her gaze to their hands at the end there. "That your parents actually like me..." This was her version of trying to joke about it after that heavy bit,  though she really did want Jemma's parents to like her.

"Of course you deserve it." Jemma frowned. She pressed her hand against Skye's chest underneath her hand and felt her softly thudding heartbeat, just slightly sped up from her worries.    
  
"And my parents will love you, I'm sure of it." Jemma reassured her. "In fact, they probably won't leave us alone, ever. My mum will dote, she wants to know every detail about us and she'll fuss over you so much it'll annoy you." Jemma chuckled. "And my dad, he'll want to swap battle stories with you and he'll pretend to be tough on the exterior, but secretly he'll be excited to know all about our adventures." Jemma didn't notice her eyes watering until a single tear escaped and rolled down her cheek. She missed her family more than she expected to. She'd lived in a different country than them for her career, but at least then she could still talk to them.

Skye lifted her gabs up from holding onto Jemma's against her chest and gently wiped at the stay tear. "Hey...I don't know how much longer it'll take,  but...we'll get you back to them,  Jem." She promised. Honestly,  Skye wanted to meet them. She wasn't sure they'd love her the way Jemma was confident they would,  but she still wanted to know them after hearing Jemma's stories about them over the last number of months. "What do you think they'll think of Trudy, Rex and Buzz?" She asked in the hopes of shifting back to  slightly lighthearted times of the conversation.

“That may be an entirely different story.” Jemma chuckled. “My mum never even let me have a hamster.” She added. Her whole childhood she had wanted a bird, naturally, since it was the descendant of a dinosaur, but her mother hadn’t allowed her to have any pets since they were messy. “My dad may be amused though.” 

Skye smiled as she imagined a kid-version of Jemma pleading her case for a pet hamster but failing to convince her mother. She leaned over and kissed Jemma’s cheek and hand her hand absently along her back. “We’re gonna need a really big yard…” she said as she looked over t Trudy and Rex curled all up together and sleeping. Buzz wouldn’t be a problem, but having space for Trudy and Rex would definitely be a necessity. 

"But we also need neighbors, so maybe a mix of urban and rural. On the outskirts of a town or city." Jemma suggested. She didn't think she could stand being isolated from people again, ever. She wanted to be surrounded by people, but also be able to have alone time with Skye. She was sure they'd find it somewhere.

Skye considered the fact that this, and other talks they’d had surrounding the rocking chairs, was conversation about finding and creating a home together. That general thought was both awesome and terrifying even though there was a small part of her that kept trying to tell her it was never actually going to happen, that she wasn’t that lucky. She was willing to ignore the nagging pessimism on the back of her mind in favor of this kind of dream, after they made all those wishes. “I think we can manage that. We’ll get a realtor on it for us to bring the place to us,” She smiled. “A house somewhere between city and suburb, with a big yard but decent spread of neighbors, at least one porch for rocking chairs. Do we have any other requirements?” she asked. Skye didn’t think she had any besides the yard for the animals. So long as she was somewhere with Jemma, that was all that mattered. 

"At least two or three bedrooms." Jemma added quickly. It was the first thing that popped into her head and her blush would tell Skye why she wanted the extra room. "In case our family gets bigger." She smiled. The dream they were putting together was more than Jemma could ask for. Their animals, friends, a safe place together... and potentially children. It was a life Jemma never knew she wanted but somehow now desired most.

Skye felt the tops of her ears heat up and was glad for the cover of darkness surrounding them. She smiled a bit bashfully and ducked to the side to kiss Jemma’s cheek. The fact that she was possibly coming out of this whole thing with a family was mind boggling to start. Knowing that it would possibly expand past what it was already was just...hard to even fathom as something tangible. “How many kids do you want?” She asked. Skye had never fully considered this idea for herself. Like having a family, by this point in her life or at least by the point in time when they were back in that airport, it have never seemed like a remote possibility given her past failures. 

"However many are ours." Jemma caught her bottom lip with her teeth. She honestly didn't know. One, two... more? She had never imagined herself as a mother but every time she watched Skye with Ace she realized how good a mother they both could be for another kid who needed them. "We would foster of course." She added, twisting her head to look up to see Skye's reaction. "No puppies, everyone wants puppies. The ones who need us." She elaborated.

Of all the heartstrings Jemma could pluck in Skye’s chest that she’d never let anyone else near, this was one that she hadn’t expected at all. It was overwhelming to hear it. Quite often over the last few months, Skye had wondered if any given moment she was going to wake up and find this was all some kind of coma dream and Jemma wasn’t real - how could she be when she was so perfect? She felt the light burn in the bridge of her nose as her eyes pooled with emotion. She honestly couldn’t speak to reply to her because of the lump of emotion that had stuck in her throat. Instead, she leaned over and kissed Jemma soundly on the mouth a few times. “I’ll never be able to properly put to words how much I love you…” she murmured when she could actually speak again, her forehead pressed against Jemma’s. She bumped their noses together and closed her eyes lightly which sent a stray tear down her cheek. “If this isn’t real please don’t let me wake up,” she whispered, almost to herself. 

"Never." Jemma promised. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, just memorizing the smell of her and the sound of her quivering, emotional voice. It made her want to hold onto Skye tightly and never let go, but she settled for resting a hand on her cheek and brushing away Skye's tears with her thumb.    
  
"I promise it isn't a dream. It's all real, every bit of it. Even the dinosaurs." Jemma chuckled. Trudy lifted her head and squinted at them, but settled it back down over Rex's shoulders and went back to sleep.

________  
 _Day 22 on The Avenger_

It was hot and humid. The boat was slowly bobbing on the sea, adrift with only a general direction since there was no wind at the moment to adjust the sail and carry them in the direction they wanted to go. It was almost two, which meant they still had a number of hours of sun left and their visors only case so much shade on them. No one wanted to move. Bobbi hadn’t actually moved since from her spot since the night before. She’d skipped breakfast and had just stayed in bed while the other ate and grumbled if she thought she got to loud. 

“Hey,” Skye had gone to fill her water bottle up and had spotted that Bobbi’s was empty and couldn’t remember when she’d filled it last so she’d snagged it and filled it up while she was filling her own. She brought over some food with her too and knelt in front of Bobbi’s bed roll. Setting down the capped bottle, she reached with her free hand for Bobbi’s shoulder and gave it a gentle shake. “Hey, Bobbi, wake up for a bit, you should have some food and wat-,” 

Bobbi suddenly jerked into a sitting position and while one hand slapped Skye's away, the other arm shoved at Skye's shoulder and pushed her away. She grumbled something under her breath and when she looked up and realized Skye couldn't hear, she said it again.    
  
"Don't touch me, jesus. Boundaries." She practically growled. Trudy's head shot up and when she and Rex saw Bobbi push Skye, Rex darted over and got in between them, making angry noises and getting into Bobbi's face. Bobbi stretched out her arms and shoved him away too, causing Trudy to snarl and make her way over, snapping at Bobbi in warning.

Skye blinked and dropped the food pack and her bottle of water when Bobbi shoved at her. “Whoa-,” before she could get anything else out Rex was between them. “Rex, no. Down-,” The boat rocked as Trudy started their way. Skye’s eyes widened. “Rex, go to mum,” she commanded. Rex looked back at her but Skye swung her head to jut it toward Jemma and Rex sauntered off but not without growling over his shoulder at Skye, who turned around and put her hands up to stop Trudy. “It’s okay, it’s okay…” she tried to calm her down. “Bobbi doesn’t feel well. Back up a bit,” She reached out to pat the feathers along her neck. “Although she didn’t have to shove Rex, I agree,” She frowned as she glanced over her shoulder with concern at Bobbi. “Go lay back down, I’ll be right there,” She promised the dinosaur. 

"Just give me space, leave me alone." Bobbi shot back in response to whatever look Skye gave her. She ignored the food and water offerings and laid back down, huffing as she tossed and turned until she was facing the wall of the boat and not everyone else in it.

Skye put her hands up and shrugged. “Yeah, whatever,” she sighed and moved back toward her normal area of the boat, trying to usher Trudy with her. She sat down and immediately Rex crawled up across her lap, which wasn’t exactly comfortable in the heat. Trudy sat down next to her and Skye had to alternate patting each of them to reassure them. “Thank you for attempting to protect me,” she mostly spoke to Trudy since she figured she understood better. “But we don’t go after Bobbi or anyone else in the boat.” she said. “Right?” She pulled just a bit of mango from what was left of her own food pack and gave some to each of them as she leaned back and looked over at Jemma while trying not to think about how warm Rex’s fur was in the stale heat of the day. She contemplated tying a rope to her ankle and taking a dive in the ocean to cool off. 

"That was strange." Jemma frowned and stared across the boat at Bobbi's back. She was usually a lot more logic based like Jemma was herself, so something had to be up. "She must still be feeling sick." She sighed and tried to explain Bobbi's strange behavior.   
  
"Stop talking about me." Bobbi turned her head over her shoulder and threw her words, laced with venom, at Jemma. Something was up and Jemma wasn't going to push any buttons, so she held her hands up in surrender and fell silent.

Skye frowned, her brow furrowing as she narrowed her eyes over toward Bobbi. It wasn’t like her at all to snap like that. Even after Hunter...Bobbi didn’t treat any of them like that. Okay, she did yell at Skye from time to time but it was usually because Skye was flipping out and needed sense smacked into her, so it was warranted. She’d woken Bobbi up numerous times when she was in a bad mood while they were on the island - or even while they were on the boat - and she’d never reacted like that, ever. She was just nodding to Jemma’s comment when Bobbi snapped at them again. Before she could blurt something back at Bobbi, which clearly wouldn’t help the situation, Skye pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth and bit down into it. 

Skye leaned her head back against the boat again and sighed. She rolled her head to look over at Jemma. Between the heat from Rex’s fur on her lap, the heat from Trudy’s feather’s next to her and the fact that she hadn’t peeled her way down to her under things to compensate for the heat, Skye was quickly losing grip on her own temper with every drip of sweat that rolled down her neck from her matted, wet hair, which was pulled up to be out of the way. She almost wanted to grab her knife and cut all of it off completely. “Do we have rope long enough to go for a swim?” She grumbled. Even just hanging over the side at the ladder to dip into the cold water would be fabulous right now. 

"Please don't," Jemma's brow furrowed. She understood that Skye was hot, she could tell with a single glance, but the word "swim" struck a cold, panic inducing fear into her heart. They'd had plenty of issues with water already and there were too many things that could go wrong to let her go into the water for a brief time. Anything could happen; she could somehow come untied from the boat, there could be sharks in the water... anything could happen. "I know it's hot, but I'd be scared." Jemma admitted, breaking eye contact with Skye as she revealed her weakness.

Skye frowned. “Hey,” she leaned over as far as she could, bracing her weight on her elbow and kissed the outside of Jemma’s arm. “I won’t. I’m sorry,” She said right away. She wasn’t going to rule out using the bucket to scoop some water out and douse herself by the drain sections of the boat later, though. That, at least, wouldn’t require getting out of the boat. “I didn’t mean to upset you.” 

"It's okay, I just..." Jemma mumbled. She looked back up at Skye and gave her a quick kiss before she pressed their foreheads together. "I don't want to give the universe another opportunity to try to kill one of us." She sighed. In a normal situation it would have sounded like a joke, but she was dead serious.

Skye nodded awkwardly with their foreheads touching. “I’m not gonna let anything make me break my promise to get you home to your parents, Jem,” she lifted her hand to touch Jemma’s cheek lightly. “I never thought I’d miss the wind so much…” she lamented. For their whole trip so far they’d head steady winds to push the boat along. Now it was gone and it wasn’t as if they knew for sure if or when it would return. 

"Can you guys shut up?" Bobbi's voice drifted through the air once again and Jemma's face scrunched up in response. None of the others were awake enough (or if they were, they didn't want to get involved) to oppose or agree with Bobbi, but Jemma was fed up with the way she was acting.   
  
"We're all miserable, it doesn't give you the right to act like an arse." Jemma didn't snap like Bobbi did, but she delivered her opinion in a calm manner. Bobbi still didn't take it well. She grabbed the water bottle Skye had given to her and chucked it at Jemma, who had to bring her arms up to stop it from hitting her and Skye.    
  
"Skye may think your accent is cute but right now it's-" Bobbi paused, cleared her throat and continued in an awful British accent "incredibly annoying." She finished. Jemma's eyes started to water and she tried to tell herself Bobbi was only being mean because she was seasick, but she'd crossed a line and was attacking Jemma for no reason.

Skye reached for Trudy immediately as the dinosaur started to launch to her feet again. “Trudy, no,” She said as Rex growled again, this time angry that something violent happened and that he’d been disturbed from sleeping in the heat.  She eased the dinosaur back down into her spot before she turned toward Rex. “Lay down,” She patted the bed roll between her and Jemma’s legs to get Rex to calm down. She turned next to Bobbi. “I’m sorry we give a shit about your well being. This isn’t an ideal situation for anyone. You don’t have to be a bitch about it and you  _ definitely  _ don’t have to get unnecessarily violent. We’re in this together, y’know.” She snapped. 

"Don't be stupid. You and Jemma are it in together. Hunter's dead." Bobbi rolled back over, probably to hide her tears from her friends when they were bickering and she was trying to seem tough. Jemma felt a pang in her chest as Bobbi said it, because suddenly she felt guilty. Jemma had recovered from Hunter's death so quickly she hadn't even thought of it as a possibility for Bobbi's distress. She couldn't imagine how she would feel if it had been Skye yet here they were, flaunting their togetherness in Bobbi's face. She was probably jealous.

Skye gaped at Bobbi’s back. She couldn’t say it wasn’t her fault Hunter was dead. It was. Skye hadn’t killed Garrett when she had the chance in the woods. She’d knocked him out and run away. His retaliation had been to take Jemma. Hunter, May, Will, Mack...people had died trying to free Jemma who was only held captive because Garrett knew he could control Skye if he took Jemma. Bobbi was family. Everyone on the boat was family. While Skye knew she would never survive if Jemma wasn’t there, the rest of her family was in this boat. It was the reason she had acted on instinct to jump into the water to go after Ace. It was the reason for half of the things she’d done on the island. They’d all lost Hunter, as part of that family, but Bobbi had been the one that suffered the most from the loss. There was no debating that, even if Bobbi had insisted whenever Skye brought it up that it was just a fun companionship thing, they all knew it had been more than that. “Bobbi-,” 

"What do I have to do to get some quiet?!" Bobbi cut her off and hearing it the first time it would sound angry, but Jemma could pick up on the slight quivering of her voice behind all the venom.

Skye's guilt came in overwhelming waves anymore. With nothing to occupy her time as much as all the work on the island while they were out at sea, it was a constant battle to keep her mind occupied. The swell was overwhelming now as Skye closed her mouth and sat back. In the silence that followed, she reached over,  fingers sliding down Jemma's forearm until their fingers eye entwined. Skye never would have gotten on this boat if Jemma hadn't survived. She would have pushed the others out and then would have watched them leave but she wouldn't have gone with them. She wouldn't have had the strength to go on like Bobbi'd had.  Outside of Jemma, though,  Skye had been closest with Bobbi and Mack. Skye wasn't okay with Mack being gone. She wasn't okay with any of the ones they lost bring gone. Moreover, she wouldn't be okay if something happened to Bobbi on the boat. They were in this together.  She want just going to get Jemma home. She wanted to get all of them, the ones that were left of them, home. Skye squeezed Jemma's hand but didn't say anything as her mind swirled with awful winding thoughts. 

Jemma squeezed Skye's hand back and glanced between her and Bobbi. She could practically feel Skye's guilt seeping out of her body and she wanted to comfort her, so she pulled Skye's arm into her lap and traced little patterns across her forearm to help calm her down. She didn't know what to say, but it was best to just keep quiet and let Bobbi sleep off whatever was going on.

______________   
Day 37 on The Avenger   
  
A full day after the big fight with Bobbi, the wind found them again. It has been fairly steady ever since, even if peace among the boat occupants had been rough in the wake of Bobbi’s breakdown. They'd patched things up a best thru coil,  given the circumstances. Everyone was some level of weary and short tempered.  They were also keeping watch of the ever dwindling supplies of fresh water and food. It was ever present on everyone's mind that they hadn't passed another island or landmass since they'd left the island.  Skye was hoping that if they didn't find civilized land,  maybe they could find a small island where they could temporarily dock,  restock on food supplies and fresh water then be off again with only a few extra days added onto their voyage.     
  
The longer they went without seeing land,  in fact, the more Skye fantasized about finding this fantasy pit stop island. She fluctuated between thinking about that and her guilt issues. After having a night shift watch with Trip, Skye was attempting to sleep under one of the visors. She felt irrationally irritable, but she was keeping it to herself, rather them snapping at anyone.  Rex was feeling particularly restyled it seemed and kept headbutting her side, shoulder and crook of her neck to try and goad her into paying,  but Skye kept brushing his attempts off,  which she never usually did because she preferred to tire Rex out whenever she could. A bored tiger on a small boat would be a great danger to them all. Skye sighed when Rex let out a low whine then grumbled and head butted her ribs again. Clearly she wasn't allowed to sleep. She threw a hand up to run it over her face,  exhausted and beginning to lose hope that they had a chance of drifting back to civilization on they're homemade boat.

Jemma had been lazing around, sipping on a bit of water and running her fingers over Trudy's feathers. Her eye was on Skye and when she saw how bothersome Rex was being, she clicked her tongue and called Rex over to her. She grabbed a rope and started to play some gentle tug of war with him so he would leave Skye alone to sleep.    
  
"Hey, look!" Ace suddenly shouted. Jemma dropped the rope and Rex tumbled backward. Trudy raised her head and looked in the direction of Ace's pointed finger, squawking in distress. Jemma jumped to her feet and put her hands on the edge of the boat to look out across the water. Several massive, dark shapes were traveling alongside them and when one finally surfaced, water sprayed into the air like a geyser and rained down on them, causing Rex to dash for cover. His panic, along with Trudy's as she followed him, made the boat start to rock slightly and Jemma held onto the side of the boat so tightly her knuckles went white.   
  
"Whales!" Jemma shouted. Under normal sailing circumstances she would be excited, but these things were multiple times the size of their boat and were surfacing all around them. Out of nowhere, the boat was jostled and Jemma stumbled, tripping over the edge of the boat and shrieking as she fell into the water, but she found it was only a few feet deep. The boat kept driving forward and Jemma got to her hands and knees, realizing with horror that she was on the back of a whale and the boat was just out of reach.

Skye sat bolt upright at Ace’s shout, a part of her panicked and the other part hoped for land of some kind. Before she registered what was happening, she was drenched in water. Her eyes widened as she looked all around to see the beasts surfacing on all sides of them. Trip had launched himself toward the front of the boat and was frantically throwing one of his nets out into the water, trying to catch any fish fleeing from the humpback whales that were surfacing to gulp den schools of fish.    
  
When the boat rocked as Rex and Trudy ducked for cover, Raina grabbed onto Ace and pulled him to sit so he wouldn't fall out of the boat again. Just as Skye made it to her knee, the boat jostled again and Skye spotted Jemma falling over the side right before she heard the splash "Jemma!" As always, Skye was in motion before she fully registered the situation. Already down to her under things from the day's heat and barefoot on top of it, Skye scrambled to the back of the boat.    
  
"Skye!" Bobbi tossed Skye the end of a rope just as she was vaulting or the back. Skye caught the end and swung her arm to wrap it around her fist. She tumbled into the water, unprepared for how shallow it was and smashed into the body of the whale Jemma was on. Her eyes widened even further. Scrambling to her feet, Skye tried to pull herself toward Jemma but the whale must have been disturbed by the jolt of Skye landing on it and it began to roll so that it was stomach up instead of face up.    
  
Skye scrambled to try and race toward the side that was rolling her way while still trying to close the distance between her and Jemma. "Jemma!" She shouted again. On the boat, Bobbi tied the other end of the ten foot rope off and moved to help Raina, who was frantically trying to drop the sail so they could slow down or turn around to go back.

“Skye!” Jemma called back. Her first instinct was to get to Skye for help back into the boat, but she was also frustrated with Skye for jumping in after her without coming up with a real plan. Without Bobbi they’d both be in for trouble. As the whale began to roll, her mind switched focus. She was quickly moving back toward Skye, but the current from the whale’s movement pushed the boat further away from them until Skye reached the end of her rope and was jerked backward with the rolling of the sea creature. Jemma was torn between swimming toward Skye and the rope and swimming the opposite way away from them to stay on the whale where the water was shallow. She was afraid to go into the water with the whale flipping over and she was afraid because Skye was in that very situation. Her instincts made her back away from Skye to stay on the whale and out of the corner of her eye she saw movement and her eyes flashed over to the whale’s fin, which came out of the water and then slammed back down into the surface, creating waves that pushed the boat further away and sprayed water all over them. Jemma had to wipe her eyes and true panic washed over her as she realized the boat and Skye were only going to get further away. She got to her feet in the water and with all the lower body strength she possessed she leapt into the deep water and paddled frantically to get to Skye and the rope.

Jemma’s arms ached and her breath came in quick gasps. Just when she was almost to Skye and reached out to grasp her outstretched hand, the whale smacked the water yet again. When water rushed down to fill the space the fin had cleared Jemma felt like she was being sucked into a void against her will. Her head went under the water and her back pressed against a rough surface. It was the whale’s fin. She grabbed onto the edge of it and held on when it went deeper into the water and when it came up yet again. She held on for dear life and when the fin came out of the water again, Jemma came with it and she let go to frantically swim away before it came down on her again.

Skye was tossed about a bit as the waves took her off the whale. She spun around in the water to get a fix on Jemma again and was about to drop the rope when the massive fin came out of the water and she was left just staring wide eyed at everything happening. She screamed Jemma’s name when she was flung back and disappeared under the water. Skye let go of the rope. She had to. She couldn’t swim fast enough while hold onto it and it was still floating in the water. They could make their way back to it. She kicked and swung her arms madly, more frantica than she had been when she dove in after Ace. They nearly collided when they finally reached each other. Skye spotted the fin behind Jemma coming up out of the water again. She pointed to the side, out of the whale’s current path. “There!” It would divert them from going directly back to the boat rope, but they needed to get away from the whale and fast. She kept pace with Jemma to try and make sure nothing else happened to her before they got back to the rope. Bobbi was shouting after them from the boat once she realized Skye let go of the rope but Raina was holding her back from jumping in. The only difference this time being in the water, besides knowing the whales were in there, was that they’d at least had proper rest and weren’t all beat up. They were going to need it to get back to the boat. 

"Brace yourselves!" Bobbi had her hands cupped in an "O" shape around her mouth and called out to her friends in the water as the fin came back down for a third time. Jemma latched onto Skye's arm and she held her breath as water splashed over them and a wave crashed into their backs, bobbing them up and down.    
  
The boat was starting to gain a bit of distance from the whale, which was good since it couldn't be destroyed but bad since Skye and Jemma were stranded in the water. The sails were down and Bobbi pulled the rope back in, tied another to the end of it, and threw it out into the water so it ended up several yards away from where the couple was trying to stay afloat.

Skye caught just enough of a breath before the water hit. She clamped her hand around Jemma’s forearm and held tight. When the wave subsided a bit, without letting go of Jemma’s arm. “C’mon!” Skye pulled herself into action again after orienting herself toward the boat. She spotted the rope as it landed and began to swim, kicking her feet and pulling with her free arm. “Don’t stop!” She called out to Jemma, eyes on the rope end, hand nearly death gripped around Jemma’s arm, unwilling to let go until Jemma had the rope in her hand. She trusted Bobbi or one of the others would yell out to warn them again if necessary. Right now the most important thing was getting to that rope. In the boat, Bobbi and Raina were waiting to reel in the rope while Trip was waiting to yank the sail back up once Skye and Jemma were on board to try and get them moving again. “Keep going! Little farther!” She kept shouting between quick breaths, just to keep Jemma with her. When her hand finally caught the end of the rope, she quickly twisted her hand around it a few times and pulled Jemma in be as close as she could so she could grab onto the rope, though she didn’t let go of Jemma’s arm right away just in case. 

“INCOMING!” Bobbi shouted, this time much more frantically. A whale on the other side of the one they’d been battling again, soared up into the air, at least ten feet up, casting shadow on them as it suspended in the air a moment and then flopped down next to the whale they’d just barely gotten away from. Skye’s eyes widened and she sucked in a giant gulp of air. She swung her hand around the rope a few more times and gripped it tightly while simultaneously winding her legs around Jemma and crossing them, locked her muscles as tightly as she could to hold on. Her heart was already pounding madly from the way her forearm was wrapped all up in the rope like it had been in the pond when the alligator gar pulled her under. She had just enough time to lock eyes with Jemma before a massive wall of water smashed into them and sent them rolling end over end. The only bonus was that it would send them toward the boat, assuming they could orient themselves to swim up to the surface after the torrent stopped tumbling them about. 

Jemma wrapped her arms around Skye's torso and barely managed to inhale before they were submerged and jerked around by the rushing water. The tumbling knocked the wind out of her and for a moment as she inhaled water Skye's legs around her reminded her of the seatbelt that held her down as she drowned. One hand grabbed at Skye's ankle but she realized in time that she needed to stay attached to Skye and not the opposite.   
  
When they finally reached the surface again Jemma coughed and gagged and grasped desperately at Skye's shoulders, not realizing she was making it more difficult to stay afloat. Raina and Bobbi were reeling them in and Jemma started to paddle with one arm, but kept the other securely under Skye's arm and latched onto her shoulder from behind.

Skye didn’t unlock her legs from Jemma even as she struggled to keep her head above water with Jemma clawing at her shoulders and panicking. She was too afraid another wave would hit them if she loosened her grip. In her own panic about drowning, she inhaled at the wrong moment and pulled mostly water instead of air. By the time the rope was reeled in, she was coughing and sputtering. She had just enough left in her as she unhooked her legs form Jemma to hurl her by the arm she was holding, over to the ladder and side of the boat. Raina moved to help haul Jemma up into the boat as Bobbi leaned to try and reach her. 

“Look out!” Trip dove for Bobbi and yanked her back into the boat by the back of her pants as a whale further out flew out of the water and flopped back into it. Skye grabbed the edge of the boat with the hand wrapped in the rope and pulled as she reached for Jemma’s back end and pushed just as Raina was pulling her over the edge of the boat. The wave hit a second later, knocking Bobbi Trip, Rain and Jemma into the boat. Ace, Rex, Ruby and Trudy were huddles close together trying to get cover in the middle of the boat, all crying, wailing, whinnying or squawking. The rope went slack as Trip and Bobbi were knocked into the boat and Skye lost her grip on the side of the boat and was instead swept under it without a chance to really grab a full breath. Still caught up in the rope around her forearm, she frantically tried to find her way back to the surface but was disoriented and only wound up slamming into the bottom edge of the boat as she flailed frantically. In her panic, she fought against the tug on her arm as her frantic mind flashed back to that moment in the pond. Her feet tried to stop her forward motion, jamming against the boat blindly as she was pulled unknowingly toward the surface by the others reeling in the rope. When she hit air, her body automatically forced water out in a cough and gasped to get more in. Her arms flung upward wildly and she struggled to grab hold of something - a person or the side of the boat, anything she could hold onto to keep from being swept away again because she knew she didn’t have the energy to swim back if it happened again. 

"Skye!" Jemma lunged for the edge of the boat and Bobbi had an arm wrapped around her waist so she wouldn't fall overboard again. She grabbed for Skye's arm, not the rope so she wouldn't burn her, and pulled with all her might to get Skye back up onto the boat.   
  
"You okay?" She asked breathlessly when they both collapsed back onto the floor of the boat. Raina and Trip already had the sail up and they were heading through the pod of whales and back to smooth sailing. She coughed up a bit of seawater herself and leaned over the side of the boat to clear her lungs.

Skye landed on the floor of the boat and promptly rolled onto her side as she coughed up the seawater still in her lungs, unable to pull herself up to hang over the side of the boat. She gasped for air as Bobbi unwrapped the rope from her forearm. On hand squeezed a random part of Bobbi’s leg to thank her. The other found to closest part of Jemma she could touch and held on as she closed her eyes and caught her breath. She managed a small nod, but that was about it. Skye’s arms wobbled a bit, hands shook, as she pushed herself to sit up. “Everyone?” She looked around the boat, still dizzy and disoriented for a moment, trying to make a headcount even though she was sure the others had already been accounted for by Bobbi or Trip. Bobbi grabbed a couple of towels to wrap them both up since Skye was shivering, though Skye’s trembling was more adrenaline spikes, fear and ptsd from previous water incidents. She kept a hand somewhere touching Jemma at pretty much every point, afraid she might slip out of the boat again if she didn’t even though they were both securely inside the boat’s confines again. She leaned forward and tried to take slow, deep breaths to calm her heart with only mild success. 

Jemma tried to get out of her soaked clothes without letting go of Skye's hand, but sometimes it had to be done to get off her vest and her shirt and Skye quickly clutched at her again as soon as it was done. Once they had towels wrapped around them they huddled where Skye had landed and Rex and Trudy came over to nudge and snuggle them.    
  
"It's okay." Jemma kissed Skye's temple and wrapped an arm around her to rub up and down her arm.

Skye leaned heavily into Jemma’s side. Normally, Skye would've put up a brave front, acted like she was alright,  and fussed over Jemma instead. Right then,  though,  Skye was just worn down. "Thought you didn't wanna go for a swim,"  she murmured as Rex sprawled across their laps to cuddle them. Trudy was behind them, alternating between nuzzling each one and resting her chin on either of their heads. She knew the water scared Jemma. Hell, it scared Skye. But there was no way in hell Skye wouldn't have jumped in after Jemma. They had their rule of thumb; wherever Jemma went, Skye went, and vice versa.

"I don't." Skye's joke elicited a chuckle from Jemma and she gave Skye a firm squeeze to reassure her that they were both there. "I never want to swim again." She added. It seemed every time Jemma touched water she almost drowned, so she was apt to accept that her relationship with it was never going to work out and she should just avoid it entirely, though admittedly that was difficult on a boat.

Skye shuddered at the idea of swimming ever again. She'd never been opposed to swimming before and handed minded doing laps in the pool at her gym when she had the time, but she was definitively over it. She really hoped no one else fell over the side because she wasn't sure she had it in her to make it back into the boat if she had to jump over again. "Doctor, snake slayer, pyromaniac and now whale walker," Skye sighed and leaned her face closer into the crook of Jemma's neck. "I'm gonna need you to stop racking up nicknames, Jem, my heart's weaker than it used to be." It was mostly a joke. Mostly.

______  
 _Day 57 on The Avenger_  
  
Everyone had mostly been lazing about since the whale incident. It had been smooth sailing since, but everyone was still hyper aware that they had maybe a week of water left and less than a month of food. They all knew it wasn't going to be enough since they had no idea where in the ocean they were exactly, only that they were headed in the right direction. It could be another month, another two months, they had no way to tell.   
  
To start conserving water they'd started to only take a few sips a day and that, along with the immense heat from the past several days, was starting to make the entire crew, animals included, lethargic and grumpy. At least they didn't have the energy to squabble. Jemma and Skye didn't even make contact other than their linked hands as they slept in an attempt to stay cool. Nobody really moved unless it was necessary, at least until Raina started making a commotion.  
  
"Hey, over here!" She screamed. It immediately woke Jemma, but the words were confusing to her. Raina looked back at her and then went back to jumping, shouting, and waving her hands about over her head.  
  
"What?!" Jemma asked, stumbling to her feet.  
  
"Don't you see the ship? It's right there!" Raina shouted. Jemma squinted off into the distance where Raina was pointing, but there was nothing other than the bending of light in the heat and the reflections on the water's surface. Raina was seeing things.

When Raina first spoke and Jemma let go of her hand,  Skye bolted up. She expected more whales and wanted to drag both women back down before they could be tossed from it again. Then she heard the word 'boat' and was up on her feet,  hands up to her forehead to shield her eyes and search. Could they be that lucky?  Was it possible that they had wandered into a shipping lane after nearly sixty days?! Skye's heart raced erratically with thoughts of each possibility as she searched the entirety of the visible water line.    
  
With a frown, she glanced over at Jemma, concern etched into the taut skin of her face before she turned to Raina. "Hey," she put her hand gently on the back of Raina's shoulder. "It's pretty sunny today,  and hot.  The sun’s bouncing off the water..." she said as gently as she possibly could. "Why don't you come sit in the shade and rest a bit?  I'll take over your watch, " she offered.

"I can't just sit in the shade, we need to flag down the ship!" Raina said frantically. She started jumping up and down again and it rocked the boat, causing Trudy to grumble some.   
  
"Raina, there's no boat." Jemma grabbed her forearm and tried to lower it, but Raina pushed out and her hand landed on Jemma's chest, shoving her back enough to stumble and grab onto the sail's pole.   
  
"Hey, Raina, calm down." Bobbi said. "There's no boat, it isn't real."   
  
"How?!" Raina looked between Bobbi, Jemma, and Skye with wide eyes.

“It’s-,” Skye started to say but Raina started to jump again, ignoring them and shouting for the boat. 

“Ace, crawl up here with Ruby,” Trip called to Ace to get him to balance the boat a bit better. “Rex, c’mere,” He tapped at the boat bottom a few times to call the tiger over. 

The boat still rocked from Raina’s commotion and Skye wasn’t up for jumping into the water at all again so she slipped behind Raina and wrapped her arms around her so that she were pinning her arms down. She hung her weight on Raina to pull her down into the boat on their sides. “Raina!” she said loudly. “It’s a mirage!” Okay, granted, Skye could’ve handled that better, but she was running low on patience at the moment. No one else was going to accidentally fall out of the boat or almost drown, not after what happened with the whales. Nope. 

"It's not! Raina shouted. "It's-!" She paused, stilled in Skye's arms, and blinked several times as she stared off into the distance. Jemma could practically see the moment Raina realized her mistake because suddenly all the hope drained from her face and she looked dark and desolate, now unable to believe the fantasy her mind had presented her with.    
  
"It had to be..." Raina mumbled, but Jemma knew it was no longer because she was confused about her vision. She was saying it had to be because if it hadn't been, they were going to run out of supplies soon in the middle of the open ocean. Raina was right, it had had to be. They were royally screwed. 

_______________  
_ Night 64 on The Avenger _   
  
Jemma enjoyed her night shifts. She mostly enjoyed the expanse of the sky, but when she wasn't on a shift with her girlfriend, she liked to watch her own Skye. She appreciated every second they had together because deep down, she knew they probably had less than a week to live. The day before they had each had half a bottle of water left with no sign of land or ship in any direction. Their food was mostly dried for preservation so they wouldn't be getting much moisture out of it. They were at the end of their supply and they all knew it, but nobody voiced it.    
  
So Jemma sat on one side of the boat, staring intermittently up at the stars to make sure they were headed in the right direction and then back to Skye sleeping a few feet away, Rex curled up in the curve of her legs and Trudy's head draped over her waist. If it wasn't so dark she would have tried to take a picture. She was surprised she could see it herself with what little light was provided by the moon in the immense blackness. Perhaps she had just gotten used to it.   
  
She spent a long while just counting the stars in the sky, as pointless a task it was, before she felt a nudge at the back of her shoulder and turned to find Rex nudging her with his head. He lapped pitifully at the plastic at Jemma's side and his dry tongue stuck to the water bottle, causing a frown to settle on Jemma's face. She couldn't very well let him stay dehydrated, so she fetched the coconut shell they'd been using as the animal bowl to give him some of her last share of water.    
  
She untwisted the cap and just as she tilted it to pour, a small wave rocked the boat and the water bottle, which was slightly damp from Rex's minimal saliva, slipped from her bad right hand. Some of the water was in the bowl but the rest spilled out onto the wood as the water bottle rolled away and Jemma frantically crawled after it, muttering under her breath. When she finally caught it, there was nothing but droplets left inside and Rex had already lapped up the water that ended up in the bowl and was moving on to lick the wet wood. Jemma groaned quietly and when she looked up, she met Raina's eyes. She wasn't quite aware of why, but it made her heart nearly stop.    
  
"Don't tell anyone." Jemma blurted before she even knew her own intentions. Her brain was already thinking about everyone else giving up small shares of their water if they found out about this and Jemma couldn't bear to take from the others because of her lame hand and foolish mistake of trusting it. "I mean it, not a word." She whispered and moved over to the edge of the boat. She dipped the bottle under the surface and filled it halfway with seawater so nobody would know. "Promise me." Jemma nearly growled it and Raina's eyes widened as she nodded. Jemma hoped she understood. She wasn't going to take from the others so she would pretend she still has water and dump a little out when nobody was looking so they thought she was drinking it. It was the only way she knew how to keep Skye from giving up her own water.


	25. Turbulence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warnings:** bit of violence involved
> 
> Much love to all of you as always!! <3 <3 <3  
> We finished this chapter early so, here you go!
> 
> Hang onto your butts and #WhereverWednesday!  
> :D  
> <3 <3 <3
> 
> ________________

_ Night 66 on The Avenger  _

They were out of water. It had been twenty-four hours since the last of theirs had been consumed after Skye gave Ace the last few sips of her water bottle. Trip managed to catch a couple of small fish but the animals had scrambled for them so out of everyone on the boat, they were the ones feeling the least lethargic. Rex had been caught hanging over the side of the boat and lapping at the saltwater. He’d been lazily scolded repeatedly for it but, thankfully it didn’t seem to have any side effects from it other than being cranky. 

Skye was on shift tonight with Trip, who was trying to fish even though it was night time. Skye had no idea if that was a better time to fish or not. She was too busy watching Jemma sleep. It was chillier than most of the other nights had been and Jemma was cocooned both by their blanket and by Rex and Trudy keeping her warm. Ace and Ruby were sleeping at Trudy’s other side with Raina and Bobbi tucked up on his other side to keep warm. Skye had her salvaged leather jacket on over her clothes and was using one of the extra blankets to stay warm huddled next to Trip’s side. 

“She seemed really exhausted today,” Skye murmured as she glanced up at the sky to orient herself to the direction they were floating, ensuring they were heading the right way. 

“Who? Jemma?” Trip yawned and cast his line out again. Skye nodded. Trip shrugged slightly. “I guess so. We’re all worn down though,” he added as a second thought to try and assure Skye. 

“Yeah,” She agreed and looked out across the expanse of dark water. They were all worn down alright. And they’d start dying within the week if they didn’t find a ship or an island to find fresh water. Even if they found an island, they would have to find it in time to actually be strong enough to try to find fresh water. They needed to come across another ship. It was that or they’d die. Skye shifted and moved closer to Jemma and Rex. She tucked some of Jemma’s hair behind her ear and leaned down to kiss her forehead. They had to get picked up by a ship. She couldn’t watch Jemma die. Not again. She couldn’t watch any of them die, not after everything they’d been through. It couldn’t all be for nothing. 

_________

_ Day 67 on The Avenger _

The days seemed to be getting hotter and hotter, so it probably meant the crew should have stayed under the sails relaxing during the hours when the sun beat down on them. Jemma chose to do this by reading at the back of the boat. Skye was sitting in the front trying to keep Rex off of her so she wasn't so hot and everyone else was lazing about. It was quiet when Jemma stood up and started mumbling, presumably reading lines from the Odyssey. She headed toward Skye in the front and a few small bumps in the water made the boat tilt, causing Jemma to stumble and put her weight on the sail. She blinked several times, squinted, and shook her head a bit to try to clear her blurry vision. When she looked up again she met Skye's eyes and smiled despite the look of concern etched on Skye's face.    
  


Skye looked around the boat when it shifted, mentally making a head count. Her eyes landed on Jemma’s as her brow furrowed at the way Jemma stumbled. “Jem?” She asked as she pushed Rex off her and climbed to her feet. She started waking the few steps toward Jemma. Something was wrong. She didn’t know what it was, but she knew she wasn’t imagining it. She felt her heart sink into her stomach as she moved stiffly from her own exhaustion. 

  
"Don't worry, 's just turbulence." Jemma's words were slurred and forced and her posture slacked while she stood. The book fell to the floor of the boat with a thump. She lasted another few seconds as exhaustion fell over her before her eyes shut and her legs gave out.

Skye’s brow furrow initially at the comment. “What are you-JEMMA!” Skye’s eyes flew open wide and she was suddenly extremely alert. The book fell and Skye lunged forward as Jemma wobbled. She made it just in time to catch Jemma before she fell all the way and instead went down with her, but at least broke her fall in doing so. “Jem!” She shouted. “Jemma?!” She shifted quickly while trying not to hurt Jemma as she moved to crawl out from under her. “Jemma! Wake up, c’mon, wake up!” She lightly tapped at Jamma’s cheeks and shook her shoulder. This couldn’t be from the water already could it? Jemma’s skin was burning up. It was hot out here, that was true. Was she overheated? What was she supposed to do? Her eyes were wild as she looked around at the others, far too helpless for her own control issues to bear. “Someone fill the bucket will saltwater, she’s burning up, we need to cool her off!” She couldn’t drink it but they could put a cold rag on her forehead, wipe down her arms, something, anything. 

Everyone on the boat was in action the moment Jemma fell. They couldn't crowd her or else the boat would tip in one direction, but Trip had the bucket in the ocean seconds after Skye made the command. Bobbi only had moments to process and her eyes widened when she saw Trip head to Jemma with the water.   
  
"Don't!" Bobbi rushed them and reached for the bucket. Trip initially tried to pull away as his first reaction, but Bobbi shoved her arm further and knocked it out of his hand, spilling it across the boat's floor. She hurriedly grabbed a blanket from the nearest bed and had a hand on Skye's shoulder to hold her back while she tucked it around Jemma with the other.

Skye blinked and whirled around on Bobbi when she stopped Trip. Rex wound up splashed with the water as he tried to wind his way between Trip and Bobbi and Jemma, letting out a low growl, unsure what was happening, just that something was wrong with Jemma. “What...Bobbi, what the fuck?!” She shouted, reaching for the blanket to try and stop her. “She’s already overheated, what’re you doing!?” She snapped. 

Trip had the bucket refilled. Bobbi's eyes were wide and she quickly shoved Skye back and lunged for Trip to knock the bucket back into the water.    
  
"Don't use saltwater, think about it!" Bobbi forced her way in between Skye and Jemma by shoving both her and Rex away and quickly pulled the blanket back over Jemma, covering her whole body and her face.

Skye stumbled back and nearly fell. “Think about what!?” She screamed. “She needs to be cooled down!” Skye’s wild eyes shifted to fury and fear the moment Bobbi started covering Jemma’s head. She wasn’t thinking straight at all as she wrenched the blanket back from covering her face. Bobbi was jumping gun! She couldn’t just cover Jemma up like she was dead! She was already overheated! They needed to bring her temperature down, not suffocate and cover her!

“You’ll suffocate her!” She shoved Bobbi this time and didn’t stop at a simple shove. She shoved Bobbi and took a few steps to put herself back in between Jemma and Bobbi. Rex tried to force between both of them, hissing and growling but not sure what to do to stop the fight. Trudy watched what was going on but leaned over and nudged at Jemma’s jaw and shoulder to try and rouse her. 

Trip seemed more apt to follow Skye's lead and wasn't seeing the problem with the water. In fact he was looking at Bobbi like she was just as delirious as Jemma had been moments ago. He dipped the bucket into the water again and handed it to Skye, but before she could do anything Bobbi grabbed at Skye's clothes and yanked her away from Jemma and nearly tossed her to the floor on the other side of her so she could sufficiently block Skye off. "If you put saltwater on her it'll-"

Skye dropped the bucket as Bobbi yanked her nearly off her feet. Skye wasn’t in her right mind at all. Jemma was lying in the boat a few feet away possibly dying and Bobbi was...what the fuck was Bobbi even doing? Was she delirious too? Was this her way of getting back at Skye for what happened to Hunter and May?? Too panicked and caught off guard by the way she’d been suddenly jerked around, Skye reacted reflexively. Her left hand gripped at Bobbi’s shirt and the right hand swung a hook blindly at Bobbi’s cheek. It all happened so quick, she hadn’t even processed what was going on before it happened. 

Trip didn't go for a fourth bucket. Everyone just stared as Bobbi's head jerked back and she blinked back tears when her head came back forward again. She didn't dare move, not with Skye's hand wound up in her shirt and her fist pulled back, breathing heavily like some raging beast. Bobbi stretched out her jaw and rubbed her face with her hand, but she refused to cry or give in because she needed to make her point.   
  
"If you put saltwater on a dehydrated person it will only dry them out further." She reasoned quietly, hoping for Skye to let her go. "She clearly has heatstroke, the best thing we can do for her is block her completely from the sun." She argued.

Skye was shaking again. Her hands had never completely steadied again after the night searching for Jemma in the jungle. There were moments when she’d been focused enough for them to steady, like on the beach fighting Garrett and Ward, moments of clarity she supposed but they’d never properly steadied. Skye just tended to keep them busy enough, in motion, or weighted by something to give the appearance of it. Right now, Skye had nothing at all to ground her. Her eyes were wide. Horror stretched across her face as she realized what she’d done. She didn’t let go of Bobbi right away. She looked between Jemma and Bobbi and tried to figure out what to do, what Jemma would do if she were awake and trying to help Skye instead. 

“I...can’t…” Skye shook her head, unsure exactly what she was saying she couldn’t do. She couldn’t lose Jemma? Fact. She couldn’t figure out what was the right thing to do? Check. She couldn’t handle it anymore, being in these constant situations, not having a way out other than a wish and a prayer? Check, check, check. They were going to die. She wasn’t stupid enough to think anything else at this point. There was nothing else. They had no water. Jemma was already dying. She was going to have to watch Jemma die. Again. “I can’t,” she murmured again, and then again. “I can’t,” her own eyes welled as she struggled, and failed, to fight through the panic and fear. “I can’t, I don’t...I can’t,” Her grip on Bobbi’s shirt at the moment was mostly because she needed to hold on. Rex whined and Trudy kept nudging at Jemma with no success.

"Come here." Bobbi used the arm still at her collar to pull Skye in and she wrapped her arms firmly around her, ignoring the throbbing in her own cheek and tucking her chin over Skye's head. She took three seconds to just hold her there before she grabbed Skye's shoulders and held her out at a distance. "We need to take care of her, okay?" Bobbi kept eye contact with Skye the whole time and when she was sure she wasn't going to lash out, she went back over to Jemma and pulled the blanket up over her body. As a compromise she left Jemma's face uncovered because Skye had a point about her suffocating. Jemma's breathing was already coming in short gasps even though she was unconscious.    
  
"Has anybody actually seen her drink anything in the last two days?" Bobbi frowned and looked around them. She couldn't herself recall seeing Jemma drink anything. As she looked at everyone's faces, her eyes caught on Raina's. Something was there. "What do you know?" Bobbi demanded.    
  
"She..." Raina started. She looked to Skye and paused, feeling the guilt wash over her even though she had promised Jemma. "She spilled her water during her night shift two days ago." Raina swallowed hard and glanced at Jemma's unconscious form.

Skye could only nod, though she still wasn’t sure Bobbi’s suggestion was the right thing to do. She felt the horror of the situation wash over her again as she realized she didn’t even know when was the last time she’d seen Jemma drink anything. Everything drained out of her as she heard Raina’s words. She sunk to her knees by Jemma’s head, afraid to pull it into her lap because she didn’t know if it would make things worse, all she could do was stroke Jemma’s hair and watch the short, ragged breaths she inhaled and exhaled in quick, shallow bursts. How long did that give them to find a water source? How would they find another water source? 

Rex whined and laid down next to Skye and Jemma. Trudy sat down at Jemma’s side and let out a distressed sound Skye had never heard her make before. She understood how they felt. If she’d had enough water in her own system, she would have been crying, but there wasn’t enough saline to spare for it. She leaned over and kissed Jemm’s forehead. “Please don’t leave,” She begged next to Jemma’s ear. “Not you too…” 

____________

The Avenger was heavy with fear for the rest of the day. Bobbi, Trip and Raina were trying to brainstorm ways to get hydrated and their only current idea was evaporating seawater and collecting it, but it was much too slow a process and wouldn't yield nearly enough water. Ace was hiding in the corner with Ruby in his lap, just stroking her fur with tear streaks on his face. Even he knew what was going on.   
  
Skye was still with Jemma, who only got worse. Her skin continued to feel like it was on fire yet she didn't sweat because she didn't have any fluid left in her. It would make it even more impossible for her body to cool off. She frowned occasionally in her sleep, whether from pain or something else uncertain.     
  
As the sun began to lower for the day, Jemma started to move a bit more. Her breathing was still coming in short, fast, labored breaths, but her head turned to the side and her brows furrowed. Her mouth was open slightly and she was breathing more heavily through it. With no other warning, Jemma's body began to convulse. Her back arched, her jaw clenched shut, and her limbs started spasming with no pattern.

Trudy began squawking madly just before it happened. Skye had already called her name once when she thought Jemma was possibly waking up, but then scrambled up to her knees when she suddenly started convulsing. "Jemma!" She shouted it even though Jemma clearly couldn't hear her. A few sobs escaped her because she didn't know what to do but no tears came to her eyes since her body was holding onto the last of what it could. Her hands flung out but she was afraid touching Jemma might hurt her. All she could do was throw her hands out under Jemma's head as it bobbed up and down with her body to prevent it from slamming into the boards of the boat. Rex, who was confused and whimpering next to Skye seemed to figure out what she was doing and crawled across the floor and wedged himself under Jemma’s head on his side so that her head only hit his fur when it bounced. Skye's hands tangled into Rex's fur on either side of Jemma's head as she blurted out pleas into the night, offering up anything she could give for something to make it stop, for anything to help Jemma, to keep her alive.   
  
When it finally stopped, Skye didn't know what to do. Was she supposed to touch her? Would moving her at all make the convulsions happen again? She decided to risk it, moving around Rex to Jemma's side, she grunted as she hauled Jemma onto her side in the hopes of making breathing easier in the recovery position so Skye held her there as she leaned over and pushed hair out of Jemma's face. Trudy moved to sit against Jemma's back and nudged at Rex's neck to comfort him when he cried.   
  
"You have to wake up Jem...I don't know what to do..." she choked out. She murmured a few 'I love you's between her choked sobs. Skye felt lost. She had no grip on control over anything happening. Worse, she couldn't calm herself down to properly figure out a solution. She knew Jemma would have kept her cool long enough to figure out what to do but, short of being saved by a ship, there was nothing she could do in this situation.   
  
Jemma was going to die, and Skye was going to watch it happen. This time, there would be no CPR, no medicine to open her closing airway, no special precise physical action to take to save her. There would be nothing but the void, the one she'd already faced when they couldn't find anything but Jemma's blood in the jungle. All those times she'd thought the moment was there when Jemma would be taken from her just like everyone else she ever cared about, there was no stopping this one, no coming back from it. "I'm sorry," she murmured over and over again at her failure - to realize that Jemma had lost her water and to failing to keep her promise to get Jemma home to her parents. 

"I think she just had a small seizure." Bobbi put a hand on Skye's shoulder from behind. She hadn't wanted to interrupt her moment with Jemma, but the situation was dire and she needed to share Trip's idea.    
  
"Trip has an idea." Bobbi sat down next to Skye and squeezed both Skye and Jemma's arm. They weren't willing to give up, not yet. After everything this couldn't be the end.   
  
"He thinks that if we catch fish, birds, and other animals we can drink their blood. It's gross, but it could keep us alive." She pointed out. The idea was nauseating, but it was that or die of thirst.

Skye had to fight to focus when Bobbi came over, so she could actually hear what was being said. She sniffled quickly and wiped at her nose with the back of her hand. Dazed, she looked from Bobbi to Trip, unsure she had heard that correctly.    
  
Trip nodded. "It's not ideal because of the protein in it," he stopped, realizing that Skye was too scared to take in the nitty gritty details of it. "But right now it's our only option short of a rainstorm." He said. On top of the blood, they could also eat the fresher meat so their bodies wouldn't have to work so hard to break it down like the dehydrated food too. Trip thought it was their best shot right now given the circumstances.     
  
Skye took it in. She took a few deep breaths to try and steady herself and then she nodded. It sounded gross sure, but Skye didn't care at all about the superficial gut reaction to the idea of drinking blood. If there was anything that could be done to save Jemma, or the rest of them too for that matter, they had to try. "Okay," she nodded.    


_____________

_ Day 68 on The Avenger _

"Skye," Trip called for her once he got the medium sized sea turtle onto the boat. He knew that sea turtles weren't a very populous species and he felt bad that they had to kill it to drain its blood, but it was either the turtle or them.    
  
"Hold containers under the turtle for me?" He asked. He would have asked Bobbi but she was throwing up over the edge of the boat at the idea and Raina was trying to keep Ace busy so he wouldn't see.

Skye hated to move away from Jemma. She spent the night awake, listening to Jemma breathe, watching her. There were moments when Jemma's breath would hitch and stall and those seconds between when it stopped and started again were the longest seconds of Skye's life. She nodded though and looked at Trudy. "Stay with her," she said with a pat to Trudy's feathers even though she knew the dinosaur wouldn't leave Jemma's side either.    
  
Heading toward Trip, Skye grabbed the bucket. She leaned over the boat to rinse the bucket out and wiped it dry with a towel before she made it to Trip. "Think we'll need something bigger than this one?" She asked as she reached for one of the bags that once held food but now just had empty containers that the food was once stored in. The blood wouldn't make her queasy and she wasn't thinking about potentially endangered species so much as the fact that this was their last ditch effort to keep Jemma alive long enough to be rescued or to find another island to set down temporarily.

"I don't know..." Trip shrugged. It was a fairly large and heavy turtle, so hopefully it did have a lot of blood for all of their sakes. "Have a water storage life vest just in case." He said and waited for Skye to grab one before he held the turtle by the shell, still squirming some with its head over the bucket.   
  
"Sorry, buddy." Trip sighed before he slit the animal's throat where he thought he could get the most blood and it went limp as it started draining into the bucket.

Skye grimaced as it drained. She caught as much as she could in the bucket and when that was full she moved it to the water storage life vest to catch the rest. Rex, Trudy and even Ruby licked up whatever splashed and spilled on the floor of the boat, instinct for the liquid taking over. Skye let them occupy themselves with it. She sealed up the vest with the liquid then grabbed a coconut shell bowl and an empty water bottle and began to pour it into the bottle, figuring it would be the easiest thing for Jemma to sip from without spilling. 

Trip began butchering the turtle, hoping to scrape the shell clean so it could give them another bowl to catch rainwater when it rained again and to salvage as much meat and marrow as possible for them all. When Skye finished filling up the water bottle, she capped it and went back over to Jemma. “Hey, Jem, c’mon, up we go,” She set the bottle down and wiped her hands on a towel then pulled Jemma up into a seated position and sat behind her to prop her up until Jemma was leaned back against her with her head leaning back on Skye’s shoulder. Skye opened the bottle and shifted to help steady Jemma’s head. “How ‘bout a drink, huh?” She asked. “It’s not gonna taste good but, it’s all we’ve got,” She kissed Jemma’s temple and brought the bottle up to her lips to see if she’d react to it first. The last thing she wanted to do was jam the liquid down Jemma’s throat as she was inhaling one of those quick gasps of air. 

Jemma had been in a semi conscious state all night and through the morning, but she was delirious and she was hearing everything and in real time her brain was converting and twisting it all as if she was still on the plane and the rocking of the boat was just turbulence. Everything was fuzzy and confusing, but she was jostled awake slightly when Skye moved her.    
  
With her parched lips and throat, her hand immediately came up to the water bottle the moment it touched her lips. She opened her mouth to allow the liquid access, but when it hit her tongue her mind immediately rejected it as something she should not be putting in her body and she coughed, spraying it out in front of her and pushing weakly at the bottle instead of grasping it.

Skye grimaced and sat up straighter to help Jemma cough anything out before she inhaled it. “I know, I’m sorry Jem - you have to drink it though.” she tried again, leaning back to angle Jemma’s head a bit more and brought the bottle to her lips. “You’ll feel better after you drink some of it.” She kept trying to convince her as she tried to restrain herself from forcing it down Jemma’s throat. Jemma needed to drink. This was the hail mary pass. It had to work. Jemma was dead if it didn’t work. 

Jemma's body, yet again, fell for what felt like a trick when it was offered the water bottle. Again, she allowed it to enter her mouth, but when she discovered for the second time that it wasn't water, she made a gurgling sound and her body jerked forward a bit. She gagged and blood dribbled out the corners of her mouth and down her chin. This time she closed her mouth, shut her eyes tightly, and turned her head away from Skye.

Skye felt her nerves fraying. How was she supposed to get Jemma to drink it if she wasn’t conscious and was fighting her the whole way? She clenched her jaw and capped the bottle. She moved to settle Jemma against the side of the boat in a partially seated position. “Jemma!” She got into Jemma’s face and shouted it. “I know you’re in there!” She snapped. “You need to fight whatever’s happening to you and you need to drink this! I know it’s gross and you don’t wanna but if you don’t you’re going to die!” She uncapped the bottle and reached with one hand to support Jemma’s head by the back of her neck. “Now drink it!” This time when she put the bottle to Jemma’s lips and Jemma reacted, she tipped the bottle further than before to send more of it rushing into Jemma’s mouth to the back of her throat. It had to happen. She had to make this happen. There was no other option. It didn’t matter how much Jemma struggled, this was the only way to save her. 

Jemma immediately reacted this time and her head jerked back into Skye's hand on her neck. She groaned and with more energy than she thought she had she pushed at Skye's shoulder to get her away with one hand and tried to shove away the bottle with the other. She clenched her jaw shut and turned her head all the way to the side to get her mouth as far away from Skye as possible. When Skye got closer again, Jemma managed to bring her feet closer to get her knees up in between them. Her chest heaved as she tried to get sufficient air through her nose and her eyes were wide, but she wasn't seeing. She didn't understand. She felt too feverish and dizzy and confused to understand anything but the fact that something was in her mouth that she didn't want in her mouth.

Skye almost dropped the bottle when Jemma’s eyes opened. “Jem-,” Skye didn’t know what it was, but something in her snapped. She was trying to save Jemma’s life! Was Jemma trying to die?!?! 

“Skye,” Trip started to say but in the next moment, Skye’s face darkened and she reached for Jemma. 

Jemma tried to push Skye away and Skye lost all sense of control then. “DAMNIT JEMMA STOP FIGHTING ME!” She snapped at Jemma. She tried to move Jemma, even as she struggled, and after quite a bit of fumbling around trying not to drop the bottle, she managed to get Jemma on her back on the boat. She straddled across Jemma’s hips to combat the kick of her legs. She ignored Jemma’s hands as they clawed at her. Jemma wouldn’t open her mouth. “OPEN YOUR MOUTH!” Skye screamed at her. When Jemma refused, Skye reached out and pinched her nose shut. Even as she did it, she knew it was an awful thing to do but she’d promised to keep Jemma alive and if this was what she had to do, it was what she had to do. 

Jemma screamed through a clenched jaw when Skye pinned her down and in her head she wasn't understanding why she was being attacked. The pieces weren't fitting together so she continued the struggle. Her hands, which didn't do much at Skye's chest and shoulders, moved up to her face and tried to push her away that way. When her already wheezy air supply was cut off, however, Jemma panicked. In her mind she was drowning again, someone instead of something was holding her underneath the water until she finally gasped for air through her mouth, but she was immediately met with more of the not-water substance. She cried out in protest and tried to spit it back up.

Skye recklessly dumped the blood into Jemma’s mouth after she gave her just long enough to gasp in some air when her jaw swung open. She heard the cough and realized Jemma was trying to spit it out. With wild wide eyes, Skye quickly shifted her hand to clamp it over Jemma’s mouth, forcing her jaw shut and not giving her any way to spit the blood out. She pinched her nose shut again with her thumb and forefinger. “Swallow it!” She shouted at Jemma. “Don’t make me do this to you! Swallow it now!” She ordered. 

“Skye, stop!” Raina called from where she was standing with Ace blocked off from witnessing what was happening. She looked at Bobbi and Trip, who were gaping at the scene. Trudy and Rex were creating a cacophony of sound, pacing back and forth around Skye and Jemma, unsure who they should be helping. “Do something!” Raina snapped at Bobbi and Trip to get them to stop watching. 

Bobbi just stared, not sure what the right thing to do was. Skye was right that if Jemma didn't drink it she would die. That was a fact. Jemma wasn't conscious enough to be reasoned with and if she wouldn't drink it of her own free will, this was the only way. So she just watched.    
  
Jemma finally swallowed what was in her mouth, but tears streaked down her face and she jerked and struggled, terrified because she was pinned down and at Skye's mercy, which was scary for her with the rough treatment she was being given. She kept her jaw clenched shut yet again and refused to allow Skye to force more of the substance down her throat. Even when Skye pinched her nose she refused to open her mouth and her face started to turn red to match the blood spattered across it the longer she was deprived of air.

“WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!” Skye screamed. If her logical brain was able to take over, she’d know that Jemma wasn’t consciously in control of herself. As it was, Skye’s brain was exhausted and her nerves were fried. She was very clearly going to lose Jemma and because of it, she’d lost all pretense of control of herself. “Open your mouth!” She shouted into Jemma’s face as she held her nose still. Jemma was turning red and Skye didn’t know what to do. She let go of Jemma’s nose. “Open your mouth Jemma! I’m trying to save your damn life!” she grabbed the sides of Jemma’s jaw tightly in her hand and tried to figure out some way to pry her mouth open. “OPEN YOUR MOUTH!” Skye let go of Jemma’s jaw and tried to pry Jemma’s mouth open, forcing her fingers between Jemma’s lips and trying to force them between her teeth to force her jaw down. 

Jemma had no semblance of logic or reasoning going through her mind. Because of the heatstroke and the delusions, all she could register was that she was being attacked and forced to swallow something she in no way wanted to swallow. It was difficult to breathe already just with her current condition, but Skye sitting on her and her own struggling made it even worse. She breathed heavily through her nose once it was clear and between her teeth, which Skye eventually pried open. When Skye let go with one hand to grab the bottle of red liquid, Jemma's eyes widened and because of terror and adrenaline she bit down on Skye's fingers in an attempt to get her mouth closed again.

Skye screamed, both from the pain of Jemma biting down on her fingers and from the frustration of the entire situation. She tried to yank her hand away but Jemma was biting down so hard on her fingers that all she wound up doing was pulling Jemma’s head back and forth. Rex went from whining at them to letting out a loud angry roar at them. Trudy tried to push Skye off of Jemma but Skye shoved her back and yelled at them to stay back. She barely managed to pull her now bleeding fingers from Jemma’s mouth and in the heat of the moment when she finally freed them, she reeled back and swung a backhanded slap to Jemma’s cheek, irrationally thinking that with any luck it would make her gasp and she could get more of the liquid into Jemma. It worked, just barely enough and she managed with more fighting and screaming to get Jemma to swallow a few more mouthfuls of the liquid. 

"Skye, that's enough!" Bobbi shouted. The moment she thought Jemma had actually swallowed enough of the liquid to survive the next day Bobbi launched forward, wrapped her arms around Skye's middle, and yanked her off of Jemma, falling back with the weight of Skye crushing her and rocking the boat. Trudy and Rex immediately got between Skye and Jemma, with Rex growling and Trudy snapping at Skye as Bobbi pulled her back. Jemma was curled into a ball, shaking and wheezing with a face covered in turtle's blood.

Skye let out an ‘oof’ as the wind was slightly knocked out of her by the sudden tackle. She began to struggle immediately, completely ignoring the animals’ reactions. “Let me go!” She shouted. “She has to drink it!” She screamed, prying free from Bobbi’s grip and struggling to her feet. 

Bobbi dashed around Skye and got in front of her and between her and Jemma, grabbed at her shoulders, and shook her.   
  
"Look at her!" Bobbi stepped to the side some but held Skye just as tightly, forcing her to stand still and see the state of distress Jemma was in. "She's had enough!"

The frenzy in Skye’s own water deprived brain didn’t subside until Bobbi shook her. She blinked and deflated suddenly when she took in the scene of Jemma curled up in a ball and shuddering with Rex and Trudy snapping and growling at her to keep her away from Jemma. Her eyes flared wider than they already were and the little bit of tears she could even produce clouded her vision over as the realization of what she’d just done hit her. Skye’s legs wobbled and she slipped down to her knees. “Jemma…” She choked on her name as Trip tried to approach Jemma slowly with a towel to try and clean her up without startling her too much. 

Bobbi wasn't sure how to comfort Skye. She knew Skye had had to get Jemma to drink it somehow, but she hadn't expected Skye to hit Jemma. That was the last thing Bobbi expected of Skye and she was struggling with the fact that maybe she didn't know her as well as she thought, that maybe there was something deep down in Skye that none of them knew about. But maybe it was just the dehydration. Bobbi had to give her the benefit of the doubt.    
  
"She'll be ok for now." Bobbi put a hand on Skye's shoulder and gave her a squeeze before she headed to Jemma with Trip. Every time they touched her she flinched and her muscles went taut. Her skin was still burning up, but at least she had some fluid in her now.

Raina left Ruby with Ace and told him to stay where he was. She grabbed a towel and dunked it over the side of the boat then went to Skye’s side. Skye flinched and started to Jerk away. “Easy,” Raina said and though Skye’s muscles were still tensed and she struggled a bit, eventually, she let Raina clean her up. The tremors had returned, shaking through most of Skye as she watched Jemma struggle against Trip’s attempts to get her settled and knew it was her fault that had happened. She’d been so desperate not to lose Jemma that she’d just done completely abhorrent things to the single person she’d loved most in her entire life. 

“You’re bleeding pretty badly,” Raina said as she held the towel tightly around Skye’s fingers, the ones Jemma had bit down on. Skye didn’t even flinch or acknowledge that Raina spoke to her. She just stared at the mess she’d made of Jemma, aghast at what she’d been capable of doing to her. 

Once Jemma was cleaned up and asleep again, or at least unconscious, Trip encouraged the animals to come snuggle up with her and Bobbi came over to Raina and Skye. Raina had bandaged up Skye's fingers and it made Bobbi wince to look at it, but a small part of her thought Skye deserved it.   
  
"Hey." Bobbi said gruffly as she sat down in front of Skye. "I understand that Jemma had to drink it, I get it. It was that or let her die." She sighed. "And we'll probably have to do it again." She glanced over at Skye after she said it to see her reaction. "But I swear to god if you hit her again..." Bobbi shook her head in disapproval.

By then Skye was sitting on the other side of the boat across from Jemma and the animals. Ace and Ruby headed to the front of the boat with Trip since they had to drink some of the blood themselves. Skye knew it was also to get him further away from Skye for the moment. She wasn’t paying attention to any of it outside of her periphery. If she’d been asked, she would have agreed she more than deserved the injury. She deserved much worse than that, but Skye had known that long before this boat. It was just solid and tangible now. Her knees were bent, drawn up toward her chest, hands resting between them and her stomach. She stared at Jemma’s sleeping form, unable to quell the tremors that shook through her, not fully present, just there enough to replay all of it through her mind on repeat. 

Skye’s eyelids fluttered slightly, flinching as Bobbi reminded her that they were going to have to do this again to Jemma. Skye couldn’t even steady her hands, how was she supposed to get Jemma to drink it again? How were they supposed to keep her alive if they couldn’t get her to keep drinking it? Her eyes never left Jemma’s form but a tear streaked its way down her cheek. It wouldn’t be enough. A couple of mouthfuls of liquid, half of which got coughed or choked out, wasn’t going to be enough to keep Jemma alive. Jemma was going to die. Jemma was going to die on this boat. Jemma was going to die on this boat and there was nothing Skye wouldn’t be able to do to save her and on top of it, it was possible her last memory of Skye would be of her forcing blood down her throat, nearly strangling her and hitting her. She gave a single nod to Bobbi but said nothing. 

__________

Hours later, Skye hadn’t moved from her spot. Trudy sat next to Jemma and stared at Skye the whole time. Rex had slept a few times and now he was pacing back and forth from Jemma to Skye and occasionally whining at Skye. Skye ignored them both and watched Jemma. Everyone, including Skye, had forced down their portions of the turtle blood. The meat had been divided between Trudy and Rex since the group still had their own food portion and because they ate some of the raw fish he’d caught as well. Skye hadn’t eaten, but she did drink her share of the blood because she had to. The sun was beginning to set. Trip, Ace and Raina were trying to catch more turtles and fish at the front of the boat and talking quietly. 

Skye spotted Jemma starting to become restless in her sleep. Skye moved to stand, which made Trudy pick her head up and glare at her. Skye put her hands up in surrender as she slowly walked to the other side of the boat. “I just want to check on her,” Skye pointed to Jemma and Trudy glanced away to look at Jemma, shifting around in her sleep and whimpering. Trudy growled at her but didn’t stop her from kneeling next to Jemma. “Jem,” Skye spoke softly, trying her best to keep her voice steady. “It’s Skye,” she leaned over and gently set her hand on Jemma’s arm. 

At the touch Jemma's arm jerked away and her eyes flashed open, wide and staring up at Skye's face. She was still for only a moment before she frantically squirmed backward. Her heart pounded in her chest and she was gasping for air, heaving and already clenching her jaw in anticipation. 

Skye pulled back right away, even before Trudy could react to snap at her and clip her elbow.  She couldn't even try to reassure Jemma that it was okay,  because she couldn't speak around the lump of emotion clogging her throat. Jemma was terrified of her. Skye couldn't make her brain function beyond that thought as Bobbi moved around Skye and Trudy to get to Jemma to calm her down. Skye backed away. She retreated to the furthest corner of the boat that she could from Jemma and tucked herself into the tightest corner she could. She pulled her knees up and tucked into the tightest ball she could. It reminded her for a brief moment of the small spot between the washer and dryer in the Brody house,  where she would hide after nightmares or when something from the past had snuck up on and clobbered her.    
  
Skye watched as the others tried to calm Jemma down and promised herself she would only go near Jemma again when it was time to get her to drink more, or if Jemma asked her to. She doubted the latter would happen. Tears, now more possible because of drinking the blood,  streaked down Skye's cheeks.  She didn't want to do this. She didn't want to watch this happen to Jemma. She didn't want to see that terror in Jemma's eyes, pointed directly at her, ever again. She reminded herself that she had made Jemma a promise. She had to live long enough to get Jemma back to her parents. The terms had shifted with their situation, though, hadn't they?  She had to live long enough to watch Jemma die, now, to try every horrible thing necessary to avert what was now the inevitable. After that, Skye would never lose another person she loved. If Jemma was going out this way,  so would Skye, right after her in fact, because there would be no point in surviving that loss. She couldn't. More than that,  she didn't want to.

_________

_ Night 68 on The Avenger _

Bobbi was having trouble keeping herself together. Jemma was sleeping with her head on her shoulder, arms wrapped tightly around her. It was pitch black out, as it was cloudy. The plus in this meant the night was actually chilly and Jemma's temperature had gone down a bit, or at least Bobbi thought so. She was still acting out of it and Skye hadn't tried to come near her again, so Bobbi took Skye's place and stayed with Jemma that night. It took about an hour before Jemma started mumbling in her sleep.   
  
"Skye..." Jemma murmured. Bobbi gave her a squeeze and didn't have the heart to not play along. "Don't worry, 's just turbulence." She mumbled.   
  
"Hey Skye," Bobbi called softly, knowing the other woman would be awake even though it wasn't her shift to be on watch. "She's asking for you."

Skye hadn't slept since before the moment Jemma had collapsed. She was rocking slightly to try and warm herself when Bobbi called after her.  For a long moment, Skye shook her head back and forth. She was afraid that approaching would lead to Jemma panicking again, but at the same time,  she wanted nothing more than to hold onto Jemma until the end. Having not moved since she curled into the spot she was in,  it took her a bit of time to unlock her stiff limbs to make an approach, though she stayed a couple paces back. "Is she...is she alright?" She whispered, afraid of the actual answer after having been so far away for most of the day, even if she was watching the whole time.

"Her breathing has leveled out a bit more and she isn't as hot, but I think she's still delirious." Bobbi sighed. Jemma was currently mumbling incoherent nonsense and occasionally Skye's name. "Trade places with me." Bobbi didn't ask, but commanded because she knew Skye would be hesitant. She waited until Skye was closer to start untangling herself from Jemma's grip.

Skye was entirely hesitant, but Bobbi didn't give her a choice. Skye moved carefully to take Bobbi's place next to Jemma. She held her breath as she waited to see how Jemma would react to her actually being there, the look in Jemma's eyes from last time still fresh in Skye's mind's eye.

"Skye." Jemma murmured again when Bobbi slipped away and Skye took her place. She frowned for a moment, but it ceased when she felt Skye's torso and she wrapped her arms around her, nuzzling into her neck and shoulder.

Skye exhaled the breath she was holding and wrapped her arms tight around Jemma, buried her face into Jemma's ear. "I'm here," she couldn't fight the emotion in her voice, no matter how hard she tried to keep her voice steady,  calm and reassuring. She cradled the back of Jemma's head and stroked a hand along her back.

When Skye held her, Jemma choked out a small sob and started to cry. She held onto Skye tightly. She was shaking and mumbling about turbulence and the Odyssey and it didn't make complete sense that she was crying, but she was. She felt like she was about to throw up and her throat was still dry and sore, but she had Skye to hold onto and that made everything better.

Skye clenched her eyes shut tight when Jemma started crying.  It was hard to describe the specific pans of pain that shot through her chest when Jemma cried. "Shhh," Skye did what she did best. She forced her own emotions as deep within herself as she could. "We're alright," she tried to assure her, wanting to stem Jemma’s tears so she could conserve water, but also just to make her feel better. She didn't try and make sense of what Jemma was saying since she knew Jemma wasn't in her right mind. "You're perfectly safe, Jem. You're much more likely to be involved in a car accident than in an aircraft malfunction, right?" Skye picked these specifically because they were some of the first ones Jemma ever said to her in the airport terminal. 

Jemma nodded as she cried and gripped Skye even tighter. The reassurance that the plane-even if they weren't actually on one- wasn't going to crash gave her a sense of calmness that started to still her body as she fell back asleep. Just as Jemma's shaking started to cease, the boat began to sway and tilt at larger angles and higher speeds.    
  
"Don't let it crash, Skye, don't let it crash." Jemma was awake and pleading with Skye like she could stop the plane crash when the violent shaking of the boat that she assumed was turbulence only got stronger.

Skye lifted her head to try and see what was causing the boat to move so violently but she knew it had to be the weather above them. Clouds were blocking the stars. A storm system could bring rain but so far,  it had only brought wind,  which was now tossing the boat about on the waves it created. Skye wrapped her arms tighter around Jemma's. She shifted so she could put her back to the side of the boat. She hooked her foot and and arm into the bamboo behind Jemma's back to anchor them as best as she could.    
  
Rex and Trudy both crowded them,  both trying to hold on and protect the two. All Skye could think about was the fact that Jemma never would have been in this terrible position had it not been for Skye's mission.  Jemma and Fitz would have made it home and Jemma and the others never would have had to live through all of this. "I won't," she swore to Jemma. "I won't let it crash. It's okay,  baby,  it's just a bumpy ride right now." She kissed the side of Jemma's head. "Hey...you remember in the airport when I said I was afraid of falling?  Hm? Did you know then that I meant for you?" She hoped to disorient Jemma's train of thought long enough to distract her now.

"Me?" Jemma squeaked, as if she couldn't understand why someone would fall for her. She grabbed fistfuls of Skye's clothes and made sure they were securely tucked into each other as the rocking continued.    
  
"Rough seas ahead!" Trip suddenly shouted, the startle of it sending Jemma back into a small panic attack. She was shaking again and had a pained look on her face, like she had just thought of something awful.   
  
"Everybody just hold on." Bobbi instructed them. Raina had Ace and Ruby in the other corner and Bobbi and Trip made sure the wind was blowing in the right direction for them to leave the sail up. The storm would at least give them a faster speed for the time being, but it came with the waves. Water began sloshing up into the boat and spraying everyone with droplets, much to the animals' dismay.   
  
"Where's Fitz?" Jemma asked quietly, almost too quietly to hear over the wind.

The question felt like a swift punch in the gut. "He's in the restroom," she lied as Rex whined and climbed on top of them to wedge between their legs as he trembled.  Trudy moved further down to try and cover all three of them. "He'll be back soon," Skye said. "And yes, by the way, you," she said. "You are way out of my league, do ya know that?"

Clearly Jemma's mind had already gone elsewhere as she hadn't answered Skye's question. Her own topics kept jumping all over the place, a sure sign she wasn't truly paying attention. Her train of thought didn't even have a track, it was just an engine screeching and barreling in any direction it was turned.    
  
"Are we dead?" She asked. This was the closest Jemma had gotten to reality since the moment she collapsed. She could identify from their position, the feel of the water, and the other voices that something was wrong with her plane image, but she couldn't tell what.

"No," Skye answered. "We're not dead, "  _ yet _ , her mind added. It was only a matter of time, though, right? Jemma didn't need to hear that. "But I need you to hold on, Jem." She said. "I can't do this without you," she had no idea what, if anything Jemma might remember about tonight,  provided they survived at all, so she added. "I love you. I'm sorry for what I did to you."

Just the sound of Skye's voice had lulled Jemma to sleep and the rocking of the boat almost helped. She hadn't quite hung onto the meaning of her words, rather just the sound of her voice.    
  
Bobbi had watched the short exchange carefully and approached Skye when Jemma seemed to be asleep.    
  
"I'll do it tomorrow. She needs you to be her rock right now." Bobbi put a hand on Skye's shoulder and sat with her back against the wall near them. "I'll do it." She reaffirmed. It was unpleasant to think about, but if it had been Hunter she wouldn't have wanted to do it herself.

Skye felt her energy escape her when Jemma fell mostly limp in her grasp. She bit into her bottom lip to prevent herself from begging Jemma not to leave her again. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen regardless of how much she begged and pleaded. She tucked her chin against the side of Jemma's head and held tight to her as the boat rocked. Her muscles tensed at Bobbi’s touch and she was quiet for a while, unsure whether to accept this offer or not. She didn't want to force anything on Jemma again, but she didn't want to make someone else do it. Did Bobbi think she would hit Jemma again? "Okay," she said finally. "Thank you," she added in earnest.

"I need something in return though." Bobbi added once Skye agreed. She waited until she had eye contact with Skye before she continued. "If she dies-" Bobbi saw the look on Skye's face, the one that meant she was about to interject, so she continued before Skye could manage. "If she dies- and there's a chance she will- you can't give up. If we can even get one of us back home, if we can get Ace back to his family... then we have to. You can't just quit. You have to help us."

Skye's face darkened. Hearing someone else say there was a chance Jemma could die was wholly different than having the knowledge bouncing around her brain. She opened her mouth to warn Bobbi against continuing but Bobbi was faster. Skye shut her mouth and dropped her gaze down to Jemma's shoulder. "I don't know if I can make that promise." She wanted to. She really did. They deserved to make it back. They deserved having all of her effort to help them make it back. They were here because of her. It was the least she could do to set it right. "I'm not as strong as you," she confessed.

"That's bullshit." Bobbi frowned. She thought Skye was ten times as strong as herself, but she knew that was a pointless argument. "But if she goes and you can't do it for us, then do it for her. She wouldn't let you give up."

Skye remained quiet for a few moments. She really didn't think she was strong enough to have it in her to keep going without Jemma, even if it was what Jemma would have wanted her to do. She shivered and tightened her grip on Jemma just thinking again about the fact that she could die. "I'll try," she said. It was all she could promise given her current mental state.

_________

_ Day 69 on The Avenger _

"Hey Skye," Bobbi felt bad disturbing them when they were wound up together and Jemma was sleeping, but it had been more than a full day since Jemma's last drink of anything. She held up the red water bottle for Skye to see so she wouldn't have to say it. Trip had managed to catch some bigger fish and they had a large enough supply of blood that everyone had had enough to drink for the past day, but it was harder with Jemma when she wouldn't drink it willingly, so she still wasn't getting enough fluid.

Skye still hadn’t slept. There were deep, dark bags under her eyes, which were bloodshot at that point but she hadn’t slept. She couldn’t. She was too afraid that Jemma might slip away if she did. She spent the night counting seconds between Jemma’s breaths, which had been at least a little more even with the air cooling her temperature and having had the few mouthfuls to drink. She looked over when she heard Bobbi and couldn’t help but frown at the bottle. She nodded and loosened her grip on Jemma, rubbed her back and shook her shoulder a bit to rouse her as her gut filled with dread. “Hey, Jem...we’re gonna sit up okay?” She shifted until she could move to get Jemma propped up. Once she was up, Skye prepared to hold onto Jemma to prevent her arms from flailing when Bobbi tried to make her drink. 

"Ok Jemma, here we go." Bobbi sighed and knelt in front of Jemma, one leg pressed over Jemma's legs so she wouldn't be able to kick and struggle as much. She raised the bottle to Jemma's lips and immediately got a groan and Jemma's head turning away in response.    
  
"Hold still, I'm sorry." Bobbi tried holding a fistful of Jemma's hair near her scalp, not tugging or hurting her, but just to keep Jemma from thrashing her head like she had tried to last time. At least she seemed a bit more receptive when she had two people holding her down. Her jaw wasn't as tight and when Bobbi tilted Jemma's head back some, she was panting and already trying to breathe through her mouth just because of the heat exhaustion. She waited until Jemma was on an exhale so she wouldn't inhale the blood and poured some into her mouth, putting the bottle down and clamping her hand over Jemma's mouth when she coughed and gagged to help her get it down. She seemed to understand that this wasn't a choice and it was easier for Bobbi to repeat the process each time. Jemma didn't fight them until the blood was in her mouth, but at that point Bobbi could cover it and she had to swallow.

Skye held on and braced wherever she needed to but she clenched her eyes shut and flinched at every sound Jemma made the whole time, fighting against the vivid replay of the memories from the last time rolling through her head. It didn’t help either that Trudy’s face was next to her shoulder, growling low and steadily at her through Jemma’s discomfort. When it was done, Skye used a wet towel to clean Jemma’s face off before settling back down with her, trying her best not to crowd her and risk overheating her further. Skye felt relieved to get more of the liquid into Jemma but how long could they really keep this up? 

As soon as it was done Bobbi moved to go comfort Ace, who was still very distressed about Jemma's condition and the way they had to treat it. Nobody bothered Skye or Jemma or even Trudy and Rex, who were guarding them, for several hours.    
  
It had been partly cloudy the whole day but when Bobbi noticed the color of the sky to their south, her eyes widened and she jumped to her feet.   
  
"Skye! Skye, look!" Bobbi dashed over and almost got nipped by Trudy before she shook Skye out of her exhausted semi-sleep state and pointed south toward the dark clouds and the foggy streams that meant it was raining in that direction.

By that point, Skye felt more than exhausted. She felt numb. Even when Bobbi shook her, she wasn’t entirely sure she was even still alive. Everything felt heavy. The heat was getting to her but she couldn’t let herself just sleep because she was unwilling to sleep when Jemma was still in such a bad way. She blinked and lifted her head stiffly and her eyes widened almost immediately. Rain. There was rain and it was nearby. Faster than she’d moved in days, Skye scrambled up and rushed for the rudder. “Turn the sail!” She shouted, trusting that any of them would jump to it as he swung the rudder to try and turn the boat in the right direction. 

"Get all the containers! Hurry!" Bobbi shouted. Everyone stood and began to shuffle about the boat, grabbing life vests, water bottles, buckets, and the tarp to catch water if they could make it to the rain.

As soon as they were aimed for the rain, Skye jumped into work with the others gathering the containers, hanging the tarp from the hooks they’d built in for just this purpose. It was scramble to fill everything they could before the rain could think of stopping. Once the tarp was up, she moved to Jemma and pulled her into the middle of the boat near some of the containers so she’d be able to get her a drink while also letting the water hit her to cool her off. She settled Jemma next to her and as soon as they hit the rain began collecting what she could in the vests, bottles and containers with lids first. 

When the vests were full and the others were working on containers, Skye pulled Jemma’s upper body into her lap and used a coconut shell to scoop some water out of an upside down cleaned turtle shell. “Don’t worry, it’s actually water this time,” She murmured into Jemma’s ear, tucking some of the wet strands of her hair out of her face as she brought the edge of the shell to Jemma’s lips and tipped it to get her to drink. 

At first Jemma's body reflexively made her clench her jaw, but her eyes furrowed as she began to realize that the liquid running down her cheeks was cool instead of warm, and it wasn't as thick as blood. Droplets were wetting her face and the exposed skin of her arms and Jemma immediately imagined water hitting a burning pan and sizzling as it cooled. That was how her skin felt as it rained, her flushed skin tone started to fade and her temperature wasn't as high. She opened her eyes and squinted, preparing for blinding, burning rays of sun, but she was met with dark clouds and water in her eyes. It was then that she realized what Skye was offering her and her head came up out of Skye's lap and her hand came up to Skye's. She swallowed down mouthful after mouthful of the life saving fluid, Skye refilling the shell until Bobbi finally came over and stopped Skye from filling it for the fourth time.   
  
"Don't give her too much or she might just throw up." She warned,  but there was a grin on her face. Normally they would hide from the rain, but now they were all sitting on the damp wood just enjoying the cool water on their faces and bodies and in their mouths and bellies. It felt like life.

Tears mixed with the rain soaking Skye’s face as Jemma actually opened her eyes and lifted her head to drink. She hated having to limit how much she gave Jemma but this was the first moment in days where Skye thought Jemma might actually stand a chance of not dying. It was hard to keep from getting hysterical. She leaned down and kissed at the side of Jemma’s head, her cheek and neck and buried her face into the crook of her neck and shoulder. Despite how relieved she was about the rainwater - for all of them, not just Jemma - a few sobs escaped her before she could stop them. 

"Why are you crying?" Jemma's soft voice drifted up into Skye's ear and she lifted a hand to press against Skye's wet hair. Bobbi smiled at them and left them to have their moment while she helped the others catch and store the maximum amount of water possible.

Skye sniffled and brought her hand up to hold onto the outside of Jemma’s hand and wrist and wrapped an arm awkwardly around her because of their current positions. “I love you,” she barely made the words out because of the exhausted emotion in her throat. She buried her face further into Jemma’s shoulder and tried to slow the release of the last few days’ emotions but the dam was broken, much like Skye at that point and she couldn’t stop it. Her brain kept yelling at her to get some food into Jemma while she could but her body was exhausted and everything was draining out of her, including her ability to follow logic. 

Jemma, both exhausted from the short awakening and fulfilled by a stomach full of water and skin cooled significantly, quickly drifted off. Her eyes fluttered closed but she had a smile on her face and she grabbed onto Skye's hand before she went out.    
  
"How is she?" Bobbi asked, practically chugging out of her water bottle between breaths.

Skye kissed Jemma’s forehead and stroked her cheek. “She’s out again,” she answered as she leaned her head down against the front of Jemma’s shoulder, too tired to move either of them right then. She clung tight to Jemma’s hand and tried to tell herself that everything would be okay now, but in the back of her mind she knew that all this rainstorm did was delay the inevitable again. There would come a point where this water ran out and when it did...this would all happen again. 

"She just needs rest, she'll get better." Bobbi assured her. Now, with more water, they could have large enough rations to pull them all out of dehydration before they went back to the bare minimum.    
  
"Everything's filling up." Bobbi commented as she swiped some of her wet hair out of her face. It was still pouring down on them and she hoped it lasted for another few hours so they could fill up the tarp and have a good store of water.

Skye nodded. The logic side of her brain knew Bobbi was right. The...everything else in Skye was just too worn down to process everything properly. She forced herself to sit up and looked around. Trip and Ace raced to see who could drink a bottle of water faster and then immediately started refilling their bottles. Raina had grabbed one of the empty suitcases and had lined up some of the turtle shells inside so that they wouldn’t tip over after filling. The storm had brought relief to everyone. Skye closed her eyes and tipped her head back to let the water hit her face. She should have felt relief with them, but she couldn’t shake the well of dread within her. Maybe she just needed to drink more water and eat some food. Maybe she needed to let herself sleep. What could she control right now? She could control her breath. So that’s what Skye did. 

____________   
_ Day 70 on The Avenger _   
  
"Do you want me to watch Jemma for a bit so you can sleep?" Raina gave Skye a small nudge with her elbow when she sat down next to them. She had a coconut shell filled with some dried meat and fruit and she offered it out to Skye, who was still laying down.

Skye’s stomach grumbled at the offer of food. She hadn’t exactly been taking care of herself. Well, she had been eating and drinking but probably not as much as she should have been. Jemma would have been yelling at her. “Thanks,” She said as she reached out to take some of the food from the shell for herself. Skye shook her head, though and added. “I don’t want to sleep until she’s awake,” She said. “Really awake, I mean.” Jemma had been awake a few times but she hadn’t been all that actually conscious. Skye was fighting sleep as best as she could. The last few hours, she had really been losing ground though. She would start dozing off and when her head lolled, she’d suddenly jerk herself away and shake out her head, had even smacked at her own cheeks to keep herself awake. It wasn’t healthy. Jemma was getting better. Sleeping for a bit was the thing she should do but she was afraid that she was so tired, if she did sleep, they wouldn’t be able to wake her up when Jemma woke up. 

"Skye, I'm sure Jemma would want you to-" Raina had been about to scold Skye using Jemma's expectations of her, but a little groan, more like a whine, that wasn't Rex's suddenly sounded in their ears.

Jemma's hand slowly but surely came up to her forehead and her eyes squeezed shut tightly before they opened up completely, frowning and looking in a state of confusion about what was going on. "Skye-?" Jemma started. The first thing Jemma noticed was that Skye looked sick, but as Jemma sat up quickly and blood rushed from her head she wondered if maybe it was the other way around and she groaned. Her muscles all felt weak and black spots still littered her field of view.

Skye scrambled to sit up as she finished swallowing her food. "Easy, easy," she reached out to steady Jemma even as her own dizzy spell struck her from the sudden movement. She kept a hand on Jemma's shoulder and reached for the closest bottle of water. "Here, drink," She uncapped it and held it up for Jemma, more than a little relieved that Jemma would be able to do this on her own.

Jemma's eyes almost zeroed in on the water like a hawk and she attacked the bottle like a ravenous animal, gulping it down instinctively after being deprived of it for so long. Bobbi had started to wander over and immediately grabbed the water bottle away from Jemma and Skye when she got about halfway through. Jemma originally pouted and reached out for it, but she realized quickly what was going on. She looked around and saw a sudden stock of water along with worried faces. Skye had dark circles under her eyes and didn't look well at all and it made Jemma frown.   
  
"Have I been asleep...? How long?" Jemma was confused. The last thing she remembered was feeling dizzy a day or so after she spilled her water.

Skye wanted to let Jemma have the whole bottle. She shuddered as her brain again relayed the most awful parts of the last few days. "You collapsed over three days ago..." the words came out sounding much more haunted than Skye intended. Her grip on sanity was hanging by some very thin and frayed strings at the moment. She took the coconut shell of food Raina held out to her and held it out for Jemma to pull from. 

"And I'm not dead?" Jemma responded immediately. Three days was a long time to go without water or food and she was stunned that Skye and the others had managed to keep her alive. "I'm not dead, right?" She asked, just for confirmation, especially when she saw the food and reached for it immediately. The part of her that refused to take someone else's water seemed to have learned its lesson because Jemma ate the whole bowl of food, however small it was. The last time she had eaten had been too long ago to just nibble on things like she usually did.

"No, you're not dead," Skye answered. "But you need to slow down.  You can eat all of it but too fast and you'll make yourself stick..." she took the bowl and started handing it to Jemma a couple of pieces at a time as she chewed and swallowed. "Is your head okay?" She asked. Rex had been sleeping but Jemma's voice woke him up and he scrambled over, wedged his way to her side and immediately began to lick and nuzzle at her cheek, jaw and crook of her neck.

"Pounding, but bearable." Jemma said while chewing. Bobbi and Raina were grinning at her, clearly just glad she was alive, but Skye still seemed worried. In fact, the more Jemma studied Skye's face the more she started to shift her focus away from food and water.   
  
"When was the last time you've slept? Eaten?" Jemma reached out and cradled Skye's cheek. She had to ignore Trudy happily screeching and nudging at her shoulder.

“I ate a few hours ago,” This wasn’t a lie. She had. Drank too. “I’m fine, we’re talking about you.” Skye very deliberately ignored the question about sleeping even though Bobbi and Raina were right there and perfectly capable of ratting her out. She reached out and tucked some of Jemma’s hair behind her ear. “I think we still have some ibuprofen in the first aid kit. No time like the present to use it for your head?” She suggested, hoping to shift focus away from her. Of course she was still worried. She couldn’t shake the concern. Skye always prepared for the worst. The worst in this scenario was the point in the cycle where they circled back around to being out of water. The next time it happened, they’d likely be out of food reserves as well. Everything would be down to chance then. The last few days had sapped what little hope she was still clinging to before them and Skye didn’t think she’d be able to reclaim it. 

"I don't want medication right now." Jemma shook her head. She didn't want it despite the aches and pains in all of her muscles from the heat and dehydration. She just didn't want anything altering her system because she needed to know exactly what she was feeling without numbing or anything of the sort so she'd see the warning signs if she wasn't doing well.    
  
"Maybe you two should both take a nap, we've got watch." Bobbi suggested. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at Skye expectantly, as if threatening to tell on her to Jemma if she didn't comply.

Skye dropped her eyes guiltily. She was filled with the overwhelming urge to very childishly complain that Jemma just woke up,  that she wanted to stay awake with her at least for a while. Skye fought against the immature urge,  though.  She nodded and looked at Jemma. "If you want to sleep,  I mean, " she shrugged.

Jemma didn't want to go to sleep. The last time she had she hadn't truly woken up for days and apparently almost died. So no, she didn't exactly want to sleep, but with just one look at Skye, Jemma knew she needed it badly and she wasn't going to go to sleep without Jemma. So she nodded and eased herself back down, gently tugging on Skye's clothes and curling into her, and then Rex when he squeezed between them.

Skye fixed her exhausted eyes on Jemma's after allowing herself to be pulled to lie down.  "We don't have to sleep if you don't want to," her fingers gently touched along Jemma's cheek. "I'm okay to stay awake," she insisted, trying her very best to hide the emotions from everything that'd happened that Jemma's seemed to have no recollection of now that she was awake.  "I love you, " she added, hoping her eyes didn't look as haunted and spent as she actually was in that moment.

"I love you too." Jemma whispered and kissed Skye low on the forehead between her eyebrows. She nuzzled their noses together and closed her eyes to give Skye an example to follow. "Go to sleep," she said quietly.


	26. Signal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warnings:** No specific warnings this round! 
> 
> Thank you thank you thank you for your patience with us! Sometimes we miss our usual post deadline because of real life and we appreciate you guys patiently waiting!!   
> We love you, you're awesome, thanks for reading, commenting and kudos, thanks for the love y'all!!   
> <3 <3 <3<3<3
> 
> Wit out further ado, sorry for typos we missed, hang onto your butt and enjoy the ride!!
> 
> _________________

_ Day 75 on The Avenger _

The weather seemed to dip below 'oppressively hot and humid,' to 'warm to hot and breezy' the last few days. That made the days easier to get through since it wasn't uncomfortable  to lean against each other or generally share personal space. Everyone was, thankfully,  hydrated as well. "A satellite phone is going in my next emergency kit. In my messenger bag,  so it doesn't get lost in the mix," Skye said. "And I'm gonna learn to navigate by the stars.  What else will be good in there? We can market a first aid kit to go with the novel and movie premieres." She mused over their very meager dinner together in the late afternoon.

"Don't forget about those bars from Mean Girls that make people gain weight. You're quite skinny." Jemma pinched Skye's bicep, which had simultaneously thinned from their malnutrition and gained shape from the physical demands of survival. Both Skye and Jemma had felt more bony to each other when snuggling the longer they were away from civilization and Jemma never thought she'd want to gain weight.    
  
"We could all use some fattening up." Trip added in. He was the most muscular of those left on the boat and therefore looked the least skinny, but even he was too thin in certain places. It was mostly all their abdomens.    
  
"Time to show off and see who's the skinniest." Bobbi chuckled. She got up from a criss crossed position to kneeling and tugged up her shirt some, looking down at herself for the first time in a long time. She'd been avoiding it because she didn't want to see their conditions, but when she looked she frowned. Her tummy was hanging over the waist of her pants a bit and it looked like she had a bit of chub on her stomach. "Or not...?" She looked puzzled, but Jemma's eyes widened.   
  
"Have you had your period at all since we crashed?" Jemma asked quickly. Bobbi's eyes widened when she realized what Jemma was implying.   
  
"No...? But I thought you said it was normal to not have it in stressful situ-"   
  
"Bobbi, you're pregnant." Jemma pointed at her baby bump. She was just surprised none of them had noticed. It all made sense. The "seasickness", the mood swings... she should have noticed sooner. Ace wasn't the youngest of the survivors.

Skye was staring (gaping??) at Bobbi's belly with wide eyes. How could they have missed such a thing? Then again, how could they have known? Skye hadn't had her period at all since the crash and they'd chalked that up to stress induced amenorrhea. Bobbi had been off and on wearing one of Hunter's button up plaid shirts here and there on the boat, though and their clothes were already oversized on them anyway to begin with from the ordeal as whole. Her eyes shot up to Bobbi’s, horrified as she realized she'd possibly punched a (dehydrated partially starving) pregnant woman in the face.    
  
"How can you be sure?" Skye asked. "Could it just be distended??" She grasped at a few straws there. "That's a thing that happens when people are starving, right?"

"I... I don't know." Jemma shrugged and bit her bottom lip as she looked at Bobbi's belly. It was certainly a possibility, but the pregnancy explained Bobbi's behavior and symptoms during the time they'd spent on the boat.   
  
"Did you and him ever..." Jemma glanced at Ace and didn't finish. Bobbi nodded quickly, only affirming Jemma's assumption.   
  
"So there's a tiny Hunter in there?!" Trip finally spoke up and pointed to Bobbi's stomach. Bobbi put her hand over her lower abdomen and a small, sad smile graced her features. Maybe this wasn't such a bad thing.

Skye blinked. She wasn't surprised at all about the island sex between Bobbi and Hunter. She'd figured that was a given. She and Bobbi had made plenty of jokes about it, even. But this? This changed things. It complicated their survival. They didn't know how far along it could be for one. They didn't know if being on this boat as food and water ran out again would affect them. They'd have to operate on the basis that Jemma's suggestion was right, that Bobbi was pregnant and that meant, first, that it was a damned miracle she hadn't lost the baby from stress alone, second, there were any number of things on this voyage that could cause Bobbi to lose the baby and they were all rolling through Skye's mind at the moment and third, they were going to have to adjust the last of their rations accordingly to this new information.    
  
"In where?" Ace asked.

Everyone seemed to look to Jemma because she was the scientific one, but Jemma held up her hands and shook her head. “Don’t look at me, I’m not explaining it.” She glanced over at Bobbi. “You’re the one making the baby, you can explain it.” She chuckled.

___________

An hour or so after the pregnancy bomb, after everyone had settled in for the evening, Skye turned her phone on. First, as always, she tested for any kind of signal whatsoever. As usual, she found absolutely nothing. Afterward, she set the phone up on a docile playlist to take them through sunset. Trip and Jemma were working with his traps and nets, trying to put their heads together to maximize their haul as their dried food stocks were dwindling fast. Ace was already asleep after playing a travel board game with Raina for a few hours. Rex and Trudy were asleep, sprawled out all over Jemma and Skye’s bedroll, purring and snoring away. Skye grabbed her coconut shell of unfinished dinner and went to join Bobbi where she was sitting by herself and watching the horizon. “Okay if I join you?” she asked. 

"Of course." Bobbi nodded and pat the foot end of her own bedroll for Skye to sit down. Her other hand was still resting gently on her abdomen, her thumb rubbing up and down every so often.    
  
"You know I never thought I would want to be a mother." Bobbi chuckled and looked over to Skye. "Being a pilot and all. I wouldn't be home much." She continued. "But Lance was a stubborn guy. He's not dead, because he left me our baby."

Skye may have been one to expect the worst while letting in tiny parts of her hope for the best (although what little hope and optimism she'd had before had completely dissolved in the wake of the water incident), but she could recognize when and how it was necessary for others, especially so given this particular situation. Skye worried first and foremost that, under the assumption that the diagnosis was correct that Bobbi was pregnant, that she would lose the baby. Worse, she worried that they might make it home and Bobbi would find out she wasn't pregnant at all. Would it be a dastardly thing to feed into Bobbi's new life hope and the comfort that Hunter wasn't completely gone in order to keep her going?    
  
Skye gave her a small, cautious smile as she sat down, observing the twitch of Bobbi’s thumb as it absently stroked along her belly bump. Skye didn't know how Bobbi had pushed herself along this far. She knew for a fact, hands down, she wouldn't have ever made it without Jemma and she was certain she never would have continued on without her if she'd died before they reached the rain. "Well, you've got some time to settle on a name now," she said. Without a word about it, she held out the coconut shell of food, which amounted to half of her dinner rations she hadn't eaten, and handed it over to Bobbi.

"Lots of time to think. Maybe too much." Bobbi smiled over at Skye, but frowned when she saw the offering. "I can't take your food." She shook her head and held her hand up to push it back to her.

Skye's arm didn't budge. In fact she pushed it closer to Bobbi instead. "You can and you're gonna," she pushed the coconut shell gently but firm enough into Bobbi's hand before letting go that she has no choice but to take it. "I've survived on much less for many years of my life," she said. "It won't hurt me. Besides, I was done eating before we discovered your mini-me," she said. "Either way, I um, kind of owe you anyhow for that whole...y'know...punch in the mouth thing..." she dropped her eyes to her lap where she brought her hands to fidget and pick absently at the dirt under her nails.

Bobbi's face softened and with the hand that wasn't now holding the bowl of food, she put her hand on Skye's back between her shoulder blades and rubbed a few small circles.   
  
"Don't worry about that. Seriously, it's okay." Bobbi assured her. If taking the food Skye was rejecting would help absolve Skye of guilt than she would do it. "Thank you." She gestured by tipping the bowl slightly and popped a piece of the dried fruit into her mouth with a smile.   
  
"When we get back I'll make it up to you. Takeout on me for everyone." Bobbi spoke a little louder at the last part and Trip made a sound in approval.

Skye wasn't sure exactly when during their time on the island she had begun to rely so heavily on emotional support from the others but she still felt entirely discombobulated every time the realization hit her of how much she needed all of them. Having Bobbi's comforting hand on her back in that moment had somehow reminded her of Elena's joking little quips usually accented with sarcastic little jibes, or Mack's single solemn grunts that she'd learned to interpret for approval, disapproval, disgust, resignation, exhaustion, boredom, etc. She missed Mack's silly nicknames for everyone and the fact that she honestly thought Elena's first name was really 'Yoyo,' for the first full week on the island. She missed May's stoic looks of disapproval for everyone except Ace. She missed Fitz's never-ending conversations about monkeys. She missed Hunter's treasure hunting stories and his smarmy little quips for every occasion. She missed...hell, she even missed fighting with Victoria for being a bitch about pretty much everything.    
  
"Count on it," Skye said when she thought her voice wouldn't betray the sudden wave of emotion that swept through her. She chided herself internally about letting her guard down too often anymore. She hoped, provided they did get home, that the others weren't planning on losing touch over time, because Skye was planning on keeping tabs on all of them. She had the skills to do it without them knowing, of course, but she'd prefer to go about it by other means. "What do you think you'll do for a living when you get back?" She asked, sure that piloting was out of the equation with the baby situation.

"I'm not really sure." Bobbi sighed. She'd been flying planes forever. "I once pursued biochem, but I never got as far as Jemma." Bobbi chuckled. She'd done a lot of biology and science classes until she realized all she wanted to do was fly. That was out of the question now, she wasn't sure she ever wanted to get on a plane again.    
  
"Maybe I'll sue the fuck out of the airline, because it certainly wasn't my fault that plane went down." She suggested. Maybe they could all get enough money to not have to work.   
  
Jemma, who had been listening in a bit (only because they were all so close anyway) gave a glance to Skye. Could they allow Bobbi to sue the airline when they knew it had been a terrorist to take down the plane? Or was it still the airline's fault that Ward and Garrett got through security? Jemma didn't know how all that worked.

Skye caught Jemma’s glance but she just chuckled at Bobbi's words. There was no way, with all the stress they were under and with Bobbi's condition that she could make her confession to them right now. She didn't know how they would react to it and they lived in too close a proximity on their little boat and didn't know how much longer they'd have to live on it together. It was too dangerous to relieve herself of the burden of guilt in this case. She could confess if they ever got back and they could judge for themselves if they still wanted her in their lives.    
  
"Let's hope they don't try to buy you off with credit toward future flights," Skye joked instead. If she had any control over it, she would never get on another plane again.

"Oh god." Bobbi laughed. "That shit's not happening." She shook her head. She was glad they were back to more of their lighthearted conversation. These moments of fleeting happiness were rare and they needed to enjoy them for as long as possible.

___________________   
_ Day 77 on The Avenger _   
  
Breakfast on the morning of the seventy-seventh day on the boat was the last meal the group would have with their dried food stocks to prop up their calorie intake with anything caught from the ocean. Skye and Jemma had been up from their night shift keeping watch when the sun came up and they started to divvy up what they could of the small fish they'd caught during their shift. Skye knew this would likely be their last meal of the dried food but she still felt that ominous pit of dread building in her gut as she opened the last bag with jerky and dried fruit.    
  
Skye glanced over at Jemma. "I can't believe I'm gonna say this...but I'm gonna miss mango," she tried to make it sounds like a joke. She knew they could last longer on just the water and hopefully they'd be able to keep catching fish, turtles and the occasional birds. It was just going to be difficult and trying as their energy would suffer greatly without the food. Emotions and tempers would flare. "We should make sure Bobbi gets enough for both of them. Take it out of my rations." She added.

"If we each give Bobbi a fourth of our own she's getting an extra half, but I don't want you to be the only one giving anything up. You still need it too." Jemma insisted. She took a bit out of both of theirs and added it to Bobbi's while she was busy helping Trip retie the sail.

Skye wanted to protest, but she knew she couldn't without having to tell Jemma all of what happened while she was dehydrated, heat stroked and dying rather than only giving her the bare minimum details so she closed her mouth and gave in with a nod. "What's our argument for when she notices and puts up a fight?" She added a bit of what was left in her dried portion into Ace's coconut shell bowl, this one while Jemma wasn't looking. She remembered vividly what it felt like to be a kid his age without proper nutrition despite the fact that the body was still trying to grow despite it on top of her sort of promise to Bobbi about doing everything possible to, at the least, get Ace home to his family if she couldn't get Jemma there. "Call it Doctor's orders?" She joked.

Jemma smiled at Skye’s joke and finished sorting out the last of the food to prepare to hand it out to everyone. “If she wants to keep that baby she’ll take it.” Jemma said quietly so Bobbi wouldn’t hear them talking about her from the other side of the raft. 

None of them were looking forward to their next meal. This was the last of their preserved food, or most importantly, cooked meat. They couldn’t build a fire on a boat made entirely out of wood and plants, and their only food source was animals they caught from the water. They were going to have to learn how to eat solely raw meat.

Skye was probably fairing the best when it came to eating the raw fish and turtle. She’d had to do things like that with one of her foster families whenever they were left in the woods to fend for themselves for food, shelter, etc. Fires were hard to start when you didn’t have a flint strike like she had now on her wrist. Then again, they couldn’t light fires on the boat. Technically, she probably could have lit one inside one of the big turtle shells, but they would need a continuing source of wood to burn. They definitely didn’t have that as all they had was the boat and they couldn’t pilfer wood from it repeatedly. The hardest part of the raw meat was getting Ace to eat it, which was another reason for Skye giving him extra of the dried food since it was their last meal with it. 

Skye was starting to hope they would find a small, random, uncharted island more than anything. They needed somewhere that they could stop for a few days and replenish their supplies before going on further. “Breakfast’s ready, kids,” Skye said to alert them all. She and Jemma handed out the food as they all took their normal spots gathered around together. 

“I’m actually surprised our food stocks lasted this long,” Raina said as they all took their time eating slowly to savor their last bites of food they might never eat again. 

“We did a pretty good job sticking to our rations,” Trip agreed with a shrug. He tossed a couple of small, whole fish for Trudy and Rex, tossed some flakes of dried fish scales into a coconut shell for Buzz to dig into and then set some dried out seaweed he’d leaned over the edge of the boat to pull from the bottom where it was accumulating and growing, so they all could eat with them. 

“If the weather and the breeze hold out, maybe our water will last long enough to come across a small island,” Skye spoke her thoughts. “We can set down on solid land a few days to restock and set off again.” It was wishful thinking, she knew, but she had to hope for something right? This seemed like their best bet, barring the miracle of running across a ship. She didn’t hold out hope of a plane spotting them, those would be too high in the sky. 

Jemma smiled hopefully, but inside the fear that they were all going to die anyway was still eating at her just as terribly as the constant empty hunger in her stomach that could never be satisfied by their tiny rations. It was all too much to think about because she didn't want to lose her last shreds of hope, so she reached for Skye's phone to play some music while everyone ate. Per usual, she checked the wifi signal first and was so used to nothing being there that she almost pressed the home button before she realized there was a signal called  _ CruiseshipWifi _ .   
  
"Skye! A signal!" Jemma thrust the phone into Skye's hands so she could hopefully work some computer magic before it was gone. She stood up and scanned the horizon in all directions, eventually spotting a dot beneath the sun. "There! A ship!"

Skye's eyes widened as she dropped her bowl into her lap and hurriedly looked to the horizon as Jemma shouted about the signal. "Turn us in its direction - use the paddles if you have to!" She said, at once going to work to try and break her way into the ship's customer WiFi. It would have been a simple hack had it not been for the fact that the signal kept going in and out. Raina dove for the rudder to turn them as Trip adjusted the angle of the sale. They grabbed the oars to try and give them a little bit more speed and Skye shifted to the corner of the boat closest to the direction of the ship.    
  
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon..." Skye murmured as her fingers flitted across the touch screen. Just a few more steady seconds and she would have enough access to hack her way to GPS or satellite access to get a signal out for help that would include whatever their position was - with another minute or two of access, she might even be able to code in to tell the satellites to keep tracking them. The signal, however, was moving away for longer and longer stretches, which meant the ship was moving much too fast to keep up with from their little boat.    
  
She started counting every time the signal went out. 5 seconds. Then 8 seconds. Then 13 seconds. Once she surpassed a full minute, the signal never returned.  "No, no, no, no, come on," she didn't know if her signal message had time to go out or not and the signal appeared to be completely gone now. Skye felt hot tears spring into her eyes and she was so frustrated she barely held back from chucking the whole phone into the ocean. She didn't bother looking to the horizon. The boat was too far. It was moving away from them. "Signal's gone," she said, every muscle slumped in defeat.    
  
"This is good news - right?" Trip asked. When everyone, save for Skye, looked at him, he shrugged. "Not that the signal is gone, but it means we're in a shipping area, right?" He reasoned. "Right?"

“I don’t know.” Jemma replied for Skye, who had gone silent for a moment. In less than five minutes they had been handed the most hope they’d ever had for survival and then in the next moment it was taken away all over again. It was devastating. She didn’t know how often ships traveled in this area or if there would be another. It was terrifying to realize that they could come so close but their rescue still wasn’t a given.

All Skye could think about was what would happen once their water ran out. She couldn't bear the thought of possibly having to watch Jemma die of dehydration again while hoping they might wander into another rainstorm. And what about Bobbi and the baby once they were out of water? Ace? She couldn't watch the happen to any of them when the time came and she was entirely aware of it. So she stayed huddled by the front corner of the boat, repeatedly refreshing the network and trying every trick she knew how to extend the pick up range, knowing full well that there was nothing more she could do other than drain the phone battery.

"It's gone." Jemma said solemnly. She put her hands over Skye's and slipped the phone from her hands, fighting the urge to throw it to the floor of the boat and stomp on it. They had been so close. That was the closest they had been to a human being that hadn't been on that plane in almost half a year.    
  
"Fuck!" Bobbi suddenly kicked the side of the boat and tears sprung to her eyes at the pain it caused. Jemma and Trip both rushed to her and grabbed for an arm each to hold her steady and ease her down so she could rest, or at least not hurt herself as she cried.   
  
"We'll find another one." It was Ace's small voice that finally seemed to calm everyone. It was his ignorance and naivety that somehow made them feel better. When Ace said it, he himself believed it, unlike with the others, so it was much more believable and calming to everyone else.

___________

_ Day 88 on The Avenger _

Eleven days passed without encountering another ship even on the horizon. They were also in a small drought as the weather, though it hadn’t been overly humid or oppressive, had been strictly sunny and hot with no clouds in sight. The bright rays of the sun bouncing off the water made it difficult to look out at the horizon to look for passing ships without worrying that the light itself was causing a mirage. Mirage or not, no one in the group spotted another ship in those long eleven days. Five days after she failed to keep the signal long enough to send a message, Skye had to leave checking the wifi to everyone else. She was too disappointed in her failure to have to watch no networks show up again and again. She focused, instead, on catching as much food as she could since she thought that would be a better use of her time and would help the group more. 

As a result, Skye also wound up quieter and quite a bit withdrawn as more days passed. Every time she tried to pull herself out of the spiral, the reality of their situation took a few extra swings at her brain, At the moment, she and Trip were attempting to lure a school of fish toward their side of the boat so Trip could cast a net out to gather them a large haul. Fishing was about the only activity anyone did anymore outside of sleep, be it day or night, or searching the horizon. Just as Skye spotted the school swirling their way and pointed it out, Trip swung the net above his head and threw it to cast it out. As he pulled it back in, a scream of fear interrupted them from the back of the boat.

Ace, who had just woken up, had his eyes open wide and was looking all around, his muscles twisted in confusion as he swung his hands out in front of him and started stumbling around the boat, shouting for help and randomly calling out their names. Skye frowned. “Grab him before he tips overboard!” She shouted when she realized he was stumbling blindly toward the side of the boat. 

“Go, I got it,” Trip pulled in the net to see what they might have caught. 

Skye scrambled up to her feet to head through the boat where Jemma had stopped Ace to pull him back into the middle of the boat. “Is he still asleep?” she asked as she approached and crouched down. With the stress of how long they’d been at sea (almost three months now), she wouldn’t be surprised if Ace’s nerves had enough. A sleepwalking person was obviously a dangerous thing for the boat, though. 

“I can’t see!” Ace began to shout. His hands struck out to grab at either of them as he said it a few times over and over, panicstricken. “I can’t see! I can’t see!!”  

Jemma hurried to kneel in front of Ace and put a firm, assuring hand on the back of his neck to hold him still and support him.    
  
"Ace, I need you to calm down." Jemma said slowly. She repeated it a few times until Ace was still and facing her, but his eyes weren't seeing. There weren't any true signs of blindness but Jemma was no specialist.    
  
"Have you hurt your head or back in the past few days?" Jemma asked, to which he shook his head no instead of speaking. She thought for a moment and the only cause she could think of was the bright, damaging sun. "I think it's just sea blindness, it's only temporary. It'll go away with proper rest and avoiding exposure to the sun." She explained. She sighed. Yet another problem arose that could really only be solved by rescue.

Skye sat next to them and put a hand on Ace’s arm as she spoke. “Should we cover his eyes at all?” she asked. “Or should we adjust his visor?” She was already looking over at Ace’s bed area and trying to think about what to attach to his visor to block him from the sunlight or its reflections. 

Ace whimpered and reached out to hold onto what he thought were Jemma’s arms but turned out to be one of Jemma’s shoulders and one of Skye’s arms. Skye let go of his arm and instead slipped her hand into his and gave it a small squeeze. 

"It would put less stress on his eyes to keep them covered so he isn't straining to see." Jemma suggested. She didn't like the idea of blindfolding Ace, but it gave him the best chance of getting his sight back.

Skye nodded. She was drowning freely since Ace couldn't see her at the moment.  She moved to sit down. "Alright, bud, come sit with me and Ruby okay?" She pulled Ace across her lap and then used an arm to scoop the little horse up so she could settle in Ace's lap. "Here's what we're gonna do,  okay?" She rubbed her hand up and down Ace's back and held onto him. Ace sniffled but nodded and hugged Ruby as she nuzzled at him. "We need to protect your eyes so they can heal, okay? So we're going to wrap a cloth around your eyes, but we're going to take it off every so often to check. We'll be with you the whole time, I promise." She stopped and waited for Ace to absorb all that.    
  
Ace sniffled and nodded and Skye gently wiped the tears off of his cheeks. "What if they don't work anymore?" He asked. Skye didn't know what to say to that. She frowned as she glanced at Jemma, grasping for something comforting offer Ace in their world of uncertainty.

"They'll work again." Jemma blurted hastily. With anyone else she would have used honesty with some level of sugarcoating, but Ace deserved a thick layer of frosting. He was just a kid, the sugarcoating alone was what he needed. He didn't deserve to be scared and Jemma wanted him to escape with as much childlike innocence as possible, even if that wasn't a realistic goal given their situation and experiences. "Just give it time. It'll be ok." Jemma offered her hand to Ace to squeeze by sliding it under his as Bobbi came over with a strip of cloth she'd found and started to tie it around his head. They needed to get off of the boat, and soon.

________________   
_ Night 91 on The Avenger  _

On day 89, with no clouds on any horizon and the temperatures and humidity spiking upward again, Skye knew the time was coming when they were going to run out of water again. She started distributing parts of her water rations between Bobbi and Jemma’s rations whenever she could get away without anyone seeing it. She was almost caught on night 90, when Ace woke up but she knew he couldn’t see her so she’d given him an excuse about being on watch and just trying to see how long they could stretch their stock. Ace accepted this and she’d read one of his comic books to him to get him back to sleep. No matter what happened over the next week, Skye wasn’t going to watch Jemma possibly die of dehydration again, and she damn sure wasn’t going to simply let it happen to Bobbi and the baby either. They’d never willfully take whatever rations she offered them from her own, though, so Skye did what she could to fill up their assigned last life vest water bottles while pretending she still had the same amount as theirs.

This required a bit of acting on her part too as Skye had to pretend to drink while not actually drinking anything for a little while so she could make it look like she hadn’t run out early. Her last actual mouthful of water was in the afternoon of day 89. With an extremely hot and humid, cloudless couple of days on the boat trying to catch turtles and fish, Skye was dizzy and lethargic. She kept insisting she was fine even though she couldn’t really bother to eat a whole lot during dinner. In fact, she snuck most of her food to Ace, Rex and Trudy rather than eating it herself whenever she thought Jemma wasn’t looking. Her stomach just wasn’t having it. When her bowl was empty, Skye moved to lay down, settled her head in Jemma’s lap for a moment. She tried to open her eyes to look up at Jemma but damned if her eyelids weren’t too heavy to bother trying to move. 

“M’just gonna stay here a minute,” She murmured with a kiss to Jemma’s thigh by where her head was resting. It was their last meal with water. Skye wanted them to enjoy it even though she didn’t have any to drink herself. She just felt sapped of all her energy. 

Jemma frowned as she looked down at Skye. At first she had begun go absentmindedly play with Skye's long yet damaged hair and run her thumb across her cheekbone, but after hearing that Jemma herself had passed out for multiple days, she was erring on the side of caution when she noticed Skye's slurring.   
  
"What do you feel, love?" Jemma pressed a hand against her forehead. Skye didn't feel any warmer than the rest of them after being out in the sun all day, but that didn't mean she was okay. They were all feeling some level of dehydration, but Jemma knew some of them could react more quickly than others.

The last thing Skye wanted was for any of them to try and give her whatever drops of water they had left. She could wait for them to hopefully catch another turtle or a large tuna, to drink the blood.  Skye absolutely could not bear to watch what happened to Jemma before happen again, to any of them. She couldn't face the dark thoughts that she'd struggled with the whole time and she couldn't let it get anywhere near the point that it had when she had hauled off and backhanded Jemma to force her to open her mouth and drink.  Just thinking about what she'd done made a shudder roll down her spine.    
  
Without opening her eyes,  Skye blindly reached up and pulled Jemma's hand down from her forehead and kissed the back of it before bringing it to rest lazily against her chest. "Just tired," she murmured. Skye had agreed to Bobbi's demand that she do what she could to get the others back home. She'd promised that she'd get Jemma home.  They had to be near some shipping lanes to have picked up that cruise ship WiFi. This was what she had to do to give them a fighting chance. If Skye had to be the one to die to give them even one extra hour to possibly be rescued, then so be it. That didn't mean she wasn't scared of what lay ahead of her, of course. It simply meant the choice had already been made,  the plan enacted, and now there was just time.     
  
Skye realized that sleeping meant she was wasting that last little bit of time and she forced her eyes open for a moment,  half lidded and heavy as they were as she looked up at Jemma. "I love you,  y'know," she said it clearly even though her tone was still about as lethargic as she felt.  It was important, especially if she might be gone soon. 

"And I love you." Jemma murmured. She brushed the pads of her fingers over Skye's cheekbones and her jaw, hoping her gentle touch could ease Skye into getting some rest. Sleep was not only the best way to pass time, but it preserved their energy in the event that they might need it.

Skye turned her head slightly and kissed the side of her thigh next to where her head was resting and closed her eyes again. Between the dizzy feeling, Jemma's touch and having no more energy left to keep awake, Skye was out cold. Rex crawled over to them and dropped his head onto Jemma's knee near Skye's head. He let out a mournfully sad whine and looked up at her with big eyes, but hungry and bored since Skye wasn't awake to play or teach him commands.    
  
At some point in the night when it was time for Jemma to get some sleep, they shuffled around to lie down properly in their bed. The wind was strong and cool. The stars were especially bright with nothing to block them from view in the sky. Skye didn't actually wake up as they shifted, she just moved the heavy limbs when she was instructed to roll over. She shivered under the blankets until Rex wedged between them and Trudy sprawled halfway across them. She murmured a few quiet, 'I love you,' whenever Jemma spoke to her, very much out of it and sleepy.    
  
__________   
_ Day 92 on the Avenger _   
  
  
By the time the the sky was changing from dark purple to dark blue, Skye had started to overheat despite the cool weather, most likely from her kidneys having no water to regulate her temperature and blood pressure. As a result, her heart was bounding in erratic rhythms. The very last of the water in her system left through her pores as sweat which matted her hair to her forehead and poolled under her arms and along her chest and back. It soaked her clothes and then stopped when it exhausted the last of her body's water. Skye wound up very cold. She began to shiver so hard that her teeth rattled as they clacked loudly together.    
  
A few murmurs escaped her, memories of a past life. In her mind, not quite a dream, Skye was in the woods. She had no tent, just a leanto she'd made with pine branches for shelter against the trunk of an old oak tree. There was snow on most of the ground, though a good deal of it was melting from the heavy rains they were stuck in, turning her bed of pine branches into slushy mud as they sunk under her weight. Skye had never felt so cold in her life as this night. She was confused as to how she ended up back here, it was so many years ago now. How old had she been? Eight?   
  
She'd been with the Wheelers then. She still had welts on her back from her last reprimand. They'd been pulled from school for a long weekend camping. She was paired with the two boys closest in age to her at 11 and 13. Carl Wheeler wanted to teach them how to survive on their own with no help other than the tactics he'd already taught them in the woods near their home. Skye remembered catching a big catfish during the day. Her stomach, though, had stabbing hunger pangs shooting through it, why? Carl. Carl had let the boys take the fish from her as their own haul, that's why. Now the boys were complaining about the cold, wet situation. Skye knew better. Carl was waiting, watching them from somewhere. Complaints led to punishments.    
  
Wrapping her arms around herself, Skye squeezed her eyes shut and ignored the pain in her stomach, the raw feeling in the back of her throat, the thick, heavy feeling of her tongue. She rocked slightly, trying to generate heat. She clenched her jaw tight to try and stop the loud sound of her teeth chattering, tried to block out the sound of the boys complaining, of her name being called. "Shh-s-s-shhhh," she shushed between chatters. "D'you wa-want 'im to w-whip you 'g-gain?" She murmured in a slur in her sleep, not at all aware of where she actually was in reality.

Jemma had been lying down, not quite sleeping but in a lazy state of partial consciousness. Skye's head was on her stomach, and the movement actually jolted her out of her quiet, mindful rest. She heard what Skye muttered, but it didn't make sense and she frowned, pushing some at Skye's shoulder as she sat up in a gentle attempt to rouse her.   
  
"Skye, love, wake up." Jemma whispered. She leaned over and kissed her cheek, gave her shoulder another squeeze, and pulled Skye's torso up a bit to slide an arm under her so she was practically cradling her.

Skye’s brow furrowed in her sleep as her teeth clicked together from the cold chattering. Her arms were prickled in gooseflesh and most of her was coated in cold sweat. Her head lolled back when Jemma moved her but her eyes didn't open. “Huh…?” She murmured in confusion the voice not one she was expecting in her rather vivid dream. In the dream she looked around but couldn’t find the voice’s owner. “W-Who…?” Her breath came in short, ragged bursts between her clattering teeth. If she could find a way to start a fire, she could warm up. That’s what she needed to do. But her arms felt heavy, her head felt heavy. Her eyelids felt like they were glued shut. 

"It's Jemma." Jemma murmured, stroking Skye's hair. Her brows were furrowed and her body was tense, but she tried not to show Skye that she was afraid. None of them were feeling best with the small water rations and now, with no rations, it was getting harder for them to stay lucid. Jemma was afraid for Skye to be the first. She most definitely did not want Skye to die and she was starting to let the cold nearly tangible fear seep into her as Skye continued to make noises without waking up. They had very little time left.

Skye’s head shifted, as if she were looking around, though her eyes stayed closed again. Everything felt bleak. The darkness that had been around the edges of her vision in her dream now engulfed everything around her. Her heart raced as her brain tried to figure out where she was - the last time she remembered that feeling, she’d opened her eyes and found herself in a hospital room only to be told the Brodys were dead. There were no beeping machines surrounding her, just darkness, and that voice. Jemma. “M’s-sorry,” she slurred the words together. Maybe if she let go now, Jemma wouldn’t have to go through what they’d had to do to keep Jemma alive last time. Could she just let go and give up, though? Did she even have it in her to do such a thing? Would Jemma ever forgive her for it if she did? Would any of that matter once she was gone anyhow? Skye supposed not. 

"It's perfectly alright." Jemma whispered as she continued to stroke Skye's hair. She was glad it was still light out so that she had the assurance that Skye was alive while she watched her side rise and fall, even if it was a bit too slow for Jemma's liking. Skye was clearly very dehydrated and it wasn't going to get better with time. They needed more of the animal blood and they needed it soon.

_______________   
  
Trip and the others didn't catch anything until late in the evening. It was a very large turtle and though it was secured in his net, Trip had needed both Bobbi and Raina's help to get it into the boat. Their coordination wasn't the best so there was a good bit of spillage as they killed the turtle and collected the blood. Rex, Trudy and Ruby took care of lapping up the spilled liquid and Trip handed Bobbi the first bottle on account of the baby.    
  
Skye had yet to wake up. She'd murmured incoherently throughout the day, responding with nonsensical answers to questions mostly as a reflexive response to hearing their voices. They did what they could to wrap her up and keep her shielded from the sun with the visors, though Skye had gone from so cold her teeth were chattering to so overheated that her skin was flushed a deep ruddy color. Her breathing was much more erratic than overnight and through the morning. She had no water left to produce sweat. Every so often her chest stalled and stopped it's shallow rapid inhales and exhales as if her body simply forgot how to breathe for a few stretches of heartbeats before she'd gasp and the rapid rasps returned.    
  
When everything was collected, Raina carried over one of the coconut shells and a life vest water bottle for her and Skye. "How's she doing?" Raina could see the answer to this question. It was pretty on the level with Jemma's state when she'd been dehydrated so when she asked it, Raina’s eyes didn't linger long on Skye, but focused on Jemma instead to check on her mental state in light of it all. Skye had absolutely lost it in desperation. Raina wasn't sure if that would happen to Jemma or if she'd be able to keep her cool. She supposed it would depend on Skye's reaction to the blood. Raina filled up the coconut shell halfway and handed it to Jemma. "You first," she said. It would help to keep Jemma in better control of herself, maybe, right?    
  
"She needs fluid." Jemma sighed. She still had Skye's head in her lap and she made sure that she was comfortable on her left side so she could breathe with as little effort as possible. Her nerves were frayed from not knowing what was going to happen to Skye but when she saw that Trip had captured a turtle she was relieved. Her own existence proved that it worked. They just needed to keep everyone alive until the next rain or until they reached land or got picked up by a ship, but after months at sea the rain seemed the most realistic.    
  
"I'll drink after she does." Jemma shook her head against Raina's suggestion and took a bottle, but set it at her side so she could reposition Skye.    
  
"Come on, let's get some liquid into you." She grunted a bit as she managed to pull Skye's limp, mostly deadweight body into more of a sitting position and slipped behind her for support since she knew she wouldn't stay up on her own. Jemma pressed a kiss to Skye's temple to try to rouse her before she brought the bottle up to her lips, which were slightly parted from breathing, and tipped the bottle up.

Skye's head lolled back against Jemma's shoulder, but she didn't move on her own other than that.  Her lips pursed around the bottle but the thick,  salty liquid hit her uvula and the back of her throat at the wrong angle. Rather than reflexively swallowing, Skye's body involuntarily jerked away as she coughed and gagged, spitting most of it out in the process as she tried to catch her breath in the wake of the painful coughing jag.

"Hey, shh, it's okay." Jemma whispered. She kissed at the side of Skye's head and held her up so she wouldn't fall over as she coughed. She noticed she had the eyes of the whole boat then. Raina looked downright terrified, Bobbi had a look etched onto her face that Jemma couldn't quite identify, and Trip stared for only a moment before he went about trying to busy Ace by putting Ruby in his lap and guiding his hands to stroke her fur.   
  
"Try again Skye, it's okay." Jemma murmured. Her own heart was pounding in her chest and wild what ifs were polluting her thoughts. How would Skye survive if she didn't drink it?   
  
"How did she get me to drink it?" Jemma asked. Maybe there was just a trick to it that Bobbi could tell her. She had a feeling it wouldn't be that easy.

Raina opened her mouth but couldn't seem to find her voice. Bobbi made her way over to Skye and Jemma, her face drawn and solemn.  "She fought you," Bobbi hesitated as she knelt next to them. "You refused to unclamp your jaw to drink it and Skye...she held your nose shut til you opened your mouth.  When that stopped working..." Bobbi glanced at Skye and realized Skye's hands were doing the steady trembling that seemed to be a permanent addition to Skye's mannerisms. If she really thought back,  she'd noticed Skye's hands doing it off and on since that night in the jungle when they couldn't find Jemma.    
  
Bobbi frowned and let her eyes meet Jemma's. "It was really bad. You really fought against it. She grew increasingly desperate." Bobbi shook the awful memories from her mind and held her hand out for the bottle. "Wrap your arms around her,  hold her arms down. I'll get her to swallow it, you hold her still, okay?" With the two of them,  she could only hope it would be easier than it was with Jemma, considering Skye's fighting skills. There was no telling what an adrenaline surge might do to Skye's reflexes, even in her current state.

"Oh." Jemma frowned and tried to comb her memories for what Bobbi was describing. She came up blank and she assumed by the looks on Bobbi and Raina's faces that that was a good thing. She'd noticed the bandages on Skye's hand but with everything that had been happening she hadn't had time, and was honestly afraid, to ask. "Ok." She nodded and followed Bobbi's instructions. Her muscles were taut and her mind was buzzing, not quite sure what was about to happen next.

Panic was quick to set in for Skye at the sudden constriction as her brain automatically associated this kind of treatment with very specific memories from her past. Her heart raced and she weakly shifted her weight over and over again as if it would free her somehow.  Her jaw fell open, dragging in air to compensate for the fast race of her pulse.  Bobbi timed it as best she could. She pushed Skye's head back by her forehead,  tipped the bottle into her mouth to dump the blood in. As soon as enough was in there, she pulled the bottle out and, with her other hand, forced Skye's jaw closed and pinched her nose shut like they'd done with Jemma.   
  
Skye’s body jerked as she tried to break free, though she was much too weak to succeed. Her face turned a few shades of purple, her legs struck out and her body convulsed before reflex finally forced the liquid down her throat in two swallows. As soon as she swallowed, Bobbi let go and Skye sputtered and gasped loudly for air. The tremors shook through her whole body now, not just her hands. Bobbi waited for Skye to breathe a bit, then said. "Round two," and reached to forced more of the blood in her mouth.  Every time, Skye's body fought. By the third round, Skye was sobbing, though no tears came out. Rex growled at them as Skye struggled but didn't lunge for them.     
  
After the fifth round, they'd managed to get half the bottle down Skye's throat. Bobbi capped the bottle and pulled back as Skye's body sagged in exhaustion and she whimpered for some form of mercy, shaking with sobs still, unable to control the tremors, or anything else for that matter.

"Shh, I'm sorry, it's okay." Tears streaked down Jemma's cheeks with sympathy. Every time Skye made one of those fearful whining sounds she felt her own heart constrict and when Skye struggled it made her sick to her stomach to watch her misery. It was difficult to take, but if it was the only way to keep Skye alive it was a necessity. She was just thankful Bobbi had been able to help her because she wasn't sure she could have done it herself.   
  
"Was it this bad for me?" Jemma asked cautiously. She had been on the other end of this situation, but she couldn't remember it and she wondered if this horrible, heart wrenching guilt was what Skye had been feeling.

Bobbi used the bottom of her shirt to wipe Skye's face off, which made Skye whimper again and she sunk further into Jemma to try and escape. Bobbi sat down next to Jemma and held the bottle out to her. She chewed at her bottom lip a moment and very quietly said, "Worse.” She tried to pick her words carefully to give Jemma the details. "At one point she had you in a choke hold to try and make you open your mouth. When you still wouldn’t,  she tried to pry your jaw open by your teeth. You bit her fingers almost down to the bone and..." 

Bobbi grimaced at the memory. "She slapped you clear across the face. That finally did it to force you to drink some of it before we finally pulled her off of you." Bobbi let that information sink in for a moment.  "You cowered away from her after that and she stayed as far away from you as she could in the boat until you came around a bit in the middle of the night and asked for her. I've never seen her so...it was like the night we couldn't find you in the jungle. We were sure you were going to die until that rainstorm, and...and Skye was ready to go with you wherever you went."

Jemma didn't know where her body found the spare moisture to form tears, but it did and Jemma was suddenly very glad she didn't remember but also horrified that Skye had had to go through that. With one hand she carefully snagged Skye's wrist and her vision was clouded so she could barely see the bandages on Skye's hand. She'd done that. Even if it wasn't conscious, it had been her own teeth that had bit down on her like that. But it sounded like Skye had gotten rough too, so she didn't know what to think about it. Her other hand came up to her own cheek like touching it would somehow bring back the memory. They had both done horrible things to each other but it was in the name of love and life so they were going to have to get over it.   
  
"It's okay now." Jemma kissed the top of Skye's head and gently rocked them to try to ease Skye back into sleep so she could save her energy for later if they needed it. "Just hang in there. Please."

Bobbi watched them for a moment, tried her best to ignore the twisted emotions in her own gut. She moved an arm around Jemma’s shoulders and then reached again for the half empty bottle of turtle blood. “You need to drink too,” She reminded Jemma. 

For a few moments, it was pretty clear Skye was going to sink back off to sleep but before she could, her diaphragm jolted and she jerked out of Jemma’s grasp as she heaved, retching up the blood along with the sour bile of her stomach in loud gurgles, too weak to properly roll herself from her back to her side on the floor of the boat. 

  
"Skye?!" Jemma grabbed at the back of Skye's shift so she wouldn't fall over but didn't pull her back so she could get anything out of her airway that she needed to. She held back Skye's hair and pat her back gently, just trying to help her get it all up even if it was better if Skye didn't throw up. Trip tried to keep a panicking Ace from taking off his blindfold and Raina hurried over with the bucket, which Bobbi began to hold under Skye's mouth to prevent all the blood from getting on the boat.    
  
"Easy, easy, it's alright." Jemma rubbed her back until the heaving subsided and she brought Skye back to lean against her again. Raina cleaned up her face while Jemma pressed kisses to her warm temple. Everything about the situation was warm, from the blazing sun to Skye's skin, but ice cold fear ran through Jemma's veins and allowed goosebumps to raise on her arms. How were they supposed to help Skye if she couldn't get anything down?   
  
"Do we need to try again?" Bobbi asked hesitantly. She dumped the vomited blood overboard because as much as they needed to not waste materials, reusing it would be crossing a line of disgusting that none of them really wanted to cross.   
  
"No, she might just throw up again." Jemma sighed. Another try might waste more blood.   
  
"What do we do then?" Raina asked frantically.    
  
"I don't know!" Jemma shook her head and held Skye's limp body just a little bit tighter. It was all coming down to this. They had spent months on the dinosaur infested island and months on this boat, and for what? For Skye to die, and the rest of them in turn?   
  
"We have to try again or she'll die!" Raina protested.   
  
"Skye's going to die?" A higher pitched, childlike voice cut in. Trip hadn't been able to distract him.   
  
"No," both Jemma and Bobbi blurted at once.   
  
"Stop lying to him, she very well could!" Raina argued. Ace's eyes widened and Jemma's started to water all over again.   
  
"Jemma made it, Skye can too-" Bobbi started.   
  
"Jemma wasn't throwing it back up!" Raina cut back in. Jemma just held on to Skye and her body slowly started to tremble as she wondered just how long Skye had left.    
  
"Guys!" Trip finally shouted. The animals had started to get riled up with the argument and were noticing Jemma's odd behavior, and their pacing was making the boat rock. When Trip interrupted the argument, all went silent and everyone looked to him for direction. It was then that their eyes trailed from Trip's eyes to his arm, which was extended, out to the horizon, where a small lump looked out of place on the horizon.   
  
"Ship! It's a ship!" Ace screamed. 


	27. Gun!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warnings:** Nothing out of the ordinary!
> 
> Thanks for your patience in keeping with us! As always thank you for reading! Thanks for the kudos, comments and love! <3 
> 
> Onward, ho!   
> #WhereverWendesday!  
> <3<3<3
> 
> ___________

Skye opened her eyes and immediately closed them again against the bright light of the room. When she opened them again, squinting, she slowly let them adjust as she sat up and pushed the blanket off from over top of her.  As soon as her eyes adjusted, Skye froze. She was in bed, surrounded by brightly colored bedroom walls. Dynamic Magenta. This was the color she'd chosen to paint the walls of her bedroom in the Brody house.  Skye’s wide eyes stared around the room,  panicstricken. The last thing she remembered was being on the boat - Skye's head snapped to the open door of the room when she heard movement from the floor below. Her stomach grumbled when she smelled pancakes and bacon.    
  
With a great deal of hesitation, Skye swung her feet to the floor and stood up. She swayed on her feet and steadied herself in the doorway. She took slow, quiet, practiced steps meant to mask the sound of her approach. She walked until she was standing in the doorway of the Brody's kitchen as Robin, the only woman she had ever called 'mom,' moved around the kitchen, preparing breakfast while humming happily. Skye felt the burn in the bridge of her nose as tears welled in her eyes.    
  
"...M-Mom...?" Her dry voice cracked in confusion.     
  
Robin stalled in her tasks and turned around. "There you are, Sleepyhead!" She beamed a happy smile at Skye as she put a heaping plate of pancakes on the counter and turned toward Skye. "I thought you were going to sleep clear into the afternoon - are you feeling okay, honey?"    
  
Before Skye could blink,  Robin was standing in front of her,  stroking her arm and touching her forehead with the back of her hand to see if she had a fever. A choked sob escaped Skye's throat. This couldn't be right, the last time she'd seen her mom was-   
  
"Skye? What's wrong,  Sweetheart?" Robin leaned back to look at Skye but kept holding her by the outsides of her arms.    
  
"You can't be here..." Skye stammered over the words as tears escaped down her cheeks.   
  
Robin reached up to swipe at the tears. "What?" She asked with a chuckle. "Don't be silly,  of course I can!" She kissed Skye's forehead and pulled her in for a warm, tight hug. "What on Earth's gotten into you, silly?" She chuckled.   
  
Skye clenched her eyes shut tight as the tears flowed. She wound her arms around Robin and buried her face into her shoulder.  "Am I dead?" She sniffled.    
  
Robin leaned back and held Skye by the arms again. "What?"   
  
Skye sniffled. "I've missed you for so long," she blurted.     
  
"I've been right here, love," Robin wiped at Skye's tears.    
  
"I don't want to die," Skye sniffled. "I made a promise...I-I'm not ready."   
  
"I know, sweetheart," Robin kissed her forehead again. "I love you."   
  
"I love you, mom," Skye barely managed to whisper the words.    
  
"Wake up."   
  
Skye bolted upright, inhaling sharply as she did. Almost instantly she was knocked back down onto the bed after a massive dizzy spell swarmed her. She groaned and grabbed her head as she clenched her eyes shut and fought to keep the room from spinning.   
  
"Skye?" Jemma was hovering over her in an instant, supporting herself on the bed with one elbow and lightly shaking Skye's shoulder with the other.    
  
"Is she awake?" Another voice asked from nearby. It was Bobbi.   
  
"Don't crowd her, let Jemma handle it." Raina's voice joined in and it sounded like Ace and Trip were having a hushed conversation elsewhere in the room.   
  
"Skye, love, are you with me?" Jemma leaned over and kissed the corner of Skye's mouth. They'd managed to get some water into her when they'd finally boarded the ship. They'd all been ushered to an empty sleeping quarters, animals and all, and were immediately given an entire case of water bottles. They'd only been on the ship for about an hour and the crew told them to stay put while they called in to the mainland for instructions.    
  
Rex lifted his head from the mattress and nudged at Skye's feet while Trudy stood a bit of a distance away, trying to look like she didn't care while actually watching intently.   
  
They were all still shocked to be suddenly taken away from the small boat that had been their whole world for the last few months, and it was simultaneously comforting and terrifying for Jemma to be closed in by four walls and a roof. She would feel a lot better about it once Skye woke up.

Skye felt the chill in the air around them but couldn't figure out how it had gotten so cold. "Hmmm?" She half hummed/half groaned out. "S'goin on?" Her words were still slurred a bit. She let go of her head and opened her eyes, though they still drooped a good bit. Confusion etched across her features as she scanned the room. "What...?" Coming from her dream,  she just couldn't process the scene around her properly as she fought through the exhausted haze of the last couple days.

"Skye, we did it. You did it." Jemma grinned practically from ear to ear. It was just starting to sink in for her that they really were off the Avenger and they were saved at last.   
  
"We were picked up by a freighter. We're on our way to Los Angeles." Jemma's voice cracked on the name of the city that had been their original destination before the crash. She finally had enough fluid in her to produce big, fat tears that started to roll down her cheeks. "We're not going to die." She finally broke down into sobs, threw an arm over Skye's abdomen and tucked her face into Skye's neck. For the first time in over half a year she didn't think they were in death's shadow. They were free.

Stunned by the words, Skye reflexively wrapped her arm around Jemma and cradled a hand along the back of her head. She looked past Jemma's shoulder, relieved to see what she could of the others and the animals. She swallowed hard against the lump of emotion welling in her throat.  Could it really be true?  They were actually going home - to their actual home?? She couldn’t believe it even with the proof right in front of her.  She sniffled quickly but didn't let go of Jemma. "...s'everyone okay?" That was the most important thing. She needed to know for sure.  Had she actually kept her promise?  She worried this was all a hallucination of her fever. "Is this real?" She murmured the  question fearful of the answer.

"Yes, it's real, we're all amazing." Jemma laughed and pulled away, but only so she could gesture to Bobbi sitting on the other side of the bed, Raina standing at the foot, and Ace and Trip on the couch along the opposite wall underneath a set of windows. It was still endless water on the horizon, but there was a case of water in the room and a guaranteed future. "How do you feel? Here, drink." Jemma grabbed a water bottle from the night stand and uncapped it. Bobbi helped shift Skye into a sitting position against the headboard of the bed.   
  
"Look, I'm fat now." Bobbi chuckled and pulled up her shirt. Over the past few weeks during the chaos her baby bump had grown significantly and was very obvious in contrast to her underweight form.

Hot tears escaped down her cheeks at the confirmation and Skye stifled a groan as a dizzy spell hit her again when they helped her sit up. She took the bottle and tried to tell herself to drink it slowly but the moment she put it to her lips and the water hit her tongue, Skye lost her self control. She tipped her head all the way back and the bottle with it and started chugging it, not at all caring that she spilled a good bit of it down her chin in the process.   
  
When the bottle was empty,  she pulled it down to her lap and looked over at Bobbi’s bulging belly. She frowned, breathless from the water chugging and reached out to rest her hand against the bump for a brief moment. "Did they bring food for you?" She asked with genuine concern that they hadn't brought food for the pregnant woman among them first and foremost.

"Nobody's eaten yet, they're still working on that." Bobbi shook her head. Jemma wiped up the water on Skye's face and chest with the blanket, not used to caring about things that should or shouldn't be used for certain things.    
  
"We're so malnourished they needed to come up with something light and healthy for us so we don't get sick." Jemma sighed and explained. As much as the idea of a full pizza sounded like heaven, they needed something more like what they'd been eating or their bodies could reject it. "How do you feel though?" Jemma reiterated. She put the back of her hand on Skye's forehead and was happy to feel that the combination of air conditioning and water had brought her temperature back down.

Skye nodded. She understood that she supposed. Her stomach was already swelling with just the water alone. Rex let out a whine and glanced cautiously at Jemma before he crawled up the bed along their legs to get closer and nuzzle at them. Skye leaned into Jemma’s touch, another reflexive action, and absently reached out to pet Rex’s head. "Dizzy," Skye reached up for Jemma's hand on her forehead and brought it down to kiss the back of it. "I'm okay," she assured even though she wasn't entirely sure of it. "How long was I gone...?" She asked.

"A little over a day, I think, but it felt like so much longer..." Jemma held Skye tightly and refused to let go. How she would ever learn to let her out of her sight again in a normal life, she had no idea. Maybe they just never would. They deserved it after everything they'd been through.   
“I love you, I’m so glad you’re okay.”  
  
Suddenly there was a knock at the door and everyone, used to using survival instincts, jumped at the sound. Jemma reached for the knife she'd stashed under the pillow (the crew had confiscated their guns understandably, but Jemma refused to part with the knife), but when it was a crew member she recognized that entered, she quickly hid it away again.    
  
"Who's hungry?" He asked it with a smile on his face, but Jemma could tell he was almost afraid of them. Nobody knew how to treat them, but she couldn't exactly blame them. Jemma herself wasn't sure how to act with strangers, nobody was. They were all quiet, but with clearly desperate looks on their faces as they stared down the tray full of Tupperware containers. "I'll leave you to it, we'll check back in soon." The sailor placed the food on the coffee table and the moment the door clinked shut, everyone dove for the food. There was a larger salad for each of them and a smaller container each of what looked like chicken. There were also two large containers of raw meat which Jemma assumed was for the predators,  and also a small container of carrots for Ruby. So Jemma grabbed her and Skye's shares and made her way back over to her while everyone else frantically dug into their food. Bobbi opened containers for Rex and Trudy, who abandoned Skye in an instant at the smell of food. Jemma couldn't blame them.    
  
"It has dressing and everything." Jemma noted. She was trying not to get emotional but she was failing miserably. She opened Skye's salad, stuck a fork into it, and handed it to her before stopping to wipe away some tears. This was the first meal they didn't have to hunt or forage for in a long time.

Skye tensed at the knock on the door. Her right hand reached blindly to her thigh for her gun but came up empty and that alone gave her cause for panic as she'd automatically sat up (against a dizzy spell) and shifted her torso to block Jemma. It was pure instinct and reflex. She didn't get to relax until the others seemed to. She deflated a bit and let her weight rest back against the headboard. Food was an enticing idea. Skye felt so hungry she almost wasn't. It was a feeling she'd had before in her life. She'd spent a number of years homeless as a teen and sometimes there were long stretches of days where she couldn't scrounge herself a meal. It was going to take willpower to eat slowly and not eat too much in their first actual meal.   
  
Skye looked down at the portions of food resting in her hands in her lap after Jemma handed them to her, overwhelmed with emotion, still somewhat dizzy. Her stomach growled when she smelled the cooked meat and the scent of the salad dressing. She blinked to clear her vision and hot tears trailed down her cheeks. Everything around her felt foreign, save for Jemma. She unconsciously leaned a little more into Jemma's side as she tried to force her brain to properly process everything. So much of her life had been spent taking situations as they came flying at her and taking action in response. There were no actions to take in response to this. It wasn't a fight. They didn't have to fight anymore. They were going safe. They were going home. They'd survived. They made it.    
  
Skye wasn't quite up to the task of compartmentalizing the fallout of this situation, still weak from the dehydration ordeal. She wasn't sure what she'd put Jemma through during that time, but she understood immediately what Jemma meant when she'd said it felt like Skye was out of it for ages. They had made it. They made it off the island, they'd been saved and at some point soon, they would be back in civilization. They didn't have to worry right now about starving or dying of dehydration or exposure. They didn't have to worry about rough seas or the boat sinking or being attacked by a pod of whales. Jemma would get to see her parents again. They would get Ace to his family. Bobbi would be able to take care of herself and the baby. Whether she deserved to get off the island or not, Skye had survived with them.   
  
Before she could stop it, a torrent of tears instead of slow trickles, raced down her cheeks and her shoulders shook as she began to sob. She couldn't stop the outburst, no matter how hard she'd tried and she was too exhausted to try so Skye just let it happen. What else could she do?

When Skye started crying Jemma lost all semblance of control and her chest heaved with a powerful inhale before she started sobbing right along with her. If the others weren't too busy scarfing down their food they would have stopped to notice, but Jemma could see a few tears in some of their eyes as well.    
  
"Thank you, Skye." Jemma sobbed. She put her food aside and threw her arms around her, holding her close. There were numerous times where she definitely would not have survived without her and she couldn't have made it if Skye didn't pull through herself, so she thanked her for that too. "I love you so much. We're gonna be okay now." She cried into Skye's shoulder.

Skye left the bowls in her lap and wound her arms tightly around Jemma, buried her face into Jemma's hair and neck. She tried to bring herself under control, sniffled a few times and just tried to breathe. She didn't know what it meant that they would be okay after having been in survival mode for so long. "I'm sorry," she stammered. This should be a happy moment. It wasn't that she wasn't happy or relieved. Skye was immensely relieved that they were all safe, more so than her own well being. She just wasn't prepared for the overwhelming well of emotion, those things she had been forcing down so often to control herself on the island or on the boat. There was nothing to hold them back now. "I love you," she murmured into Jemma's hair.    
  
Above everything else, Skye couldn't hold back the emotion over the fact that despite all the obstacles they'd faced, she hadn't lost Jemma. She would have done anything to save every one of them in the boat of course, but this one person, who meant so much to her, hadn't been taken away. Skye was afraid to let her go but she eventually forced herself. She leaned back and used her shirt to wipe her face off and sniffle. "Sorry," she sniffled again quickly. "Eat," she took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. "You should eat." They both should.

"There's nothing to be sorry for." Jemma reminded her and tucked some of Skye's hair back behind her ear. They could both use a good haircut. There were a lot of things they could both use, like a shower, medical care, and an excess of food and water. "I'll eat if you do." Jemma grinned and they both picked up their forks at the same time. Jemma had to switch to her left since she couldn't hold utensils properly anymore, but it didn't stop her from scarfing down the salad like she hadn't eaten for days, because she really hadn't.   
  
A few hours went by and everyone was beginning to calm down. With their stomachs so full (even from just a small salad and a bottle of water each) they were all nearing sleep crowded on the bed and the long couch. It was quiet, closer to silence than Jemma was used to. It made her antsy so she stayed awake with Skye, who didn't want to sleep, while the others passed out. It wasn't too long after that when a crew member came back in with a Satellite phone.    
  
"We're in contact with the authorities and they've started to contact your families." As he said it, Jemma sat up and reached for Skye's hand. She had an uncontrollable excitement in her belly that could only be explained by the way the crew member held the phone. "The first people we could connect with are the parents of Jemma Simmons..." he trailed off as his eyes scanned the room and he tried to remember who was who.   
  
"My parents?" Jemma asked cautiously. She hadn't expected to ever hear her parents' voices again and she had nearly forgotten that the possibility was now open until he held out the phone. She was frozen, unsure if this was real. Maybe she hadn't actually woken up from her heatstroke. She looked back to Skye for reassurance and the encouraging squeeze Skye gave her hand made her reach out for the phone with the other.    
  
"Mum?" Jemma's voice cracked as she spoke into the piece of technology. For a moment it was silent and Jemma felt like her organs were about to burst, but then she heard sobs on the other end of the line. She heard her mother's voice saying her name and she couldn't help it, she nearly hyperventilated as she cried with her mother through the phone. They hadn't even spoken a word to each other but each was so unbelievably happy to hear the other that they momentarily couldn't function.

Honestly, Skye wouldn't have been able to make herself go to sleep even though she was tired after their meal - though she was careful not to eat too fast and tried her best to tell the others not to since she didn't want their first meals to make them sick. She was relieved to have Jemma stay awake with her, especially when that sailor came in with the phone - with Jemma's own parents on it. She gave Jemma's hand a squeeze and then let it go so she could answer the phone.    
  
Skye felt the twinge in her chest, simultaneously so happy that Jemma was able to talk to her parents and just a bit jealous that she wouldn't get to experience that kind of reunion. Obviously she was keeping that to herself. She had Jemma, and Bobbi, Trip, Ace and Raina, plus Buzz, Trudy and Rex. She was more than fortunate. Her promise wasn't fulfilled yet, even if Jemma and Jemma's parents were hearing each other's voices. It wouldn't be complete until Jemma saw them again. Skye remained silent but moved quickly to wrap her arm around Jemma's shoulders when she started crying. She kissed the side of her head and  squeezed her knee gently just to let her know she was there without interrupting.

"Yes, Mum, I'm okay." Jemma managed to wheeze between sobs. Skye would hear the muffled, continuous voice that meant Jemma's mother was rambling like Jemma tended to when she got emotional. "I met someone, she saved my life. Her name is Skye." Jemma's tears turned into a happy laugh and she put her hand over Skye's on her knee.    
  
"Is Dad there?" She asked hesitantly. She was concerned that they weren't both on the line immediately. Could something have happened over the past six months when they thought she was dead? There was some conversation on the other end of the line that Jemma couldn't understand and her mother's voice was replaced by her father's.    
  
"Hey, Dad." Jemma sighed in relief. "Turns out all the survival skills you tried to teach me would have come in handy." Jemma cracked the joke. She looked at Skye as if to say,  _ thank god I had you _ .

Skye turned her hand to squeeze Jemma’s when it landed on hers. She smiled and leaned to kiss Jemma’s shoulder. She listened to the sounds of Jemma’s mother rambling and smiled to herself. The tops of her ears were heated red from Jemma’s comments about her. She ran her hand over Jemma’s hair and along her back. Skye was content just to listen to Jemma’s side of the conversation. It was nice to see her so happy - and a relief to know that both of her parents were alright. Skye wanted to meet them, though she wasn’t sure what they would think of her even with Jemma insisting that she’d saved her life. Jemma was the only reason Skye was still alive, for so many reasons. It wasn’t just one sided because of the skillsets Skye had. Skye chuckled at the joke but just leaned to rest her forehead against Jemma’s temple after quickly kissing her cheek. 

“Ask them how they feel about taking a vacation to Los Angeles,” Skye murmured, trying her best not to interrupt the call but unable to skip the little joke. 

"They're asking if that was you." Jemma chuckled but got back to her phone call. Her parents had heard Skye and were currently telling her their plans to get to Los Angeles.   
  
"They bought tickets for the soonest flight to LA, on Tuesday. Apparently today is Saturday." Jemma explained. In a few short days they would be back in the United States and her parents would be there. "The weekends have always been good to me." Jemma joked. 

Skye wasn’t sure she’d seen Jemma this happy even when they were just on the plane flirting and joking around with each other. They’d had their moments on the island. This was obviously a different situation altogether. Either way, it was infectious. She felt herself unable to contain her grins. Rex was drawn to their chuckles. He paced at the end of the bed and then climbed on top of it. There wasn’t as much space in the quarters as there had been earlier because the crew had brought them some additional beds and had pulled out the couches so that everyone could sleep on the closest thing to a ‘proper’ mattress as possible. Rex sprawled across their legs and stared up at them with wide, pleading eyes, begging for affection. Skye smirked at him and reached out to ruffle up his fur, which just made him purr louder. 

Skye looked over at Jemma and nodded to the information. She furrowed her brow slightly and asked, “What’s the date?” She couldn’t remember anyone mentioning it since she’d woken up. It wasn’t really all that important but her curiosity got the best of her with the mention of the days of the week. She needed to find her bag and dig her phone out at some point but for now, she didn’t want to move from Jemma’s side. 

"Did you hear that?" Jemma asked her father on the phone. He mumbled about checking and came up with an answer in a few seconds. "January 18th." Jemma said and frowned. Just imagining her family having Christmas and New Year’s thinking she was dead made the back of her throat and eyes burn with welling tears. She wondered what day while they were on the island had been Christmas. She would have to go back and count in her journal, but then again, her recounting of what happened each day on the island and the boat wasn't something she exactly  wanted to relive, at least not for a very long time.    
  
By this point Bobbi and the others had started to wake up and stare at Jemma and she felt the urge to wrap it up because they probably had other relatives they wanted to contact.   
  
"Mum, Dad, I have to go, the others should get to call their families. I'll see you in LA, okay?" Jemma said. She was getting emotional and she wanted to pass off the phone to someone else so she could snuggle back into Skye and not have to think about what would await them onshore. "I love you. Bye."

Skye gave Jemma’s shoulders a firm squeeze as she hung up. The sailor stood up from the chair he’d taken a seat in. He looked to the others and cleared his throat. “If there’s a phone number you’d like me to reach,” He pulled  notepad from his pocket and then searched his other pockets to come up with a small pen. He held it out toward the others. “Write them down along with where they’re located, we’ll try and make a connection for you,” He smiled and waited to see which of the others would go for it first. 

“Ace,” Skye said as he sat sandwiched in the pulled out sofa bed between Ruby and Raina. He actually looked scared to be addressed for this situation. “Do you know your aunt’s phone number?” She asked, trying to recall if he’d mentioned grandparents or if Mike had mentioned his parents. She remembered Ace mentioning a cousin and an aunt, so that’s where she went. Ace swallowed hard, looked from Skye, to the crew member and back. He nodded quickly. Skye gave him a reassuring smile. “Go ahead,” she gave a small nod toward the sailor who sat down on the edge of the bed near Ace to write down the number he recited. 

Skye leaned back and looked over at Jemma. She reached out to tuck Jemma’s hair behind her ear and gently stroked her cheek gently. “How’re you doing?” she asked. 

"I just can't believe it." Jemma shook her head. She had a hand on Skye's thigh and the other arm was around Skye's waist as they leaned back against the headboard. "I'm afraid we're going to wake up and be back in the jungle again." She admitted. If their escape was all just a dream she didn't know if she'd be able to keep going when they did wake up. But they had been on the boat for so long, it all had to be real. The memories were too vivid.    


Skye moved her arm back around Jemma's back. She looked down at Jemma's hand on her thigh and reached her free hand to pick it up. "I had a dream about Mrs...about my mom," she confessed.  "Before I woke up..."she motioned to the room with their combined hands, "here." She glanced down at their hands before. "I've never...I've never seen her in a dream before,  so I thought..." Skye shuddered and closed her eyes.  She exhaled a slow breath.  "We have to be awake. " They just had to.

Jemma understood what Skye meant. She had been scared Skye was dead too for those few moments when her breathing would hitch while she was out of it. Somehow they were lucky enough to cross paths with this ship and end up close enough for them to be spotted. It just felt too good to be true after everything that had happened, after everyone that they'd lost. How many people had been on that plane? Over a hundred? How were they lucky enough to be the few who survived?   
  
"I suppose it's best not to look a gift horse in the mouth." Jemma sighed. "Though the saying doesn't really make sense because had the Trojans looked in the gift horse's mouth they wouldn't have been surprised and overrun..." Jemma trailed off when she realized she had the eyes of the whole room and she blushed. "You know what I mean." She giggled.

Skye looked to the others as they took turns with the phone and various teary eyed calls with loved ones then huddled together with each other for comfort and reassurance. "Did you know that saying doesn't come from the whole Trojan horse trick story?" As she asked it, she let her fingers reach out to lightly pinch Jemma's side, partly as a joke, partly to reassure her that she was alive. She flashed her an innocent look right afterward.    
  
Jemma jumped at the ticklish sensation Skye gave her and stuck her tongue out at her a bit before grabbing up her hands and holding them so they would stay idle.    
  
"Where does it come from then?" Jemma asked. Now she genuinely wanted to know.

Skye grinned, first at Jemma’s reaction, then from beaming a bit at this useless piece of trivia she knew. "Horse teeth grow bigger over time, so it used to be how you checked its age, like tree rings but via horse teeth. Checking that after someone gave you a gifted horse would be a sign of distrust of the giver, so it was rude and an insult to look a gift horse in the mouth," she answered.   
  
"...How do you even know that??" Raina was on the verge of laughter as she asked it, eyebrows arched at Skye.   
  
"Pub trivia," Skye answered right away with a small grin. She didn't add that she'd once spent three months tailing a mark who was suspected of hacking into encrypted bank systems to adjust his own accounts and that this mark went to pub trivia every Tuesday and Thursday, but they didn't need to know that. 

"That is probably one of the weirdest things I've had someone explain to me and I have two PhDs." Jemma chuckled. She was glad they were able to have a moment like this. She was amazed they even had the capacity to joke around in such a manner with all the trauma they had gone through. They were incredible, really, and Jemma admired every single one of them. Maybe this meant they'd still be able to lead normal lives, for some of them with some not so normal animal additions, which the crew members were still extremely weary of.

_________   
_ Day 2 on the CMA Calypso (Day 93 at Sea, Day 181 since the crash)  _   
  
Eventually, after the rest of the phone calls were made and they'd exhausted their nervous can emotional energy, one by one they'd all fallen asleep. By then it was almost morning but the sun coming through the windows of the sleeping quarters didn't wake any of them as it was still much darker inside than it was on The Avenger from the sun reflecting off of everything around them.    
  
Skye was the first to awake in the afternoon, with the overwhelming urge to use the toilet. Just the thought alone as she woke, that there was a working toilet to use was still kind of mind bogglingly jarring since it had been so long improvising. "Hey," Skye kissed Jemma’s forehead and shook her shoulder. They were tangled up, wound all around each other in sleep with a slightly snoring Rex curled up around their legs (which was a good thing too since it was hard to get used to the air conditioning with hardly any fat on their bones to insulate them). Skye could have carefully pulled herself free, but she didn't want to chance having Jemma wake up without knowing she was going into the bathroom inside their quarters. "Sorry to wake you," she murmured before she dotted a few more kisses around Jemma's face, along her cheek, the end of her nose, her chin and the corner of her mouth. "But I have to pee..." she confessed. 

Jemma woke up with a few quiet giggles because of the light touches, but she made sure the volume stayed down so she didn't wake anyone else. They all deserved a nice long comatose-like sleep without being woken by immediate danger.    
  
"Go," Jemma sighed and untangled herself from Skye's limbs. She rolled onto her back and put her arms over her head, stretching, and realized that she was actually sore from sleeping on the cushioned bed. Her body had grown used to the way it rested on a hard surface and it made her joints ache to spend a longer period of time in an unfamiliar position. "Enjoy the bathroom." She smiled. She was going to have to check that out for herself later. It was going to be very strange getting used to everything again.

The sound of Jemma's soft giggles tickled Skye's eardrums and made her smile. She had to pee, sure, but it was never a fun thing to disentangle herself from Jemma. For one thing, it was much colder away from Jemma's body heat. For another, the joints in her knees, hip and lower back cracked a bit louder than she was expecting as she climbed from the bed. She had to stifle a groan when the ones in her back went. "I'll do my absolute best," she leaned over and stole a quick kiss before Rex let out a disgruntled sound at the interruption to his sleep and wormed around until he was cuddled next to Jemma in the warmth of Skye's vacated spot. He blindly nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck.    
  
Skye made her way into the bathroom, shut the door behind her and out of old habit, turned the lock. Her bladder was ready to burst and that wasn't a feeling she'd had in quite some time. She probably would have wet herself a bit if it wasn't for the fact that her pants we so loose on her bony hips and thighs that she simply slipped them down as she sat down on the toilet seat and relieved herself. Toilet paper was a luxury she hadn't experienced in quite some time. The fact that she was on a normal toilet and had actual toilet paper to use actually made her eyes well up with tears. It was possibly the dumbest thing she could ever think to cry about, but such was the fallout of what they'd been through she supposed.    
  
When she was finished, Skye stood and hoisted her underwear and pants back into place. She shut the toilet lid but didn't flush it, only because she didn't want to wake the others. She did, however, turn to the small sink next to the toilet. Reaching a hand out, she turned the cold tap on halfway and felt more tears spring to her eyes at the simple knowledge that clean, safe water was readily available with the ease of turning a knob. She turned the knob off quickly for the moment, not wanting to waste it but needing a moment to process that normal, everyday life necessities weren't going to mean the difference between life and death anymore. Head bowed for a moment, she leaned on her weight on her hands on the edges of the sink.    
  
Skye didn't notice the mirror hanging over the sink until she lifted her head and came face to face with the ghastly sight of herself. Her hair was a greasy, matted, damaged mess. Her dirty, deeply tanned face and neck were marked with a few faint scars, covered in caked on dirt smudges and sunken against the ridges of bone in her face having used up most of the stored fat and muscle that she'd had. She stared for a long few moments at herself until something in the haunted, glassy gaze staring back unnerved her.    
  
Turning on the tap again, Skye leaned over, cupped her hands under the water and brought it up to run over her face. She pumped soap into her hands and scrubbed at the marks - the crusts of dried blood left behind, the dirt, the oil, anything that would scrub clean. When she finished rinsing off her face, she scrubbed her arms clear up to her elbows and washed them off before she dried it all off on a towel hanging on a rack on the wall. She combed her hands roughly through her hair but gave up and used the hair tie hanging loosely on her wrist to tie it up loosely. She glanced in the mirror again, her face, neck and hands clean but that look still in her eyes. And that's when she actually noticed what was behind her in the corner. A standing shower.    
  
Skye turned around and pulled the door open to inspect the small square space. There was no soap or shampoo in there. It had a lipped edge to catch the water from sloshing out as the boat swayed - though it swayed much more subtly than The Avenger had, that was for sure. A shower, new clothes, some more water and some food. That would change this feeling welling within her.    
  
Skye unlocked the bathroom door and turned the light off as she left the room, leaving the door open behind her. She walked back over to the bed. "Hey you," she leaned over Rex and kissed Jemma's forehead. She brushed some of Jemma's hair back out of her face and traced her cheek light with the pads of her fingers. "Wanna take a shower?" She kept her voice at a whisper to keep from waking the others.

Jemma frowned in confusion when Skye spoke to her, but when the words finally sunk in one of her eyes opened while the other stayed squinted shut. "A shower." She repeated dumbly. It was something that had been a mere fantasy for them for what felt like forever. "There's a shower in there?" She started to perk up and looked over Skye's shoulder to the bathroom. Now that the possibility was laid out before her it was impossible to resist. None of them had really cleaned off the whole time they were on the boat because nobody wanted to get in the water. To scrub all the dirt and grime off now would probably make her feel more like a human being.    
  
"Let's do it." Jemma whispered. She grabbed the last of their remaining soaps from the bags the sailors had brought in from their boat when they were first picked up along with the scissors from the sewing kit to potentially take to Skye's hair when they were done. She grabbed the big stolen hotel towel they'd used when they first found the clearing in the jungle and passed it to Skye while she carried the rest.

Skye grinned at Jemma's reaction. The closest to a shower they'd gotten on the island was when they'd climbed to just behind the flow of the waterfall on the slippery rocks at their camp. It wasn't the same thing as a shower at all. She bundled the towel under her arm, glad it was close to clean from a few washes in the ocean over their time at sea. She also stopped at the desk table in the corner where the crew had left them some clothes to change into - drawstring sweatpants and tshirts, she grabbed those but left the zip up hoodies to grab later when they were done. There was no sense in getting clean only to get back in their dirty, ripped island clothes.    
  
She followed Jemma into the small bathroom and shut then locked the door again. She piled the clothes on the back of the toilet tank and slung the towel over the free space on the rack. "I know it's gonna be a bit cramped in there but," she shrugged and grinned at Jemma. "When I realized it was right there...couldn't resist." 

"I don't think it's possible to resist a temptation this grand." Jemma grinned and reached up to brush a stray strand of hair out of Skye's face. She slowly unzipped her CDC vest and rolled her shoulders some to take it off, discarding it on the floor. There was no point in folding them up again since Jemma would be more than happy to throw them away. She then reached for the hem of her tank top, crossed her arms, and pulled it up over her head. It almost felt like she was shedding a second skin since the clothes were so dirty, and when they had been washed it was with saltwater, so they were crusty and didn't even feel like cotton any longer.    
  
"You should let me give you a haircut after." Jemma suggested once her top was off. Her own hair had fared a bit better since she had cut it in the jungle, but even she needed quite a trim to get rid of all the damaged hair since it had grown back out. Skye's was even more of a mess.

Admittedly, Skye found her eyes wandering with each layer Jemma pulled off. She couldn't help herself even as she peeled her way out of her own clothes, stripping away shirt, sports bra, underwear and pants without second thought of it, just wanting them gone now that the prospect of a shower and clean clothes lay ahead of them. Skye sighed and pulled the elastic band from her hair, looped it around her wrist again. "Gladly," she said as she shook her messy nest of hair out. "It'd be a nice weight off," in fact she probably should have done it sooner, while on the island even. There just hadn't been a good moment to consider such things on the island and on the boat they we focused on so many other things. She reached out and hooked Jemma around the waist to pull her closer, there wasn't all that much room between them in the small bathroom anyhow. "We'll take care of it once we wash the muck off, yeah?" She asked before she stole a quick kiss. She didn't mean to make this shower anything but a shower, but it couldn't be held against her that she wanted to kiss Jemma pretty much all the time in her conscious moments, at least in Skye’s opinion it couldn’t.

Jemma sighed into the kiss and let her hands rest on Skye's waist, but the feel of her hip bones and her ribs as her fingertips wandered upward made her remember that they direly needed to take care of themselves. They were in no way healthy at the moment and they still had a bit to go before they could go buy those rocking chairs.   
  
"There's time enough to fool around later." Jemma grinned and leaned over to turn on the water. She let the streams hit her hand and the water pressure felt so incredible that Jemma hurriedly stripped off the rest of her clothes and grabbed onto Skye's hand to step into the shower. An embarrassing moan clawed its way out of Jemma's throat just from the feeling of the water against her skin. The bottom of the shower had already turned a shade of brown and they hadn't even started with the soap yet.

Skye could've cried, again, at the fact that Jemma's comment wasn't wishful thinking and hope anymore. It was real and true. She didn't get a chance, though, because a moment  later, Jemma was tugging her into the small shower. She, too, let out an uncontrollable groan at the hot water that pelted them from the shower head. If it wasn't for the fact that the others deserved to get a shower or use the toilet whenever they woke up, Skye would have insisted they stay in there until the boat docked. She tipped her head back into part of the stream to soak her hair and get it out of the her face and soon a very uncoordinated dance began, snickering and joking as they started to help scrub each other clean while shifting around and bumping into the tightly enclosed walls. The hot water and soap was almost enough to distract from all the new scars they were cleaning the dirt away from. Skye felt almost dizzy toward the end, not used to standing for so long. She leaned forward and kissed Jemma's shoulder since she was there, planted her hands against the wall behind Jemma and set her chin down on the spot she just kissed. "I know we shouldn't hog it...but I could stay here for another hour, at the very least," she sighed.

"I still have to cut your hair, so we better finish up." As much as Jemma hated to she leaned past Skye and turned off the water. Both of them had what seemed to be fresh pink skin showing all over their bodies from all the scrubbing and cleaning they had become accustomed to living without. They got out and took turns drying off with the towel, not so subtly watching the other when it wasn't their turn. Jemma felt a level of cleanliness she hadn't felt in over six months, and she thought Skye looked more beautiful than she had ever seen her simply because she looked so happy and relieved.    
  
Once they got dressed, Jemma patted the closed toilet seat. "Sit backwards right here so I can work on your mane." Jemma chuckled. When Skye complied she draped the towel over her shoulders and pulled her hair out from underneath it. She tried to brush out the tangles the best she could, but a lot of it was matted and tangled beyond the point of salvage. She went at it with the small sewing scissors, cutting off chunks and trying to keep it looking as much like normal hair as she could. When she finally finished and hair surrounded them on the tile, Skye's hair was an inch or so below her chin but looking much better after she finally got a brush through it.    
  
"Maybe I should just be a hairdresser." Jemma joked. She was sure Skye's hair looked terrible under normal standards but to them it looked absolutely amazing. It was healthy, which was a start. They could see hairdressers later.

Skye sat as still as possible and only moved whenever Jemma told her to. She grimaced here and there at some of the cuts but it didn’t hurt all that much. Before she even saw it, Skye was just relieved to have the literal weight off her shoulders that came with the cut. On the island she’d done what she could to keep her hair as tangle free and tamed as possible. It meant overuse of the ponytail for one thing but mostly she just kept on top of it. In the boat, however, there was just so much going on and they couldn’t exactly wash off and clean up all the time so it had stayed up on her head most of the time in elastic bands. When Jemma was done, she reached up and ran her hand through the tangleless hair and sighed with a bit of relief. 

She stood up after they did their best to dump the excess hair into the waste bin and Skye glanced into the mirror. She ran her hand through it again and tried to avoid looking herself in the eye. She looked better from her initial glimpse in the mirror, now that she was clean and her hair was under some bit of control, but there was still something in her eyes bothering her own conscience and that wasn’t even taking her tremors into account. She wasn’t sure those would ever go away at this point but she tried to ignore it right now. It only got attention when she had nothing to do with her hands. “Thank you,” She smiled (genuinely), turned and kissed Jemma’s cheek. “Do you want any of yours cut off, or just want it brushed?” She asked. One they could handle in here, the other she could do out in the main part of their quarters so they stopped hogging the bathroom, though it was a nice place to hide she supposed in the end. 

"We can try to brush it but anything that you can't brush just cut off. We can do it on the towel in the bedroom." Jemma suggested. She tried to run her fingers through her own hair and cringed when her hand got stuck. Once they were done cleaning up she left the rest of the soap in the shower and unlocked the bathroom door, hesitant to let all the steam out.   
  
"Who's next for the shower?" Jemma poked her head out into the cold room and asked. Everyone was awake now, probably from the sound of running water. "You go?" Jemma looked in Bobbi's direction. It was probably best she go next.  
  
"Depends on if you two christened it." Bobbi laughed and Jemma's cheeks went bright red even though she and Skye hadn't done anything. She quipped a quick response about showering to get clean, not _dirty_ , and Bobbi raised her hands in surrender and slipped into the bathroom when Jemma and Skye slipped out.

Heads turned their way as they left the bathroom together. Skye’s cheeks and tops of her ears turned red at the teasing. Skye didn’t comment, mostly because she knew it would only make Bobbi pick on them more. She grabbed a sweatjacket for her and Jemma and knocked on the bathroom door quickly to hand Bobbi some clothes through it. She grabbed one of the chairs in the room and brought it toward the end of the bed and patted the seat for Jemma so she’d be able to put her feet up on the bed while Skye worked on her hair. 

“How’d everyone sleep?” Skye asked as she started carefully working a brush through Jemma’s hair to get the tangles out. She got as many as she could out without cutting them and only cut where she absolutely needed to. 

“I could sleep a few more hours,” Trip said as he stood up to stretch his muscles and crack his back. Ace yawned and laid back down, cocooning himself in the covers and closing her eyes. Ruby circled nearby his shoulder and nuzzled at his neck before taking the cue to nap again. Trudy, who was less seasick now that the swaying wasn’t as great, came over to inspect Skye, nudging at her shorter hair as if confused by it. It could have been the fact that she looked (and smelled) different while clean too. 

Skye hunched her shoulder as Trudy snuffled a bit at the back of her neck where it connected to the middle of her shoulders and snickered. “Cut it out, weirdo,” She said, though with some measure of affection. She pulled a hand free and pushed Trudy’s snouted away. “It’s still me,” She smirked and ruffled Trudy’s feathers to pet her a second before she got back to work. 

"Trudy, behave," Jemma chuckled. The feathery dinosaur then turned her attentions onto Jemma and found a way to crawl under her legs between the chair and the bed, twisting her neck back go tug and nibble at Jemma's new pants, probably because they didn't smell like her yet. "Trudy," Jemma giggled and tried to pull her leg away, but it only made it more of a game for Trudy, who started tugging harder until Jemma told her a stern no and she made a squawky apology.    
  
Trudy moved on from Jemma's leg and began to occupy herself by climbing onto the bed and starting a wrestling match with Rex, full of play bites and pretend growls. Jemma watched with a warm feeling settling in her belly and leaned her head back some into Skye's hands.

"Nothing but trouble, those kids of yours," Skye teased as she leaned down and kissed the top of Jemma's head. She finished up with the scissors and then worked the brush to gently to get the last of the tangles out. She brushed extra strokes of Jemma's hair until it was completely tangle free and soft, out of Jemma's face. She cleaned up the mess below the chair and then went to sit on the end of the bed by Jemma's feet, away from the animals. Part of her wanted to go for a walk around the ship, to take a look at everything, but she wasn't sure she was physically up to it yet. She looked over her shoulder at Trudy and Rex playing as she reached out to hook Jemma's hand with her own. "Feel better?" She asked as she turned to look back at Jemma.

Jemma didn't realize her eyes were watering until Skye had scooped up her hand and was looking into her eyes. Her vision was blurred and she ran her free hand through her clean, untangled hair and it made her tears finally overflow onto her cheeks.    
  
"I feel human again." Jemma finally sobbed and Raina was quick to get up and stand behind Jemma, gently squeezing her shoulders each time they shook with a small sob. For so long they had felt like animals in the jungle, just doing everything within their power not to be eaten or starve to death, but she couldn't believe that was all over now. The cleanliness almost made her feel naked even when she had clothes on and the months of instincts that had come to the surface while they struggled to survive were not willing to be forced back into the background. She was terrified to reach Los Angeles. There was no doubt in her mind that this was currently world news, that they had survived the crash after all this time and had somehow been found in the middle of the ocean on a raft containing dinosaurs. She didn't expect a nice, quiet welcome back into civilization. She was a scientist. She knew what human curiosity could do, especially with a discovery like Trudy, Rex, Ruby, and Buzz. It was going to take a lot just to be able to keep them and Jemma was terrified. It wasn't just Ward. People were terrifying.

Skye sat forward on the edge of the bed. She let go of Jemma's hand and reached out to frame her face, gently swiped at the tears. "Hey, Jem, it's okay," she pulled her forward and wrapped her arms around her after exchanging a quick glance with Raina she ran her hand along Jemma's back. "We're okay," she said and, for once, it didn't feel like a lie or like she was just trying to convince herself. She kissed the side of Jemma's head and leaned her own down against it, combed her fingers through Jemma's hair and rocked just the tiniest bit.    
  
Skye had her own demons to face upon return to Los Angeles. She was sure her bosses were already aware of this news. She could only imagine what kind of cryptic messages would be on her phone from them when she turned it on next. She needed to find a moment to slip away, maybe on a walk some time, to try and prepare herself for the return, for making a clean break in quitting. She had enough emergency safe deposit caches to get them by with whatever they needed, the tricky part would be obtaining them without being tailed if her bosses were angry about her departure. She couldn't see how they would be, though. By now they would have replaced her. She'd already given them the information they needed before take off and they would have received it shortly after learning of the crash so it wasn't like she'd failed. She was going to have to sit and really talk with Jemma, to see if she was sure she wanted to remain entangled with the likes of Skye, once they were stateside again. It was hard to swallow back the fear that Jemma might change her mind. Trudy and Rex heard Jemma crying and stopped playing so they could wander over to investigate. Buzz even found his way to perch on Jemma's knee, fluttering his wings as if asking if she was alright. 

Jemma sniffled one last time and wiped away her tears. It was silly to be crying now, life was only going to get better for them from here on out. She was going to see her family again, Bobbi would have the baby, she and Skye could finally live in peace... there were so many things to be happy about. But it was the fact that there were only five of them here that made her so upset. How many of them had survived the initial crash? At least thirty, if Jemma remembered correctly. A number of them had been killed by people. The world was a much scarier place, not just because dinosaurs existed, but because Jemma had seen what people were truly capable of. It was going to take a long time before they were settled back into the civilized world.

___________

_ Day 4 on the CMA Calypso (Day 95 at Sea, Day 183 since the crash) _

Most of the next couple of days were blurred stretches. Emotions were high. There were timed schedules for food. There were small snacks between meals, food to keep their metabolism going. There was an abundance of water and that was enough to make emotions swell over and over again. There were tears but there was laughter too. The crew members that came into the room were wary of the animals who, in turn, were curious about the new humans. The only thing more abundant than water was sleep. They slept in long, deep stretches of sleep, beds bunched together in the room, waking each other from nightmares when they occurred, curled around each other, humans and animals alike. They snuggled under multiple blankets, not fully insulated against the air conditioned room with their lack of body fat. It was intense in the waking moments and occasionally during the sleeping ones. 

It was early evening on what would be Tuesday January 21st when Skye felt the restless nerves really kick in. She pulled her boots on over her sock clad feet and the bottoms of her sweatpants and leaned over to Jemma, kissed her shoulder, her cheek and her temple. “Hey...I think i’m gonna go get some air outside,” She said. “Wanna come with me?” 

"Hm?" Jemma mumbled sleepily. She clenched her eyelids shut but opened them when Skye kissed her. She had to replay Skye's words in her mind to comprehend them and when she did, a small jolt of adrenaline flooded her system and she was wide awake. They hadn't left the bedroom/bathroom since they'd gotten on the ship. It had been their small safe haven and Jemma was almost afraid that trying to leave it would wake them up from the dream, but she quickly realized that was irrational and nodded to Skye's suggestion. Fresh air would be good.    
  
Jemma pulled on her shoes and tied up the laces, but froze as she did so. She was still wearing the tattered pair of red converse she'd worn on the flight. For a moment she just stared down at her feet, bent over her legs, laces in hand, taking the time to notice that one shoe's laces, toe and heel were still stained red in the places that were white on the other shoe. It was the blood from the terror bird, the first one. She tied off the shoe and brushed her fingers against her calf, where she could feel the raised line where the bird's beak had torn open her skin. A shiver ran down her spine but she ignored it and pulled her pants leg back down so she could stand up.

Skye kissed the side of Jemma’s head as she tied her shoes and stood up. Jemma’s lingering pauses and touches to her calf didn’t go unnoticed as Skye told the stirring Rex and Trudy to stay where they were, that she and Jemma were going for a walk and would be right back. Trudy eyed them both but dropped her head back down over Rex’s side to keep him from following and huffed out a sigh. “Thank you,” Skye leaned over and ruffled up her feathers after giving her a smile. 

Turning when Jemma stood up, Skye gave her a reassuring smile. She reached out and ran her hand down the inside forearm of Jemma’s sweatjacket until her fingers crossed Jemma’s palm and she tangled their fingers together.. “Ready?” she asked as she brought Jemma’s hand up to kiss the back of it. 

Jemma took a deep breath and nodded cautiously. When they opened the cabin door Ace lifted his head, but laid back down and went right back to sleep when they left. Inside, all the curtains had been drawn and it was dark and cozy, letting them almost forget that they were on the ocean. She walked out expecting to be blinded by the never ending water, but instead her brain was assaulted with civilization. It was probably only a few miles ahead that Jemma could see the tall towers of Los Angeles. She almost assumed it was a mirage because of the blinding reflection of the sun off of the water.   
  
"Oh my god." Jemma couldn't help it. The small gasp escaped her and she clutched at Skye's hand and her forearm, even shaking slightly with excitement. "We actually made it."

Skye wound her arm around Jemma’s and pulled her close as they stepped out. She took a deep breath as her eyes adjusted and she squinted a bit in the light. The breath caught in her throat as her eyes followed Jemma’s. Skye was sure she should have felt overwhelming relief but her nerves felt raw and buzzing with electricity. Her back tensed and she let the air she was holding out in a long breath. “Is it real?” she blurted the words almost in a whisper, as if to herself, before she could filter them. Was it really happening? Were they really that close so home? - To  _ actual _ home? Skye took a deep breath as she scanned the shapes on the horizon. She leaned closer to Jemma without thinking about it. 

"I think so," Jemma muttered. "If you're seeing it too." She squinted and blinked several times just to make sure her vision was looking right but when she checked again, lo and behold, there was the city of angels.    
  
"About an hour until docking!" A crewman suddenly shouted in their direction, causing Jemma to jump. An hour. They were just an hour away.

Skye’s muscles jumped at the intrusion. She took slow, deliberate breaths to regulate her heartbeat to keep it from racing. She looked over at Jemma after the crewman’s words sunk in. She squeezed Jemma’s hands. “Hey…” she spoke softly. “So...if there’s anything else I should know about your parents to prepare for making a good impression...now’s the time, yeah?” she tried to fight her nervous little smile, but wasn’t doing that great of a job at it. 

"Be yourself." Jemma whispered. She held Skye's arm tighter, leaned into her side, and rested her head on Skye's shoulder. The cool breeze of California "winter" brushed across her cheeks and she inhaled deeply. "They'll love you just as much as I do."

Skye wasn't sure it'd be that simple,  but she turned her head and kissed the top of Jemma's before leaning her head down against it. She let the comfortable silence lay between them for a few minutes. "I want to suggest that we should go wake up and warn the others about how close we are..." But she didn't want to leave for two reasons;  it was nice just being with Jemma and there was a small part of her that worried the approaching skyline was a mirage that would disappear if they looked away.

"We should." Jemma nodded and moved her head so Skye was more inclined to follow her as she took a few steps away from the railing to head back in the direction of the room they were currently sharing with the others. It was scary, but it was finally time.   
  
_____________   
  
All of the survivors of the island stayed put in the cabin during the whole docking process at the request of the crew's captain. They were told it was a hectic process trying to get the ship ready to unload without the swarms of press and authorities that were going to be waiting for them. They had a nice view of the port through the window as they finally pulled in and docked, which actually took a lot longer than Jemma expected. There were masses of people outside. She spotted a few ambulances, multitudes of news channel vans, and to her horror, an animal control vehicle. The moment she spotted it her brows furrowed and she closed the curtains, breaking everyone's stares both in and out of the window and turning back around to Skye.    
  
"I haven't seen so many people in one place since the airport..." Jemma mumbled quietly. She didn't know how this was going to happen and what the people's reaction to their return was going to be like. Her entire body was quivering slightly, whether from excitement, fear, or just plain anticipation she didn't know.

Skye reached out and first put a hand on Jemma's back to comfort her before she pulled her in and moved her arms around her,  unconsciously putting herself between Jemma and whoever might walk through the door to their cabin area. "Were there a lot of people then?" She asked. "I think I was too busy flirting with you to remember," It was a joke of course,  since Skye had been observing everything around the terminal to keep tabs on people,  though Jemma had certainly been distracting, in the best ways possible.    
  
At the window before Jemma had swung the curtain shut,  Skye had been looking through whatever she could see of the crowd, trying to spot anyone slightly out of place,  looking for plants her boss might have assigned to assess the situation and whether or not Skye was a survivor. The animal control vehicles made her skin crawl. Though she had her messenger bag across her shoulders already,  the strap adjusted so the bag sat snugly against her lower back, Skye felt extremely naked without both her gun and her machete.    
  
"Are they gonna break us apart?" Ace asked quietly.    
  
"We won't let that happen, buddy," Trip draped an arm around Ace's shoulders and gave him a squeeze.    
  
"We'll stay here together until we know what the plan is," Bobbi said.   
  
Skye wasn't so sure it would work out that way but she nodded in agreement. She called Trudy, Rex and Buzz over to the corner of the room she and Jemma were standing and when she heard the sounds of people approaching the cabin, let go of Jemma and turned toward the door, effectively placing herself protectively in front of the group of Jemma and the animals instinctively without really thinking about it.

There was a sharp knock on the door but it was only half a second warning for what was to come. The door opened and Jemma's eyes widened.    
  
"Gun!" Jemma shouted when she saw one on a policeman's utility belt and a longer rifle looking gun in the hands of someone wearing a dark green animal control polo. The authorities and paramedics looked stunned, eyes focused on the dinosaurs, but when Rex growled and Trudy shrieked all hell broke loose. The cops pulled their guns and the animal control crew stepped ahead of everyone else and raised the rifles. Rex reacted badly to this and roared, causing a shaking, terrified animal control officer to swing his gun in Rex's direction, which made the entire group of survivors along with Trudy start shouting in protest. Rex took a step toward the oncoming crowd and Jemma reacted the moment she saw his quivering finger over the trigger. She jumped in front of Rex, hands out toward animal control, but there had already been a muted sound of a gun firing and Jemma felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. She looked down with wide eyes and was relieved to see that it was a dart, but the animals had no way of knowing it was only a tranquilizer and not a real weapon. Trudy screamed and charged animal control, who started shooting more darts. Jemma stood there, stunned, and looked to Skye as her vision started to blur and she stumbled over to the wall and leaned against it for support. Ace was screaming when Ruby was tranquilized and paramedics were trying to separate people from animals. It was all a blur to Jemma and she slowly started to slide down the wall.

“Wait!” Skye shouted when the sounds erupted. “Rex, no-,” The gun swung toward Rex and Skye swung toward the animal control. “He won’t atta-,” She didn’t get to finished shouting the words over chaotic sound in the room. Skye was already in motion when she spotted Jemma’s body jolting with the dart. Her blood ran a special kind of cold that, over the past 180-something days had been reserved for instances of encountering Ward and Garrett. In a swift motion, she swung a one-two punch, catching the paramedic that advanced on her and Jemma in the cheekbone with her fist then her elbow in rapid succession, knocking them out. As they collapsed, she took the next half step forward, grabbed the animal control person’s rifle and wrenched it, using the force of the butt of the stock to detach it from the person’s hands and hit them across the jaw with it. She jumped back and swung the rifle around, pushed it to her shoulder as she backed toward Jemma and Bobbi, who had jumped from her spot and raced over to Jemma as soon as she realized Jemma went into fight mode. Raina and Trip were both in front of Ace, blocking anyone’s path to him. 

“BACK UP! All of you!” Skye shouted. She shot one of the darts into the neck of the first police officer that jumped forward. “Trudy, Rex, over here,” She called. Trudy was wobbling on her feet. She had multiple darts in her already. She stumbled back toward Bobbi and Jemma and Rex collapsed next to her after letting out a whine. 

“Put the gun down now!” One of the police officer’s shouted. 

“You first!” Skye spat back at him. 

“We’re trying to help you!” One of the paramedics shouted. 

“By attacking us?!” Skye snapped. “We did nothing wrong! The animals are tame - they’re just protective and you spooked them!” 

“Listen, lady, we don’t want any trouble-,” 

“You should’ve thought of that before you came in here aiming guns at us!” Skye shouted. She kept glancing around at the others. “Bobbi, is Jem…” Skye’s own vision seemed to blur around the edges. Her knees wobbled a moment and the world spun as the dart that had hit her in the side began to override her initial adrenaline wave. Shit. As she started to fall, the animal control officer and a police officer dashed forward. Skye shot the rifle toward them and caught the officer in the thigh before she was on the ground. She struggled against the first person that reached her, got a few weaker punches into the cop or paramedic, whoever it was, before her eyes rolled up and she passed out. 

________

It was cold. There was a light weight from her waist down, and there were slight ticklish sensations on various parts of her body. Her limbs were sore and heavy and so were her eyelids, which were difficult to open. Jemma listened carefully to the sounds of voices; not quite in the room, but just realistic enough to not sound false. It was a television. Her eyes squinted open enough to see the flat screen on the robin's egg blue walls. It was the only thing on the wall. She glanced to the left and spotted a wooden door with a small rectangular window through which she observed people walking by in white coats and blue scrubs. She glanced to her left and out the window she immediately saw a palm tree, which was no new sight, but behind it was the massive side of a skyscraper dotted with windows.    
  
Jemma blinked once, then once more. She wiggled her fingers, then her toes, and determined that she was alive and awake. It was a hospital. There was a tube running underneath her nose, an IV in her left hand, a sensor clipped to her left pointed finger, a blood pressure cuff on her right arm, and pads on her chest. Her jacket and sweats were gone, replaced by a thin cloth gown. There were blankets drawn up to her waist, but her arms were unprotected and goosebumps rose on them from the chill. Jemma glanced back up at the television when she heard her own name.    
  
"These five survivors were reportedly found on a handmade raft by a cargo ship off the west coast of the United States. They are apparently passengers of Indonesian Airlines flight 804 that disappeared just over five years ago..." The blonde's voice on the screen practically made Jemma's eyes bug out of her head. It all sounded right, but they had only been gone six months, not five years. But then again, they had landed on an island full of dinosaurs, so she was willing to believe that time was not certain. "They are currently being treated and more information will be reported when we have it." The blonde finished up the story and it continued on to talk about traffic in the area.    
  
"Skye?" Jemma croaked. She looked around her again and the pulsing beep of the heart monitor began to speed up. "Bobbi?" The last thing she remembered was chaos erupting on the ship. Where were her friends? Where were the animals?   
  
"Skye!" Jemma wailed. She ripped out the IV against her judgement and pulled off all the wires, sensors, and tubes. She ignored the alarms going off alerting doctors that her heart had stopped and swung her feet over the edge of the bed. She stood up, cringed at the cold tile on her bare feet, and swayed a bit from a nasty headache and residing dizziness. She pushed out of the room into the hallway and stopped short. There were people everywhere, bustling about. Jemma ran to the nearest door and peeked into the window. It was just an old man. She ran to the next one, but it still wasn't Skye. She dashed from door to door until finally she saw the short, choppily cut brown hair through one of the windows.   
  
"Skye!" She shouted. She reached for the doorknob but someone caught her wrist from behind.   
  
"Miss, you need to be in bed." The nurse tried to coax her away from the door but Jemma jerked away and slammed her palm against the glass to get Skye's attention.   
  
"Doctor, I need some help! I found her!" The nurse shouted. Within seconds she was swarmed by people in lab coats and scrubs and they tried to pull her away from the door by her arms, but she clawed at them and when any of them got too close she bit them.

Skye inhaled a sharp breath and jolted awake. The first sensation she realized was that of restraint. She shifted her legs and found they were bound. Immediately, her eyes shot open and she moved to sit up. Her head and shoulders came up swiftly only to be slammed back down onto the bed she was in. Skye immediately began to struggle wildly. She heard the erratic beeping of a heart monitor and realized she was in a hospital. Not entirely sure if she was actually awake (or alive?), Skye continued to struggle against the restraints. Each of her ankles was bound with a cushioned strap. A single strap ran across her torso along the middle of her rib cage below her chest. Her wrists were bound in similar straps to her ankles. 

When she failed to break free from her initial struggles, Skye fell still and tried to calm her breathing down. She looked around the bed for something she might be able to used to break herself free. She ignored the sound of the television in the corner and the sounds of the oxygen machine and the heart monitor as it fluctuated with her pulse. As her wits slowly came back to her after her very primal initial reaction of needing to be free, Skye’s mind started to reel. Where was Jemma? Where were the others? What had been done with the animals? Skye began to struggle again. 

“Jemma?!” She shouted, hoping to hear a response but not sure if she expected one. Pulling one arm, she realized the strap for her wrists were linked. Stretching out her other arm she tried to pull her right arm so that she strap came closer to her mouth to try and wrench the buckle free. She sat up to meet it and came up just an inch or so short no matter how hard to struggled to shift. She let out a scream of frustration as she flopped back against the bed. She realized she could reach the button to call the nurse, and jammed it multiple times. 

The sound of an alarm made Skye try to lift off the bed again. Was that her name? “Jemma!” She screamed it this time, wanting to know if she was hallucinating. She clenched her eyes shut and took a few slow deep breaths. The possibilities of what could have happened to the others, the animals - her family - began to overwhelm Skye. When she opened her eyes again, fearful tears of frustration were sailing down her cheeks. She took a few more slow breaths and was preparing to fight again when something slammed against the glass window of her room. Skye’s head snapped to the window and she blinked away her tears to find Jemma against the window. 

Skye froze and the wind sucked out of her. “Jemma,” she murmured, had just enough time to register that Jemma looked overly harried before her eyes widened as Jemma was swarmed by doctors and nurses. “JEMMA!” She screamed as she fought against the restraints harder than she had before. She shouted Jemma’s name again and again, struggling so hard that she knocked loose parts of the bed but couldn’t break free from the straps. She couldn’t do anything to break free to get to Jemma while people were attacking her. 

"You need to calm down, everything's going to be okay." A doctor tried to soothe Jemma's screaming and struggling once she was held still by two nurses, each holding one of her arms just under the shoulder. She kicked and yelled but nobody relented. She could see Skye struggling against restraints through the window and it made her even more upset.   
  
"I need to see her! Let me go!" Jemma shouted. When nobody responded the way she wanted, she aimed a powerful kick to the side of the kneecap of one of the nurses trying to hold her. She didn't mean to hurt people but she was terrified and used to a world where a person couldn't be held accountable for violence of this sort. The first nurse let go of her and she jerked away from the second. She lunged for the door, turned the knob, even pushed it open and got a step into the room before a heavy weight slammed into her from behind and arms wrapped tightly around her torso, pinning her arms at her side. She was a mere five feet away from Skye. She was so close, yet so impossibly far away.    
  
"Sedative, now!" The doctor holding her shouted, indicating that both women needed it by jerking his head in Skye's direction. Soon a syringe was prepped and a nurse was able to get close enough to Jemma to prick the side of her leg and press down on the plunger. Jemma felt the life draining out of her while they prepped a second, needless syringe to connect to Skye's IV. She faded away and fell limp just as the nurse connected the syringe to the tube by Skye's hand.

“Jemma!” Skye screamed as the door swung shut again after Jemma had it cracked open. The bed rocked violently with Skye’s struggles. She was hoping to break free any loose screws that would give her some way to break free. “LET HER GO! JEMMA!” Skye screamed. The approach of the nurse toward her IV line did nothing to stop Skye’s struggling. “Jemma!” she shouted one last time as the medicine caused her energy to tank. She struggled weakly against the restraints until her own body fell limp, unconscious from the sedative. 

_________

"Jemma, darling, wake up." A soft voice slowly began to pull her from the recesses of sleep. She groaned because of a nasty headache and tried to lift her hand to her forehead, but found it was encircled by a padded cuff not unlike the ones Skye had been wearing. She suddenly jerked and her eyes flashed open, but instead of the nurses and the doctors she saw her mother and father staring down at her with tears in their eyes.   
  
"This is just until you calm down." Her father picked up her hand ever so gently, like he was afraid he would break it, and patted the leather straps. She wiggled a bit in the bed and found she was hooked up to all the monitors and the IV and oxygen tube again. All the machines were beeping, whirring, or buzzing and it all added to Jemma's headache. But right there were her parents, the very people she thought she'd never see again. She couldn't help it. She suddenly started sobbing so hard her chest heaved and her heart monitor went crazy with sound.   
  
"Shh, shh, it's okay," Jemma's mother leaned over her and held her firmly in a hug while her father ignored the doctor's instructions and removed Jemma's restraints so she could reach up and circle her arms around her mother as they both sobbed. Her father stroked her hair and her back to help calm her down until finally the crying stopped and Jemma pulled away to wipe at her tears with her hands. She wanted to relish this moment, but there were so many things to be concerned about. "Where's Skye? The others? The animals?" Jemma's questions were coming out like rapid fire.    
  
"Skye's a few rooms down and your friends are all spread out in available rooms. Everyone's fine." Her dad assured her.    
  
"The... dinosaurs... are at the LA Zoo because it's the only place that could properly contain them." Jemma's mother told her, but her voice was much more puzzled than when her dad had informed her about her human friends. The whole prehistoric island thing was probably a lot to swallow.   
  
"Where have you been all these years?" Her dad asked her. Jemma's brows furrowed.   
  
"Years? No, no. It's been six months. It's been 183 days since the plane crashed, I counted." Jemma shook her head. None of this was making any sense. They could look at Ace as proof, it had not been five years for them. Jemma and her parents exchanged a few confused looks and it was quiet for a moment before her dad finally spoke up.   
  
"I suppose if you managed to discover dinosaurs in the middle of the ocean there are things we cannot explain." He said. That was definitely true. Jemma, the scientist, was going to have to accept that there were some things she just couldn't explain. He reached for her hand and when Jemma tried to hold it with her bad right hand, her father frowned and inspected the scar on her palm. Her mother gasped when she saw it and it made Jemma's eyes tear up just to see their reaction.    
  
"I got cut, my tendons were severed." Jemma said calmly. It had been quite a while ago and she had learned to accept it, but it was new to her parents when she showed them her limited movement by trying to make a fist and her two outside fingers didn't move.   
  
"We'll have a doctor look at it, there's got to be something we can do." Her mother suggested. Her father seemed to agree and before Jemma knew it the "best surgeon in the hospital" was in her room discussing possible surgical fixes. They had a surgery planned before Jemma even knew what was happening, but she made sure to tell her parents to stay with Skye while she was in surgery to update her and so she wouldn't worry.

______________

When Skye woke again the first thing she registered as her eyes opened was that the sun had set. She could see the night sky and the lights of the surrounding city through the window of her room. The TV was off and so far her heart monitor sounded steady. She clenched her eyes and groaned at the pounding in her head. Reflexively, she reached up and pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead and was surprised to find her hand was no longer restrained. Skye opened her eyes and looked down at her hands as she held them in her lap, which was when she realized her bed was also propped up so she was sitting when it had previously been flat. 

“I had them remove your restraints.” 

Skye recognized the voice immediately and a chill ran down her spine. With slow, practiced ease, she leaned back against the bed and lifted her head to look at the voice’s owner. It belonged to Robert Gonzales, Skye’s former boss. In her groggy state, Skye employed every tactic she knew to regulate her pulse to keep that heart monitor from spazzing out in front of Gonzales. 

“You’re welcome,” Gonzales said. He stood up from the chair he was sitting in by the end of her bed with the use of his cane. He watched her carefully, glanced toward the monitors and then back to Skye’s face before giving her a crooked grin. Skye found his mustache and receding hair was much grayer than her memory recalled. The cane was new too, actually. Skye’s muscles betrayed her and one wrinkle furrowed in her brow as her right eyebrow jutted upward slightly. “A lot’s can change in five years, Agent,” He said when Skye didn’t speak. 

That caught her attention, though. Skye blinked, eyes snapping directly to Gonzales’. “What?” she blurted before she could stop herself. 

Gonzales arched an eyebrow at her. “My hair,” He motioned to his face with the hand not leaning on the cane. “The cane,” he motioned to it. “A lot can change when you disappear for five years inexplicably.” 

Skye tried to absorb that without panicking. Her heart monitor looped a bit haywire for a few seconds. “F-Five-,” 

Gonzales nodded. “Five years. Yes. Care to tell me where you’ve been all that time?” He arched his eyebrows. “I’ve already looked at your chart. You’ve clearly sustained a number of serious wounds. The news is certainly having a field day with stories about those...animals that came home on that ship with you…” 

Skye shifted, very slightly, in her spot. Gonzales picked up on it but didn’t move from his spot right away. He waited for Skye to open her mouth like she was going to speak and then he took a step forward. “Don’t get me wrong now,” He said and Skye closed her mouth to listen. “Your service to this country has been duly noted after your presumed death on flight 804. Internally that is, of course. Your intel and instructions were enough to stop the...situation, as it was...from escalating.” He chose his words very carefully. “So thank you, for that.” He waited, finally, for Skye to speak. 

Skye’s mind was racing by that point. “Five years, but we were…” She paused, her eyes on her lap but her brow furrowed. They were only gone six months. Should she say that out loud? Was Gonzales fucking with her? Skye didn’t know. 

“Listen, I don’t want you to worry any of that right now.” Gonzales went on. He stepped closer and reached out to give Skye’s forearm a squeeze. “Once you’ve recuperated, we’ll catch you up-,” 

“I quit,” Skye suddenly found her voice again as she lifted her eyes to meet his. 

This one startled Gonzales. He blinked and furrowed his brow. “Pardon?” He stammered over a reply. 

Skye swallowed and looked up at him. “I quit,” She said. “Officially.” 

“Skye,” Gonzales began. “Let’s be reasonable here-,” 

“I’ve been gone for five years,” Skye said. “Surely you’ve replaced me in that time?” 

“Skye,” Gonzales tried again but Skye shook her head and this time, he listened. 

“I’m done.” Skye said. “I’m out. I can’t live that life anymore. I want a normal life, with-,” She cut herself off. 

Gonzales squinted at her and glanced toward the doorway. “With the other woman they had to sedate earlier, is that it?” He asked.

Skye said nothing at first. After a moment she cleared her throat and spoke. “I’ve put in my time and service. I’ve done everything you asked of me. If you’re going to leverage it against me, after everything I’ve done, after what I sacrificed...what I’ve been through…what the world is going to see I’ve been through on their televisions for the foreseeable future...” She paused a moment. “It’s time. I quit.” 

Gonzales considered it for a long moment. He heaved a sigh and, finally, gave her a small nod. “I’ll be in contact, Skye,” He told her. “Formalities and all,” He added. “If you need anything,” He shuffled to the table next to her bed and left a very ornery looking business card on the table. He gave her shoulder a squeeze and then turned to head for the door. 

Skye took a deep breath as she watched him go and just as he opened the door, she said, “Actually.” Gonzales turned and Skye took another slow breath. “There is something,” She told him. Gonzales stopped, turned back around and shut the door behind him to finish the conversation. 

_________________

Once she’d laid out what she needed from Gonzales, he left with the promise to get back to her. Skye settled back onto the bed for a moment, feeling delirious and exhausted. She gave herself a few minutes to breathe and then she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Just as she was reaching for her IV line, the door handle turned and it opened. Skye’s head snapped up.

"I don't think the doctors will take too kindly to that." A humorous, male voice said softly from the door. The couple walked in holding hands and smiling nervously at the woman in front of them who was apparently the reason for their daughter's survival.    
  
"You must be Skye." The woman said. She took a few steps closer and held out her hand for Skye to shake, waiting even though Skye didn't offer up the physical touch at first. It was possible Skye could notice similar features to Jemma, but in case she didn't, she introduced herself. "Eliza and Clive Simmons. It's lovely to finally meet you."

Skye blinked. She hadn’t expected the accent. Her hand hovered near the IV line but didn’t pull it. It was a civilian couple...with British accents. Her brain caught up and she blinked and stared at them with wide eyes. Jemma’s parents. Though she’d kept her heart rate fairly steady while speaking with Gonzales, it did a few erratic jumps now. Her eyes darted between them immediately picking out the features between them that belonged to Jemma. Skye’s hand trembled slightly as she held it out to shake Jemma’s mother’s hand. She felt her heart flutter a bit in her chest as the woman, Eliza, spoke. “Is…” she swallowed against the lump of fear in her throat. “Is Jem okay?” She asked quietly, afraid of the answer but desperately needing it. 

"Oh, darling, she's perfectly alright." Eliza sighed and smiled when Skye shook her hand. She hadn't known what to expect from a stranger who had survived on an island for five years, especially after the briefing the doctors had given them about the episode the two had had before they arrived in Los Angeles.    
  
"With thanks to you." Clive stepped forward around his wife and shook Skye's hand as soon as Eliza let go of it. His grip was firm, yet gentle in a way that somehow showed how grateful he was.    
  
"The hospital runs a tight schedule and there was an opening with a surgeon that may be able to fix her hand, so she's in surgery now." Eliza explained. It was the only reason Jemma hadn't forced herself into this visit as well.    
  
"I talked to the staff about getting you two put in the same room, they're going to bring her back here once she comes back from recovery." Clive added. Once he let go of Skye's hand they both stood there awkwardly, clearly caring about her and wanting to make sure she was alright, overflowing with gratitude, but not sure what boundaries existed. Eventually after an extended moment of silence, Eliza stepped closer and pulled the blankets on the bed up so she could hook an arm under Skye's legs and help her back into bed.   
  
"We can't have you exerting yourself after everything, you just rest." Eliza tucked the blankets around Skye in a very much motherly way and went about fussing, moving different tubes and wires so Skye would be most comfortable. "Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

Skye turned her still stunned gaze toward Clive as he shook her hand. She tried to take all of that in. Her eyes welled over before she could stop them, which she most certainly would have around strangers. These strangers were Jemma’s parents though. They had been in Jemma’s hospital room with her. Jemma had talked to them. Skye’s promise was officially complete. Her muscles jumped slightly when Eliza moved to help her back into bed but she didn’t resist. She hadn’t expected to meet them this way. She hadn’t expected to be separated from Jemma. She hadn’t expected...to feel this emotional being in the same room as Jemma’s parents when she didn’t even know them outside of what she’d learned from Jemma’s stories. Now they were here and smiling at her, trying to fuss over her and take care of her. Jemma’s mother tucked her in and Skye lost it. She couldn’t help it. She just lost it and her silent tears turned into uncontrolled sobs. 

"It's alright, it's over, you're safe now." Eliza started to coddle Skye and brushed hair out of her face and tears off her cheeks. She stroked the top of Skye's head as she cried and even Clive came over and kept a firm hand around Skye's forearm for comfort.    
  
"Now's no time for tears, everything's okay." Eliza continued. She started to hum softly one of the lullabies she found herself still remembering from when Jemma was a young child.

It was all so overwhelming in ways that Skye wasn't used to processing when Jemma wasn't involved, mainly the extremely emotional kind. "I-I'm sorry,"she stammered and sniffled as her hand found its way on top of the one on her forearm as if she needed the extra anchor. This was not the first impression she wanted to make on Jemma's parents in the slightest. "I just...at the end, I didn't think..." she closed her eyes and more tears fell down her cheeks. She sniffled again and exhaled a shaky breath. She couldn't put it into words all she could do was repeat, "I'm sorry," which she meant for the crying. Her eyelids drooped, possibly from the way Eliza stroked her hair, wiped her cheeks and hummed. Skye wasn't sure. She was just so tired. She didn't want to sleep again, though, not until she saw Jemma with her own eyes.

"There's absolutely nothing to be sorry for." Clive gave Skye's hand on top of his a squeeze. "You brought our daughter home. Nothing in this world could make us more grateful for you." He told her. The couple continued to comfort Skye as she cried and murmured their thanks multiple times. They continued to soothe her emotions with quiet words and soft touches until the machine beeping out Skye's heart rate finally started to slow down.    
  
"We'll have to exchange war stories at some point, eh?" Clive chuckled and looked her over, noting all of the scars. Jemma had been riddled with them as well and he was sure they were sore subjects, but he figured it wouldn't hurt for Skye to be able to relate to him.

Skye managed a very small smile.  It felt wrong to not have Jem and the others nearby. It was disorienting. "Definitely, " She gave Clive a small nod. "Has it...um, has it really been five years? " she asked,  wanting to find out whether or not Gonzales was fucking with her or not. 

"A little more than," He confirmed. Eliza's eyes had been watering and she tried to discreetly wipe away the single tear that had managed to escape.    
  
"Jemma was also quite stunned. Maybe we'll figure out what happened sometime soon after you've recovered." Eliza said. There was a lot that the media was going to go crazy for, the inconsistency in time was just the beginning.

Skye wasn't looking forward to the scrutiny. She new it was just going to be part of the deal, but the time discrepancy, she couldn't get her own head around it. It was bizarre, she supposed, that she could get her head around dinosaurs existing in modern times, but couldn't wrap her head around the idea that somehow their 'this shouldn't exist in reality,' island might have some kind of weird time...loop? Or something of that nature. She sniffled again and nodded. "I don't, um...I don't know what Jem told you," she reached up and swiped a stray tear from her cheek, not even registering the sound of her stomach grumbling since she was so used to that sound anyway, as she went on, "This was...not the kind of, uh...first impression I was, y'know, hoping to, to make," she stammered out a bit. She wondered where her belongings were. Her messenger bag had to be here somewhere, right? Had they kept it or was it stowed in a cabinet or bah somewhere with the clothes they'd probably cut off of her. She wished she could have the sweatpants back.

"You saved Jemma's life, that's first impression enough." Clive assured her and moved a hand up to give her shoulder a squeeze. The rumbling of Skye's stomach hadn't gone unnoticed by the two worrisome parents and they had exchanged a glance, silently communicating with each other and deciding that they would go get Skye food if it wasn't given to her soon. By the look of her she had gone long enough without it. As if thinking about it had finally summoned it, there was a knock on the door and a nurse came in holding a plastic tray.   
  
"You must be hungry." The nurse sighed when she looked Skye over. It was the nurse Jemma had kicked in the knee; she was limping, but she didn't appear to be too upset about it. "Don't tell anyone, but I snuck you two puddings." The nurse winked and set the tray on the little table that she rolled to hang over Skye's lap. "Eat up."

Skye wanted to tell Jemma's parents that they had it backwards; Jemma had saved Skye, but the door opened and the words died before they reached her throat as she instead tensed to see who was entering. When she saw it was a nurse, Skye didn't relax right away, afraid she'd get sedated again before they brought Jemma in. Her hand came to rest in the hollow of her stomach below her sternum. She felt the second rumble of hunger that came beneath her palm.   
  
They'd had their fill of food and water on the boat, but it would take some time to regain their lost weight and muscle mass. Her eyes landed on the nurse's limp. She wanted to apologize for Jemma going on the attack, to explain why they'd been through, to explain why they shouldn't have been separated, why they needed each other and what the separation did to them, but she could only manage to come up with a quiet, but grateful, "Thank you," for the pudding. Her stomach growled again but something left Skye on edge.    
  
She knew all eyes were on her, but that wasn't the problem. She didn't realize what it was until she lifted the lid of the food plate. To any normal person, even being hospital food, it would have been a feast - a small steak, baked potato and green beans. Along the tray were the two pudding containers, a container of applesauce, and orange juice cup and an apple juice cup. It was the steak that set her off. The scent of the meat should have been appetizing but, in the moment, as the lid came off and the pungent aroma released and wafted to her nostrils, all Skye could think about was the sickening smell of burning flesh when she'd cauterized Jemma's hand.    
  
Skye's stomach turned over and roiled as she flinched. She slammed the cover lid back onto the tray and shoved rolling table to the side. She didn't have time to try and get to the bathroom and she knew it, so she did the only thing she could, which was to swing her upper body over the arm of the bed and heave as the small bit of whatever was left in her stomach came burbling up her throat and out her mouth, splashing to the linoleum floor below. There was no stopping it.

"I'll go get a doctor." The nurse hurried out of the room as Eliza reached for Skye's hair to pull it back out of the way and rubbed her back between her shoulder blades. Clive moved around to the other side of the bed, avoiding the vomit, and when Skye finished he took a firm hold of her shoulders and eased her up into a sitting position and then to leaning back on the bed.   
  
"Are you okay?" He asked, reaching for a pitcher and cup to fill with water. He used a tissue from the nightstand to help wipe off her face and then while Eliza supported Skye's head, he brought the cup closer to her lips.

The sound of the heart monitor spazzing out only served to work Skye's nerves over even more. She gasped as she tried to catch her breath, disoriented by their help but more than willing to chug down the water in big gulps. Hot tears streaked down her cheeks again, these ones silent. With the food in the room, Skye's stomach churned even with the water in it. She wiped her mouth with the back of her trembling hand and tried to nod to say she was alright. "Can you..." she sniffled and coughed against the sour feeling at the back of her throat. Even the smell of the vomit on the floor didn't bother her as much as the smell of the cooked meat. "C-can you take the food away?" She asked, her eyes darting between them, feeling much like a child making a plea. She was going to have to explain herself and that was going to mean telling Jemma's parents what she'd done to their daughter’s hand, which was part of the reason Jemma needed surgery on it.

"Of course," Eliza hurried to take the tray out of the room and exchanged a few quick words with the nurse that she passed it off to. When she came back in Clive was refilling the cup of water. "Is everything alright?" She asked Skye. A doctor came walking swiftly into the room a second later before Skye could answer.    
  
"Feeling nauseous?" The doctor asked her without making eye contact, still scanning over the chart he had pulled from beside Skye's bed. 

Skye opened her mouth to answer Eliza, but closed it again when the doctor walked in. She wiped her mouth off with the back of her hand and then absently wiped it on her gown without thinking about it. Old habits. She tried not to fidget with her hands in her lap but as she looked at them, she spotted that slight trembling again and wondered if her nerves would ever recover from everything that happened. “No,” She shook her head. “No, I…” How was she supposed to explain it? ‘I’m just thinking about burning human flesh.’ Her brow creased. “I-I just...it’s just...when we were…” She wiped angrily at her tear stained cheeks and shook her head. “The smell of...the smell just…” She clenched her eyes shut and shook her head a bit forcefully. “I’m not sick...I’m fine,” She wasn’t fine, Skye could admit that to herself. She was, however, not physically ill. It was just the smell that brought the memory that upset her. She felt like she would be able to explain this better if she could talk to Jemma. Then again, Jemma would have understood without her actually saying anything. Skye felt like she had no way to get her bearings on the situation without Jemma. Her eyes wandered to the clock as she wondered how long Jemma was supposed to be in surgery and if everything was okay. They dropped back to her empty hands in her lap and thought about her conversation with Jemma by the waterfall about the Otters holding hands while they slept so they didn’t float away.   
  
"Oh." The doctor said with a more understanding look on his face. He scribbled something on the chart and put it back in the holder on the wall.    
  
"Do you want something else? I'm sure we can arrange something." Eliza fussed over Skye and held her hand gently.    
  
"You should eat something, you need to reach a healthier weight sooner rather than later." The doctor added.

Skye felt dizzy. She knew her body was hungry and Eliza and the doctor were right, she needed to eat. She didn't even know what she wanted, other than to profusely apologize for puking. "E-everything but the, uh...but the s-steak...is, is just fine..." she said it mostly to Eliza though her eyes didn't meet the woman's.  "I'm sorry," she blurted as her hand gripped Eliza's. "I didn't know it would  cause that reaction..."

"Don't be sorry." Eliza sighed. "I'm sure you're not the first person to vomit in this hospital." She joked as the doctor left, presumably to get her a more suitable meal. Someone that looked like an intern came in and quickly cleaned up the mess, leaving the room to smell like cleaner with no trace of the smell of steak. Once he left, a nurse came back with another tray and brought the table closer to Skye. She took off the lid and revealed that, as requested, they'd taken away the steak and switched it out for more potatoes.

Skye felt foolish for all the stammering, for her kneejerk reaction to the odor, for the tears that kept coming back in waves, for the apologies she kept blurting out. Her nerves were beyond frayed and that served to only further ratchet up her anxiety. Skye spent so much of her life living under the guise of having control, if not over a situation, then at least over herself. With that ability stripped away, she almost felt like she might suffocate. When the odor of the steak was replaced, Skye tried to take slow, regulated breaths - in through her nose, hold it, out through the mouth.    
  
Tears were still welled in her eyes as she looked from the plate up to the nurse. "Thank you," she said in earnest. Her stomach grumbled and Skye almost panicked that it was preparing another revolt but, really, she was just that hungry, despite what just happened. The nurse gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze before she left the room. Skye waited until she was gone, hands resting on the edge of the table hanging over her lap and eyes on the food. It was more than she would probably have eaten on a normal situation as far a portions went. She had survived on much less, on the island and the raft specifically an in the past as well. She took a breath, hesitated and held it a moment a she spoke.    
  
"We couldn't always sew wounds shut while we were on the island," The words tumbled out, a bit quieter than she intended, but clear though not always steady. "Sometimes, uh...we had to," she cleared her throat gently. "We had to...to cauterize them," she lifted her glassy eyes to look between Jemma's parents. Jemma's wound hadn't been the only one, there had been plenty - small compy bites, Izzy's arm on the beach, Skye's own small injuries and the Terror bird injury from the jungle - but the worst for Skye had been Jemma's hand. "Jemma's hand...w-we had to, um," she closed her eyes and inhaled a shaky breath, swallowed against the dryness in her throat. "And the smell, it was..." she shook her head and opened her eyes but kept them focused on her hands and the table. "We had to do it," she looked up at them again. "We didn't have a choice."

"It was the right choice." Clive cut into the conversation. He was a military man, these were things he knew about. He had known when he saw Jemma's hand that it was a scar from a burn, but he hadn't wanted to talk about it with his daughter just yet. "It probably saved her from infection. I'm sorry you both had to go through that but I'm glad you did it." Clive reached for Skye's hand and gave it a squeeze with one hand and patted the back of it with the other. Eliza's eyes were watering thinking about Jemma in that situation, but she was just glad the two girls had miraculously pulled through.

"Now eat. You want to be ready when Jemma comes back." Eliza rubbed up and down Skye's arm. Just looking at Skye and how thin she was, Jemma too, made her want to see them eat more than anything so they could recover. 

It was the right thing to do. Skye knew that already but having the confirmation, especially from Jemma's own parents no less, was more comforting than repeatedly trying to tell herself. There was nothing but time now to second guess all of the decisions she'd made on the island and the raft. She glanced at the fingers that were wrapped individually on gauze on her hand. The doctors had opened the wounds to cut out the infected areas and restitched them properly then wrapped them to cover them. Jemma had caused that wound when she bit Skye while Skye was trying to force the turtle blood down her throat Skye swallowed against the limp in her throat from the thoughts and nodded. Skye picked up the fork that had been provided with her meal and began to eat, slowly at first. She tried to eat at a normal speed but her stomach had other ideas, sparked by the internal fear that this was the last food she'd have for awhile so she had to consume all of it before it was taken away, she began to eat faster and had to force herself to put the fork down and drink water or juice between bites to avoid scarfing things down. The last thing she wanted was to upset her stomach and get sick when they brought Jemma in.    
_____________   
  
After finishing the meal, Skye drank down some more water and accepted Eliza's help maneuvering into the restroom with her attached IV stand so she could relieve herself. Alone in the bathroom, Skye washed her face and pulled a comb through her hair, trying to make herself feel somehow more human. She let Eliza help her back into bed once she was done and almost lost it again when Eliza immediately went about tucking her in. Part of Skye's brain kept reminding her that she wasn't sure she deserved their kindness and she had to force herself to ignore those thoughts as best as possible .    
  
Thankfully, a distraction came in the form of one of Gonzales' people arriving with a laptop and USB drive with intrusions on plugging into the specific live feeds for the zoo's cameras. It was an easy cakewalk to get connected. After that, distraction was a bit easier as she was able to show the animals to Jemma's parents while trying not to fret about how upset Rex's cries were, no doubt confused about where Skye and Jemma were and why he wasn't with them. Skye told them some of the stories about how the animals came to be with them, but kept telling them that Jemma could probably tell the stories better and all about how Jemma kept a daily journal, that it was in Skye's messenger bag.    
  
Skye fell silent, though,when the room's door opened and the limping nurse came in and moved the right arm of Skye's bed down. She wondered if they we going to let them have the beds pressed together in the room and was already plotting asking the Simmons Elders to push then together as soon as the doctors/nurses left if they didn't. She sat up straight and craned her neck toward the open door, attempting to get any glimpse of Jemma she could. Her heart monitor sped up and jumped a few erratic beats.

"Skye," the happy sigh came from Jemma's lips the moment her bed turned into the door enough to be able to see her. Her parents came over to each side of the bed and had their hands on the sides of the bed to help the doctors position the beds and they shuffled around until Jemma's bed was on Skye's left and they were pressed together. They lowered the arm of the bed on Jemma's right.   
  
"She may still be a bit loopy." The doctor told Skye and Jemma's parents before finally leaving them alone. Jemma's eyes were slowly opening and closing, like she was blinking in slow motion and stuck between sleep and wakefulness.    
  
"All fixed." Jemma grinned lazily and held up a very thickly bandaged and splinted right hand, which she then pressed against Skye's forearm even if she couldn't grab it.

Skye's eyes zeroed in on Jemma the moment she was visible and never left. They shifted, surveying every part of her but never left her. She looked at Jemma's wrapped up hand as it landed on her forearm and thought about the otters again. Carefully, she cradled the splinted and wrapped hand with her own right hand and moved it toward her own to keep from crushing it as she shifted across the tiny gap between their hospital bed mattresses to move closer,  reached out and brought her free hand to Jemma's cheek. "Thought you might've floated away," she tried to keep the emotion from her tone but was only mildly successful. She was overwhelmed with this wave of emotional relief, with finally being able to see and touch Jemma again. "I love you," She forgot Jemma's parents were there and leaned in first to kiss Jemma's forehead and then to pull her into a hug, careful not to catch or crush her wrapped up hand.

“Never gonna float away.” Jemma mumbled. She sighed and leaned into Skye’s touch. She could barely feel that Skye was touching her hand at all, it was still quite numb, but it was probably a good thing. She was sure it was going to take a while and a lot of physical therapy to be back to one hundred percent or even anything close to it.

“We’ll leave you two be.” Eliza smiled through happy tears and grabbed onto Clive’s arm. She grabbed her purse from the ground at the foot of Skye’s bed and the two walked out and gently shut the door behind them to give the two girls some privacy. They had been through enough and the best medicine for them was each other’s company, and they both knew it.


	28. Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **warnings:** mental breakdowns, neurotic behavior, thoughts/memories/discussion of sexual assault/attempted rape that occurred in previous chapters. 
> 
> Hello all you lovelies!!! So sorry for the delay in getting this to you! Between clashing schedules (my work schedule is really hectic/overloaded from November through to January) and holidays, this chapter took longer than we had planned!! Sorry for the delay!! 
> 
> Enjoy!! <3 <3 <3 <3
> 
> ________________

For a while, Skye stayed awake, murmuring quiet reassurances to Jemma to both calm herself down and to let Jemma know she was still there while Jemma groggily moved in and out of sleep. She pulled the blankets around them and helped get them both situated. She made sure the audio on the laptop was down so it wouldn’t keep Jemma awake but she kept the video going on laptop so she could check it. Jemma fell asleep and Skye kept murmuring to her. Eventually Skye nodded off too. At some point while they slept one of the nurses came in and turned the main room’s light off and left a much dimmer, softer light on for them behind the bed. That and the light from the laptop kept an almost moonlight-esque glow to the room that was easier on the eyes. They were out for a number of hours. Skye was the first to fully wake up, once Jemma started shifting in her sleep against her. 

Skye inhaled a sharp breath and opened her eyes. It took a second to orient herself and remember where she was before she realized that Jemma was possibly waking up. “Hey,” She murmured and kissed the top of Jemma’s head. “Jem?” she ran her fingers through Jemma’s hair and then down her back then in circular patterns. “You okay?” 

"Just thirsty," Jemma grumbled, barely awake. The effects of the anesthesia were finally starting to wear off and she was starting to feel soreness and dryness in her throat from being out so long during the surgery and then through the night. She was starting to feel some throbbing in her hand that wasn't too painful, but just uncomfortable enough to wake her up and cause her to shift around. She pressed her forehead to Skye's and took a deep breath, just looking into her eyes. A few moments later though she noticed the laptop screen. She'd been too groggy earlier and then she'd fallen asleep, but now she saw Rex pacing back and forth presumably whining by the way his mouth opened and closed, and Trudy was curled up in a tight ball with Ruby lying in the center like a bed. Buzz was anxiously flying around and occasionally landing on Rex's shoulder blades or Trudy's head.     
  
"Oh my god, where are they?" Jemma was suddenly awake. She sat up some in the bed, cradling her hand against her chest, and her face scrunched up in displeasure. The area looked very jungle like on the camera and it nearly sent Jemma into a panic about them potentially being back on the island alone, but it was too far for them to get there and she doubted anyone had located their island.

Skye's eyes searched through Jemma's  when their foreheads pressed together, not sure what she was looking for as she gently touched Jemma’s cheek. She was perhaps checking to look for signs of distress. They appeared immediately after Jemma spotted the laptop. Skye moved to sit up a bit more against the angled back of the bed.    
  
"The zoo," Skye answered right away. She leaned away from Jemma to bring the rolling table closer. First, she poured Jemma some water from the pitcher on the table and handed her the cup, then she picked up the laptop and moved it to their laps, resting on one of each of their thighs, and adjusted the angle of the screen. She pressed the button to bring the sound up a bit,  frowning at the sounds of Rex's cries. She felt an awful pang in her chest at how upset they all had to be, but they couldn't fix it right this second. She let Jemma watch the video for a moment or two. "They're upset, but they're safe," she said. Skye reached out to tap a few buttons to bring up an extra screen in the bottom corner of the monitor that showed a feed of the entrance with two suited figures standing guard at the cage's entrance. "I've got them under guard, so no one can poke or prod at them."

"How did you manage that?" Jemma asked. She was glad to see that they were alright and not being claimed by the scientific community, but it also made her wonder what Skye had been up to before they'd been reunited.    
  
"Have you seen any of the others? Apparently they're all here in different rooms. Maybe we can all see each other today, I'm sure they're as scared as we were, especially Ace." Jemma said. The moment she knew the animals were safe as well her mind jumped back to her friends. Was Bobbi's baby okay? Did Ace's family come? What about Trip?

Skye answered the questions in reverse order. "Your parents said they were all okay. I didn't get to see or talk to any of them yet. We could probably call the operator and get patched to their room phones? I think they'll strap us down again if we try to walk around just yet," not that this would necessarily stop Skye now that she was here with Jemma and not tied down.    
  
"When I woke up, I wasn't alone," Skye knew Jemma would understand she meant after their sedation episode. "My boss came for a visit." She frowned at one of Rex's sad wails and reached to turn the volume down again for her heart's sake. "I quit," she looked over at Jemma. "So I cashed in a last favor - guards to protect them from invasive procedures until we can collect them and a way to keep eyes on them at all times."    
  
"Well it's comforting to know the massively secret organization you work for isn't upset about your departure. I'd rather have them as a friend than an enemy." Jemma gestured to the computer screen and grimaced at one of Rex's wails even if the volume was down. It was a relief to know that the organization Skye had worked for was alright with her leaving. She hadn't had time to really ponder what to do about that during everything else that was going on, so she was glad something was going smoothly for once.    
  
"We should ask the nurses later if it's possible to get us all together." Jemma suggested. They all needed to IV undoubtedly, but they weren't in such poor condition that they couldn't be escorted to each other's rooms in wheelchairs. They needed to stick together and to do that they needed to see each other. They needed to all have a talk and decide what they were and weren't going to tell the media when they were eventually approached.

Skye knew this wouldn't be the last she heard from her boss. She would still need an official exit interview and final debriefing, but she didn't want to upset Jemma with that information since it wasn't anything she couldn't handle later, when they were out of here. She nodded and made a mental note to hit the button to call for a nurse soon. She wanted to wait a few minutes to talk with Jemma first, though. "I'm sure we can talk them into it, now that they understand at least," she said. She cleared her throat. "I don't know how okay my boss is with my departure. It took some convincing, but...I used the fact that he's had to have replaced me multiple times over in the last five years to point out that he doesn't need me..." she let that hang between them since they hadn't had time to discuss the time difference yet. If any of them had any clue how that was possible, she was sure it would be Jemma.

"What are we going to say?" Jemma asked suddenly. Her mind had been wandering while Skye continued on about her work. It wasn't that she wasn't listening, she was just preoccupied by the quickly growing fear in her belly. They'd been here for almost a day now and they weren't going to continue to sit here without anyone asking questions about what had happened over the past five years. "They're not just going to accept that we disappeared for five years and came back with dinosaurs. Not just that, I'm sure the airline is going to be investigated. Too many people died for this to go away."

Skye ran her hand through her hair and moved the laptop to the rolling table but made sure to move the rolling table so they could still see the laptop screen easily. She shook her head and shrugged slightly. “We tell them as much of the truth as we can,” She said. “We crash landed on an island. There were predatory animals but the ones that came back with us aren’t a danger, are just scared. We spent three months there before we launched our raft and three months at sea without knowing five years passed. They’re going to have all kinds of information about our backgrounds. They can see that Ace hasn’t aged five years…even if the airline is investigated, it’s not like they can investigate the crash itself. They’d have to find it first. We don’t even know where the ship picked us up let alone our relation to the island - and the flight was off course to begin with so it’s not like there’s anyway for us to be able to tell them how to find the island and crash sight.”

"Okay." Jemma sighed. They couldn't anticipate everything the police decided to ask them, but they needed to set up the basics about what they wanted to share. "What about the suspected terrorism? Do we mention that?" She asked.

Skye fell quiet,  considering the question earnestly. She chewed at the bottom corner of her lip for a moment before she shook her head.  "No, " she said. "We can't. We can't prove that without having to expose classified information," she spoke quietly, just enough for Jemma to hear. 

"What if we get asked about individual people?" Jemma asked. The idea of having to see the families of those who hadn't made it was nearly unbearable. "What if they ask about people, like Mack and Will, do we-" Jemma couldn't finish her sentence and her words caught in her throat. People had been murdered, the island hadn't claimed them all.

Skye ran her hand through her hair to push it out of her face before she reached out for Jemma's uninjured hand. "I don't know," she frowned. "We probably can't lie about the fact that we split into two groups. They know we had guns. I just...don't know how much we should tell them..." she frowned and sighed. Though she didn't want to make anyone lie, there was a very good chance telling the truth about some things could lead to Skye being sent to prison. Then again, it was entirely likely that the cops could wind up reading Jemma's journal, so lying wouldn't exactly benefit them. She looked over a Jemma. "I don't think we can deviate very far from whatever's in your journal," she said.

"You're right." Jemma sighed. She didn't exactly see their stuff lying around so she knew it was probably being sorted through. She hoped nobody ruined any of her samples, but that should have been the least of her worries. Some of the deaths recorded in her journal she'd rather the police not know about, like Donnie and Quinn. "At least the good news is that anything we did was in defense, and they can't prove anything." Jemma assured her. She said  _ we _ so that Skye wouldn't feel like she was alone in this. She wasn't going to let Skye get punished for anything she'd done to protect them.

Skye nodded, but she was already considering the possibility of being put away for the crimes she'd committed. If it looked like it was going in that direction, she would absolutely dive in front of that bullet alone. They'd all been through enough. She would, however, have to figure out a way to get Jemma to the emergency caches she'd left herself, at least the ones close enough to access. She'd need money it to take care of the animals, for one.    
  
"We should try calling the others," she leaned away to the non-rolling bedside table and grabbed the landline phone from it, brought it to her lap. "Figure it out together," And possibly see each other for the last time if things wound up going south with the authorities. Skye began to second guess her impulsive resignation since it meant she had no agency shelter from investigation.

"We don't even know any numbers." Jemma chuckled and reached for the phone, removed it from Skye's lap, and put it back on the table. She jammed her finger into the nurse call button instead to see if they could set up a meeting instead. She wanted to see how her friends were doing.

__________

Skye’s original plan was to call the hospital operator to get the phone numbers to check on their friends and see about meeting up. It took both some convincing and some coordination but, eventually, all six of them were moved to an empty family waiting room at the end of the hospital wing Jemma and Skye were bunking in.  Skye brought the laptop with her so she could let Ace have a good view of Ruby and the other animals. 

“How’re you feeling?” Skye asked Bobbi after she was wheeled in last, completing their group. They could get down to it after everyone checked in and they confirmed they were all okay overall. 

"Better than I've felt in a long time." Bobbi said blissfully as the nurse activated the brakes on her wheelchair once she was next to Skye. The nurses made sure everyone was settled before leaving them to have some privacy, quietly shutting the door on the way out. The five of them were sitting in a near circle with their knees only a few feet apart.    
  
Just seeing them all again made Jemma more relaxed. She even smiled when she saw how small Ace seemed in his chair and how entertained he'd been being rolled around in it. She had probably never seen them all so happy.    
  
"Have you all seen your families?" Jemma asked, looking between Trip, Bobbi, and Ace. She wanted to make sure everyone had a place to go after this. She still wasn't sure about herself and Skye, but she knew they were going to stick together.    
  
"Yeah, it's hard to even believe." Trip replied. "Ace and I got to room together so I met his family too."   
  
"My little cousin is bigger than me!" Ace suddenly pouted and crossed his arms over his chest. It didn't surprise Jemma that if Ace's cousin had been one or two years younger she would now be three or four years older. Something had definitely happened to screw up time, but she couldn't even begin to imagine what. She wished she had Fitz around to help theorize.

“In another decade or so, you’ll be glad to look so much younger than your actual age,” Skye gave him a small grin and Trip reached up to jokingly ruffly at Ace’s freshly shorn very short hair to emphasize the joke. She was glad they’d been able to see their families. Not that she planned on losing touch with any of them, but it was good to know they had people to take care of them. 

“So are we gonna address the terror bird in the room?” Raina asked, partially joking as she replaced ‘elephant’ with the aforementioned animal. 

“Where?!” Ace almost vaulted out of his wheelchair, which would have thrown the laptop out of his lap, but thankfully, Trip’s arm restrained him. Raina grimaced and apologized. Skye glanced toward Jemma and held her hand out for Jemma’s uninjured one, trying to brace herself for the conversation ahead. 

"Well not technically in the room. Yet." Jemma added with one finger held up on her good hand, which she then turned to point to the window. The blinds were only partially open, but the window leading into the hallway gave them a view of two police officers chatting with a few nurses and doctors.   
  
"We need a straight story, fast." Jemma elaborated. "The plane fell out of the sky. What are we saying happened?" Jemma looked to Bobbi, since she was the copilot. They'd never shared their theory about Ward and Garrett being terrorists and she didn't know what Bobbi knew.   
  
"Well I didn't do it.” Bobbi retorted, causing everyone to chuckle a bit. "But in all seriousness, something went very wrong. All I know is the left engine went out after an explosion."

"I'm sure that's enough considering how long we've been gone," Skye said.     
  
"It's not like we know what happened to it," Raina shrugged.   
  
"Yeah,  we were in the air.  The plane jerked and dropped and then we crashed," Trip shrugged and crossed his arms. He suspected there was a lot more to it,  but he wasn't going to bring that up, not after he spotted the cops Jemma indicated.    
  
"Then we had to swim," Ace frowned at the memory.  He looked across to Skye. "You helped my dad and went to get Jemma after we left. Stuff was on fire. It's the only way we knew which way the beach was."

Jemma shuddered remembering the crash and the events immediately following it. She tried to block the detailed images of gore and the tight feeling in her chest that she had felt when she was drowning. It took squeezing Skye's hand with a bit more force to reassure her that it was over and it wasn't going to happen again.    
  
"So that's what we tell them. We don't know why it crashed, it just did." Jemma nodded. It wasn't technically a lie, at least not for Trip, Bobbi, Raina, and Ace. Jemma and Skye were the only ones who knew that it had been Ward and Garrett who probably planted the explosives. Before they had time to discuss anything else, the door opened and two policemen walked in followed by two men with darker skin tones, sleek black hair, and suits. The two men in suits approached them first.

Skye squeezed Jemma’s hand back, closing her eyes against the memory of trying to cut Jemma free from her seatbelt while the back end of the plane continues sinking, of not being able to do it in time, of the beach. She shuddered and took a deep breath but didn’t get a chance to speak again before they were no longer alone.    
  
"Hello," They started. The first thing Jemma noticed was their heavy accents. "We are legal representatives of Indonesian Airlines. As it is currently impossible to further investigate the cause of the crash, the airline would like to offer each of you, and the families of the deceased, compensation to avoid further legal action." The man on the left said. He opened up his briefcase and pulled out several contracts. He handed one to each of them (excluding Ace) to look over. Jemma's eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw the amount the airline was willing to pay each of them to not be sued.    
  
"If you don't mind I'd like to have a lawyer look this over before I make any commitments." Jemma protested. She wasn't going to accept 3 million dollars without a lawyer to look over the paperwork.

Skye sat up straight and fixed her calmest facade into place as she listened. She looked down at the paper that was handed to her but made no outward reaction though internally she was flabbergasted. If they were willing to offer each of them three million dollars to keep quiet and not sue them, how much did they think the group would be able to sue them for? She glanced at Jemma when she spoke and then looked at the airline representatives. 

The two representatives exchanged furtive glances. “I’m sure they won’t mind such a reasonable request with contracts involved,” Skye spoke up, arching her right eyebrow at the two men. “I doubt they came in here to dangle irresistible monetary windfalls to vulnerable, still recovering victims of their company’s negligence,” She arched both her eyebrows now. “Right, gentlemen?” No matter how the pie was sliced, the airline committed some major negligence. Ward and Garrett wouldn’t have been able to manipulate the plane  _ or _ get those guns on the plane without bribery, gross misconduct and negligence on the part of those working on behalf of the airline to begin with and Skye was willing to run with that. 

"Of course not." The second man smiled nervously.   
  
"I'm with Skimmons, I'll wait for a lawyer." Bobbi held up the contract for the men to take back and Trip and Raina passed his to her to hand back as well.    
  
"Alright, gentlemen, you can come back another time, we have questions for the survivors." The police stepped in and tried to politely shoo away the annoyed businessmen.

"Looking forward to speaking with you after we're cleared to leave the hospital," Skye wanted to keep a copy of the paper to read over but she knew they probably wouldn't simply leave it with them. Despite her little wave to the airline representatives, Skye braced herself for the police officers to return and start their questions. She picked Jemma's hand up and kissed the back of it, to reassure both of them. She found herself glad Trip and Ace were in a room together so that if the airline reps returned, he'd have someone there to talk Ace and his family through not signing anything without having it looked over first.

  
"Alright ladies and gentlemen, we're going to make this as easy as possible." One of the police officers cleared his throat and they both sat down. The first one, a taller man with a slightly unshaven looking face was the one who did most of the talking while a shorter, heavier man had a pen and pad of paper to take notes. "I'm just going to ask some questions, and you do your best to answer." He took turns looking each of them in the eye before he rested his elbows on his knees, clasped his hands together, and asked the first question.   
  
"One of our biggest concerns is the unregistered guns with no serial numbers. And the knives. Where did you all get them?" He asked. He'd been told the weapons had been distributed among the survivors and stashed in bags.    
  
"There were a lot of things in random bags we found after the crash." Jemma spoke up first. She had been one of the first to encounter the weapons other than Skye, of course. "There was a case of knives floating in the water. The guns presumably belonged to another passenger, I think John Garrett." Jemma said. "Weapons were currency." She purposefully left out the fact that Skye had had her own gun. She was willing to let an already deceased Garrett take the fall for that one.    
  
"Alright, we'll look into that. What about the plane, did anything seem suspicious about the crash?" The police officer seemed to direct this question towards Bobbi, who Jemma was sure they knew was the copilot.    
  
"All I know is the engine crapped out, I mean failed, during the flight. Something was wrong. There was an explosion, but I don't know if it was a plant or a malfunction, I'm just a pilot." Bobbi tried to be as vague as possible. She didn't know what the police were already suspecting but she didn't want to confirm or deny anything if she didn't know herself.    
  
"You say you crash landed on an island. Can you describe it for me?" He asked.

Skye made no outward sign of being nervous. In fact, she appeared as calm and relaxed as ever despite her internal nerves. This was a situation where she could rely on those default muscle memory tactics she'd spent years cultivating. She wasn't even worried about her own gun. She knew exactly what it's serial numbers would trace back to and it was on her filed declarations with her customs papers since she had been cleared to have it well in advance. The other guns were a different story, but Skye wasn't all that worried about them. She knew why they had to ask about them and merely nodded along in agreement as Jemma spoke.    
  
She looked at Bobbi as the detectives questioned the engine and then turned back to the detectives. She was tempted to tell them to bring her cell phone to her and she'd show them but then they'd have access to the rest of anything on her cell phone and she couldn't allow that. She also knew there were very well hidden compartments of her messenger bag, one that still held Myles' laptop hard drives and one that held the disposable camera Bobbi found and Jemma's journal, which Skye had been very careful to arrange and hide in the bag while the boat was docking, as a cautionary measure. The way they asked for an island description was either deceptive or ignorant and Skye couldn't quite read which it was right then. Either they had gone through all of their belongings and found Jemma's journal and read it and were pretending they hadn't, or they hadn't found it and were doofuses.    
  
"If you bring me my cell phone," Skye said. She kept her tone easy and nonchalant as she went on, "I can do you one better and show it to you," she wanted to watch their faces, check out their tells and gage their knowledge of this situation before she answered. They would have found the phone and it's solar charger on the boat but, outside of being able to play her music on there, they wouldn't have been able to access anything without complicated passwords and doubled up encryption. Anyone they threw at it in multiple agencies would have had trouble accessing it without at least a few weeks worth of cracking into each partitioned area of its hard drive and micro SD card.

"I also have a disposable camera with my things, the film has pictures of the island and its creatures." Jemma said, at least before she remembered that the picture Bobbi took of the two of them was very much still on it. The more she thought about it, actually, the more she wanted all of her specimens back. If they got into the hands of police or any scientists her discoveries could be stolen. It wasn't that she wanted fame, but she had nearly died getting those samples and so had everyone else, so they deserved the credit.    
  
"Speaking of, we want our possessions back in full, minus the weapons of course." Jemma demanded. The officers looked nervously between them and one opened his mouth to protest, but Jemma cut him off. "Unless you're investigating a crime that you think our possessions could be evidence to? Our things had nothing to do with the crash and you have no right to keep them from us." She was firm and the officers had nothing left to say but to agree. They clearly didn't have as much power as they thought they did. After all the shit the group of survivors had put up with for the past six months (or five years), a few ignorant police officers were nothing.

Skye actually felt her irritation rising the more she thought about...everything. she remembered the card Gonzales gave her and felt angry with herself that she hadn't thought to request his assistance in obtaining and protecting their belongings as she'd been too busy worrying over the living animals. "You know," Skye spoke up again. "This is absolute bullshit actually. They found us on a raft made out of bamboo with a bunch of prehistoric animals - where do you think we got any of that?" She demanded of the officers. "You don't think we pulled that shit out of our asses in the middle of the ocean...do you?" She felt the pull of her facial muscles as her frown started edging more toward a glower. It was irrational, she knew, to feel so angry about such a stupid thing but Skye felt offended that they wanted to know what the island they were on 'looked like,' as if that would tell anyone where it was located. It was absurd. "Return our belongings - all of them - within the next twelve hours or you'll hear from our lawyer, right after they take it to the media that you've stolen the belongings of and preyed on weakened survivors of a five year crash and stranding ordeal, who had no means of protecting themselves against unlawful search and seizure." It didn't come out sounding like a bluff because it wasn't. Skye knew one call to Gonzales would give her access to a lawyer that could make this happen just as quickly as she was threatening.

Bobbi and Raina's brows raised and they stared at Skye, dumbfounded, along with the police officers. Jemma, however, just had a small smirk on her face. That was Skye, the woman who told off anyone that even passively threatened them in any way, shape, or form.    
  
"Of... of course." The first officer stammered. He gave a jerk of his head to the other officer who quickly flipped the notebook shut and pocketed his pen. "That's all we have to ask of you at the moment, you're free to enjoy your visit with each other." He told them before joining his partner in hurriedly exiting the room.   
  
"That went well." Trip chuckled.

The more she thought about it, the more inappropriate Skye thought it was that they would question them while they were still all recovering. Maybe she would have felt differently if they'd sent actual detectives to their room individually to ask about the things they had found among the group's belongings. It would have been a violation of their privacy, obviously, but the way the cops had tried to lead them with questions as if they we completely clueless on both the information they had given the sailors and the evidence they'd had in their hands from the animals to the specimens and such. Skye relaxed when the cops left and then turned back to the group.    
  
"So," she said. "Where were we?" It wouldn't be the last questioning they received, Skye knew that, but she was going to make damn sure they received their belongings back.    
  
"How 'bout all those zeroes in that paperwork?" Raina arched her eyebrows, still stunned by the offer.    
  
"Clearly they think we stand to possibly get a lot more if we take them to the cleaners," Skye nodded.

“Zeroes? How much, a whole hundred dollars?” Ace asked, earning chuckles from everyone.

“A lot more than a hundred dollars, Ace.” Trip clapped a hand over his shoulder and laughed at his wide eyes. 

Jemma quickly glanced over at Skye and frowned, as if one look could tell her  _ but then we'd have to expose your organization, because the cause of the crash was the airline's negligence in letting terrorists on board with weapons and explosives _ . Skye was smart enough that Jemma was sure the thought would cross her mind.    
  
"I don't know if we should. A lawsuit could take years... I kind of want to put this behind me." Bobbi pointed out. She absently rubbed her hand over the bump at her midsection. "I don't want the beginning of his life to be filled with a lawsuit. Besides, if the crash never happened I probably never would have met Hunter and he wouldn't exist." Bobbi reasoned. Her own preference would be to take the money and start a new life. "It's a boy, by the way." She smiled.

Skye definitely caught the look. She understood the consequences but it was worth pointing out the facts she supposed. She gave Jemma the very slightest of nods to let her know in a single return glance that she was picking up Jemma's silent concerns.  She put her hands up in surrender. "Oh, no, I'm definitely in agreement about taking it, but not without having someone read through the terms first. Just as a precaution," her eyebrows jumped a bit when Bobbi said 'his life,' then confirmed the gender. Admittedly, her eyes glassed a bit.    
  
Skye pushed out of her chair and shuffled so she could lean over and hug Bobbi. She was so relieved that they made it back to civilization without Bobbi losing the baby,  but she wasn't sure how to tell her that,  so she opted for the hug, however awkward.

"Congratulations, Bobbi." Jemma smiled as Skye hugged Bobbi and Bobbi sighed into it, even though she looked quite uncomfortable reaching up to wrap her arms around Skye's shoulders.    
  
"I'm going to name him Lance." Bobbi informed them when Skye finally stepped away. Jemma reached out to help ease Skye back into the wheelchair even though she was sure Skye could do it on her own. They were weak, and now that she could compare them to other more healthy people, she could see how malnourished they really were.    
  
"Well then for Lance's and all of our sakes, let's google a firm or something." Raina grinned. They had all missed Google.    
  
_____________   
  
Jemma's eyes opened with a start and every muscle in her body was suddenly tight and unwilling to cooperate when her brain told it to settle down. A ghost pain throbbed in her face and between her legs and her skin was crawling where Skye's arm was slew over her waist, despite not having a single doubt about Skye's good intentions. Her breath was shaky and she rubbed at her eyes, trying to get the vision of Ward off the back of her eyelids. There was a distinct feeling of complete disgust sitting in the pit of her belly and she needed to wash it away, so she slipped out from underneath the blanket and padded over to the bathroom. She no longer needed all of the monitors, but she still had to disconnect her IV to get into the shower. It could be reinserted later, the frantic need to wash away what felt like Ward's touch took precedence.    
  
Jemma quietly closed the bathroom door before she flicked on the light and started jerking her clothes off (the doctors had let them change into sweats instead of a hospital gown) and left them in a messy pile on the floor. The tile was cold against her toes and she crossed her arms over her chest and shivered, squinting at her sickly reflection in the mirror. She was just starting to regain weight, but she could still see the outline of her ribs and hip bones, along with the scars. There was the one on her temple along with various white marks on her face, her newly healed scar line on top of her burn on her hand from the surgery, the circles around her wrist and ankle, the line down her calf, the bumpy scar tissue at her ear, and on top of it all, a layer of compy bites from her shoulders and chest down her abdomen and legs from the attack when she'd been swarmed and earned the name Pyro. She sighed and tremors ran down her spine. She turned around and craned her neck over her shoulder, ran her hand over some of the scarred gashes on her back that now matched Skye's. She could barely see her scoliosis scar. What had once been her most serious physical flaw was now nothing compared to the rest of her body.    
  
Jemma shuddered and stepped into the shower, turning on the water and gasping when the freezing cold liquid hit the back of her shoulders. She squirted an overwhelming amount of soap into her hands and scrubbed her whole body. A few sobs escaped her chest when she realized she couldn't get rid of the horrifying dirty feeling deep inside her from her nightmare about Ward. It hadn't even been made up, the assault had happened. She didn't know if it could even be considered rape, but it was something she and Skye had done while making love so her disgust and horror about it was valid, at least in her own opinion. Maybe if she hadn't helped Garrett the final bloodbath wouldn't have happened. But if it hadn't, they all would have died because their supplies would have run out sooner. But that led her to the thought that it was a good thing Will, May, Mack, and Hunter were killed and suddenly the dirty feeling was in her heart. She was selfishly so glad she had survived and that Skye had survived at the cost of everyone else and it became so overwhelming to her that her sobs increased in length and volume until she slid down the cold linoleum wall and curled into a ball in the tub, crying and shivering in the freezing water. 

Though she had shifted her weight and murmured in her sleep when the warmth and weight of Jemma beside her in bed disappeared, it was the sob that initially woke Skye up. Startled when she didn't see Jemma, Skye bolted up in bed, eyes darting along the room, groggy. Then she heard the shower and exhaled a sigh of relief. She rubbed the crust from her eyes and swung her sock clad feet over the side of the bed and pushed to stand up. Her joints cracked and popped in protest and Skye felt decades older than her real age.    
  
Just as she was heading toward the bathroom door, the sound of Jemma's sobs reached her ears. Skye's heart began to race. She rushed the rest of the way to the bathroom door, knuckled a sloppy knock on it just before swinging it open and rushing inside. "Jem, are you-," Skye skidded to a stop after pulling the shower curtain open to find Jemma sobbing on the floor of the shower. Her heart seized in her chest at the sight of the mass amount of soap bubbles and Jemma's red scrubbed skin. "Oh, Jemma," her eyes turned glassy as she quickly reached for the knob to turn the startlingly cold water off.    
  
Skye turned away only to grab a towel from the small cabinet in the room. She furled it open and held each corner to offer a barrier between them if Jemma needed it and because she knew she needed to warm Jemma up. She crouched down as close to the edge of the tub as possible. "Baby, I'm here...it’s..." Skye paused, cleared her throat and redirected. "Is it alright if I touch you?" She asked, barely managing to hold off on the desperate want to pull Jemma to her and protect her from whatever triggered this, though she had a few good guesses.

Jemma's breath hitched in her throat when Skye knocked and she tried to compose herself, but Skye got to the curtain and Jemma just started sobbing all over again. She was embarrassed, tired, and freezing cold to the point where her entire body quivered and her teeth chattered in between sobs. She sniffled and rubbed her hand under her nose and across her face, wiping away wet hair, tears, and water. Her eyes were red and stinging from getting soap in them during her frantic cleanup and she squinted against the bright bathroom lights and the pain. She wrapped her arms around her legs even tighter and inhaled a deep, shaky breath that was cut off by a cough. Skye's voice was enough to get through her cloudy thoughts and she nodded to Skye's request after glancing at the towel, desperately needing to get warmed up again.

Skye felt like she was being stabbed right through the heart, over and over again and again. "Okay," she nodded and reached for Jemma. First, she wrapped the oversized towel all the way around Jemma. "I'm just gonna get you out of the cold water okay?" She tried to make sure she told Jemma everything she was going to do before she did it. She scooped Jemma's balled up frame out of the tub, lifting her over the rim if it and into her own lap as she sat back on the floor. She leaned away to grab a second towel, wrapped her arms (loosely so as not to panic her) around Jemma and started to squeeze the water out of her hair with the extra towel.    
  
"Hey, I've got you, okay?" She spoke softly, trying her best to stay calm for Jemma as she patted the excess water away. "We're gonna get through this one together, you and me, Jem." she assured her. "We're gonna take control of the only thing we can right this moment,  okay? That's breathing. You have control over your breathing.  Long, slow, deep breaths,  with me okay? While we dry you off and warm up, ready? Okay, inhale," Skye took a deliberate, long, slow inhale of air through her nose, held it for a full second count. "Exhale," she said before slowly breathing out. "Another one," she tried to pace them to slow down Jemma's choppy breaths and hopefully, her heart rate with it.

Jemma did exactly as Skye said and followed each instruction until the shivering began to die down and her shallow breaths became deep and smooth. She closed her eyes and, once Skye finished trying to dry her hair, rested her cheek on Skye's collarbone. She was soft and warm and the physical manifestation of comfort, so Jemma leaned into her and began to relax. After a few moments she started to rub at her irritated eyes and sniffled against a slightly running nose, from all the crying or the cold she didn't know.    
  
Then, Jemma had the longing to run her hand over Rex's fur and Trudy's feathers and feel Buzz's tickling at her ear. Everything felt so wrong. Even though they had gotten their luggage back it wasn't everything. Jemma wanted out of the hospital and she wanted their animals back. She didn't care if she was underweight and susceptible to disease, she just wanted to go somewhere else. She didn't know to explain this desire to Skye, though, because she had no logical plan about where they could go or what they would do. They had a whole lifetime to prepare for, but it wouldn't be normal. One step out the door and the press would be all over them. The story, along with their scars, made it unlikely they'd ever live a life without constant looks. It was all overwhelming to think about, but at least it got her mind off of her previous hang up. It was, however, a good thing to acknowledge it. This wasn't her first nightmare in the months since it happened, but it was the first time she was calling it in her head what it was. Ward had raped her.    
  
"Did you..." Jemma started, choking up on her words. She had never talked about it with Skye. There hadn't been much time between Ward's violation and when Skye appeared on the scene, so she didn't know what anyone else knew. "That day on the beach, did you see?" She asked. It wasn't voluntary, but she felt shame thinking that her true lover- the woman she loved the most in the world- could have seen what Ward had done to her.

Skye knew before Jemma asked that this situation had been prompted by specific things. She had visceral memories of the desperate need to remove the skin crawling filth away without ever being able to fully clean it off. She set them rocking slightly and was careful to make her touch along Jemma's back light as she rested her chin on top of Jemma's head after Jemma curled into her. So Skye held on, trying to keep her grip supportive but loose enough to let Jemma know that she would let go at any moment if that's what Jemma wanted or needed. Skye couldn't put into words, even in her own mind, how angry and distressed sh felt knowing that Jemma had to deal with this kind of experience as she'd gone through years of recovering from sexual assault and rape in her past. She was supposed to have been there to protect Jemma and no matter how much she knew she had no control over what happened, what Ward and Garrett did, it still felt like another massive notch on the failure belt that weighed Skye down.    
  
"Yeah," Skye answered softly, trying her best to keep from letting her voice betray her. She reached up with the cuff of her sweatshirt and gently patted at the water and tears on Jemma's cheeks to dry them. She nodded reluctantly. "I saw," she confirmed as she ran her hand along Jemma's back, remembering the nightmares from while they were on the raft and how Jemma kept saying she tried not to let it get to her, what happened with Ward. "It's not your fault, what he did," she knew that Jemma knew this fact logically but Skye also knew how hard it was to stop the self blame game and how irrational that kind of thing could play out when it was stuck in your own head. "I'm sorry we couldn't get there before he..." Skye's own voice cut off there, choked up in her own vocal chords.

"It's nobody's fault but his." Jemma sniffled again and her arms left her own legs to wrap around Skye's torso and hold on for dear life. "I hope he's still alive." She added. If Skye could see her face she would be able to tell her eyes darkened and on an exhale, her face twisted into a frown. "Suffering." She finished. She hoped he was still stuck on that island knowing it was his own damn fault he would die there. Since it was practically hell, Jemma hoped he stayed there forever.    
  
"When do you think we can leave here?" Jemma asked softly. She pulled the towel tighter around her body and resumed holding onto Skye. She wanted to make a home and the hospital wasn't exactly what she had in mind. "I miss the animals."

Skye didn't have to see Jemma's face to know the kind of mood those words coming from Jemma's lips caused. Her own eyes darkened at the mere thought that Ward might be alive, even if it was on an island in the middle of hell. She wound her arms around Jemma, and leaned her chest in into her shoulder, fighting against the way her blood wanted to boil whenever she thought of all that Garrett, Ward and their cronies had done, both to them and to the entire group, to the people who hadn't made it because of them.    
  
She exhaled a controlled breath and leaned back to kiss Jemma's forehead. "I'm not sure," she answered honestly. "Why don't we get you into some clean clothes and back into bed, then we can see what we can find out?" Skye didn't have a home outside of wherever Jemma was, so she felt like she was dealing with being stuck in the hospital a little bit better than the others. She did, however, have the most trouble only being able to watch the animals on the computer screen since it made her heart ache.

"I have an apartment with Fitz." Jemma blurted. "Well, had. The rent's five years overdue." She didn't say it with sarcasm, but there was a bitterness in her voice because of what had happened to them. She hadn't even mentioned Fitz's name or given him too much thought since she first lost him. It had been too dangerous, they'd needed to focus on survival and not break down. But now, when Jemma realized Fitz's family was somewhere when they'd already had to accept his death, suddenly having to acknowledge it again and know that he wasn't one of the survivors and Jemma was. They deserved to know what happened, but Jemma also thought they deserved the kindness of a lie. "Can we look into it tomorrow?" Jemma asked Skye. She knew she'd be able to figure it out with her not so legal tech talents. As she looked out the tiny window, she started to realize it was actually today that they would be looking into things because the sun was already starting to come up. 

Skye arched her eyebrows slightly. She hadn’t known this about the two of them. She ran her hand along Jemma’s back and waited for Jemma to go on, not sure where, exactly, Jemma wanted to take this information. Skye nodded. “Yeah,” she nodded. “Course we can,” She was more than willing to do anything and everything necessary to help Jemma get whatever forms of closure she needed. “Let’s get changed and we’ll go see what we can find on the computer?” She combed her fingers gently through Jemma’s hair. 

"Ok." Jemma finally agreed. She was just about to scoot off of Skye's lap so she could get her other clean set of sweats when the bathroom door suddenly swung open again after a quick knock.    
  
"You two and your troublemaking!" The nurse (who had previously sported a limp) hurried over to them and fussily wrapped Jemma's towel around her chest while helping her stand up, and then proceeding to get the both of them back into bed. "How many times must I reinsert your IVs?" The nurse sighed and stuck her head out into the hallway to request the supplies. "You need the fluids."   
  
"Yes, Ma'am." Jemma tried to withhold a smile but failed when she had the opportunity to curl back into Skye on the bed once she was in clothes.

Skye’s muscles locked a moment when the intrusion happened. It took a few discreet deep breaths to recover. She ducked her head as the nurse scolded them, the tops of her ears turning a bit red. She made it into bed and subjected herself to the return of the IV line - whatever got them out of here as fast as possible. At least the other wiring wasn’t still hindering them from tucking into each other’s sides. Skye murmured an apology to the nurse as she wound an arm around Jemma and kissed the top of her head when she curled into her in bed again. She reached for the rolling tray with the laptop and pulled it over. She looked over at Jemma. “You know I love you, yeah?” She asked, just to make sure with the wild shifting in moods in a, relatively at least, short time span. 

"Any word on when we get to bust out of here?" Jemma asked the nurse, Hailey, who had become the hospital staff they trusted most. She never lied to them and never had that awful look of pity on her face. Just understanding. Jemma wondered what she had been through.    
  
"The doctors are saying they'd like to keep you until you gain a bit more weight." Hailey told them. "Which is why you should pause your cuddling for a moment and eat the breakfasts I've so kindly brought for you." She chuckled and retrieved the two trays from the table where she'd put them when she discovered the girls weren't in bed. "Oh, and Jemma, your mother called, she's coming to visit in a few hours."

Skye felt a bit anxious when Jemma bypassed her comment. She fell silent and just listened to them talking as she moved the computer to her lap to free up the rolling tray table for the food. She wasn’t feeling all that hungry at all, though she knew she had to eat the food lest the nurse, Jemma and probably Jemma’s parents scold her otherwise. “Thank you,” Skye had been nothing if not as nice as possible to this particular nurse after she’d limped about for a couple of days from Jemma’s wild ninja kick. Not that she had a real reason to not be nice to her. She was grateful since they needed the care after what they endured, but she also didn’t much feel like eating. It was odd, having such a feeling after spending so much time dreaming of eating all the food her stomach could stand while they were drifting at sea or on the island making do with what they could catch, kill or forage. 

Hailey's answer didn't ease Jemma's jitteriness and as she felt more and more awake and had more and more energy, she was antsy and suddenly, but not dramatically, pulled away from Skye under the pretense of eating and subconsciously scratched at her tingling, nearly raw skin. It was unusual that she was feeling so flushed and hot after freezing in the shower only a few moments ago. She had rubbed herself raw but she still felt uncomfortable in her own skin. The blankets were scratchy and the sheets were wrinkled, and all of her senses were on high alert. It was especially bad when she saw the headline "plane crash survivors doing well" on the television and lunged for the remote to turn it off so quickly she nearly yanked out her IV again and Hailey scolded her.    
  
"I'll leave you to it." Hailey finally left and gave them some privacy and Jemma could tell she was on the edge of their combined beds while Skye was still somewhat in the middle, but she couldn't bring herself to get any closer. With her mind all over the place, she was just now realizing that Skye had had to pull her out of the shower, naked and sobbing, and she didn't want to be that kind of pathetic burden on Skye, she didn't want to hinder Skye's mental healing process, but she didn't know how to handle her own nightmares and rapidly changing focuses. Something just felt wrong.

Jemma pulling away from her only served to heighten Skye’s concern. She shared a glance with Hailey to see if she noticed the behavioral change and when she looked back at Jemma she spotted the scratching. She reached toward Jemma, intending to stop the scratching gently as she said, “Hey, Jem, careful with the scratc-” but didn’t get to finish before Jemma was lunging for the television remote. 

Skye distractedly thanked Hailey as she left and then looked over at Jemma, watched her mannerisms and eyed up the distance between them. She recognized some of Jemma’s drastically varying behaviors from her own past reactions to situations and she knew how she was trying to handle those feelings in herself to keep an even keel but she struggled to figure out how to make it clear to Jemma that it was going to take time to adjust and move on from this and that it was okay to feel discombobulated if that’s how she felt. 

“Talk to me,” She spoke softly to Jemma. She reached her hand out but stopped short of touching her, worried that it might make Jemma pull further away and, instead, she turned her hand palm up and rested it in the space between them as an invitation that Jemma could take or leave. She really preferred to have the physical contact but she knew it might not be in the cards right now and she was trying her best not to take it personally. 

Jemma would be lying to herself if she pretended she didn't have an immediate reaction to Skye's forward movement. Her eyes jerked over to Skye's hand and focused on it very deeply for a moment, considering. She fidgeted with her hands, running her left thumb along the still slightly sore scar on her right palm. Eventually, she reached out and linked their pinkies, but when she decided to comply with Skye's request her hand pulled away so she could gesture as she spoke.   
  
"We're still on an island. Maybe not the same one, but we are. We're being fed and given water and care but we're just as isolated as we were in that hell." Jemma started her rant before she even knew she'd been thinking about it herself. "Yet I don't want to leave or be allowed to touch the rest of the world because everyone is going to want something from us. Stories about their families, what happened to us, how we escaped... stories we don't want to tell. But I don't want to stay here." Jemma shook her head and pushed her food away, rejecting it completely. Normally she scarfed everything down, but she wasn't in the mood.    
  
"I feel like living in a cabin in the middle of the woods and never having to talk to anyone but our friends... but that would basically be our island. I think I might miss it." Jemma's jaw clenched shut as the realization came to her through her uncontrolled rant. There it was. She was experiencing culture shock at its finest and after dealing with only the basics of survival she just wasn't prepared to reenter a complicated social world, but she also didn't want to stay trapped in the hospital feeling just like their animals in the zoo.    
  


Skye’s eyes unconsciously dropped to their hands, relieved for even the slight touch of their pinkies hooking before it was suddenly gone again. Skye very slowly inhaled a deep breath through her nose so it wouldn’t be noticeable, especially to Jemma in the state she was in just then. Her eyes sought out Jemma’s face, watching, observing, listening to everything Jemma said as she ranted. Her eyes dropped to the food tray when it got pushed away and she couldn’t hold off her frown at how quickly Jemma had gone from hungry for the meal to pushing the food away. 

Skye waited until she was sure Jemma was done for a moment with her speech. She didn’t dare move this time, not after the way the movement of her hand made Jemma jump before. “Jemma,” she said her full name and watched Jemma’s face carefully. “All of this...our stay in the hospital...the attention we’ll have to deal with for a bit until people get bored, it’s all temporary.” She said. “This isn’t our final destination. It’s just a stop over until we make ourselves a home...til we get to those rocking chairs,” She knew it wasn’t a perfect thing to present to Jemma, but, now that she didn’t have the focus of keeping them alive there, Skye had a lot more trouble with figuring out how to comfort another person. She could use her tried and true techniques on herself because she knew they worked, but what if they didn’t work for Jemma?  She wanted to pull Jemma in a hug so bad that she almost started getting distracted with fighting the urge. 

"It feels like we're stuck in purgatory." Jemma sighed. Skye's attempts to comfort her were only confirming her uncomfortable feelings about their situation. "If the island was hell and rocking chairs are heaven, we're stuck in bloody purgatory." She explained. She knew she was going off the rails a bit and needed to calm down, but even deep breaths weren't working. She could feel her blood boiling, her skin tingling, her brain buzzing... it was like she was about to implode both mentally and physically. This was it. She survived three months on an island and three on a tiny raft at sea, but the hospital was what was finally going to make her go stir crazy.   
  
Before Skye really had much of a chance to respond, Hailey came back in with a small tray with several syringes and small glass bottles. Jemma's eyes narrowed as she tried to read the labels but Hailey had one intentionally turned facing down.    
  
"What's that?" Jemma asked skeptically.   
  
"Vaccinations. It's been five years since you two have been immunized against anything and your immune systems are weak right now. You need vaccinations before you can return to the public." Hailey explained. She moved to Skye's side of the bed first, wiped her upper arm with alcohol, and gave her three quick injections. Jemma was a bit more hesitant but gave in (she had worked for the CDC, after all) but Hailey prepared another syringe after the third one.    
  
"What's that one?" She asked, but Hailey just pursed her lips and moved to Jemma's IV line. Jemma's eyes widened and she reached out to stop it, but Hailey gently smacked her hand away and pushed down on the plunger before Jemma could get riled up enough to stop her. In a matter of seconds Jemma's irritable expression started to dissipate and her entire body visibly relaxed.

Skye eyed up the needles warily, glancing from them, to Jemma and then back to Hailey. "Maybe now's not really the time-," too late, Hailey had already started injecting her. She flinched at the rest once mostly out of anxiety since it wasn't really painful.    
  
"What did you give her?" Skye was relieved that whatever it was seemed to calm Jemma down from the anxiety but she couldn't help but feel wary and concerned that the nurse came in, ignored their questions about the medication and gave it to them pretty much without any consent. The had to be some level of illegal, right? She had been preparing to ask Jemma if she wanted to go for a walk out into the garden area of the hospital - something they would have needed permission for of course, but something she thought might help with the anxiety of cabin fever and would have hopefully calmed her enough for them to talk more extensively rather than just numbing the nerve endings with mediation as if there wasn't an underlying problem to sort out. 

"Jem?" She was afraid to reach out for Jemma after the way she'd reacted last time.

"Just a mild sedative. She should stay awake." Hailey sighed. The care of the survivors was a very delicate dancing game and when she'd informed the doctor's of Jemma's strange behavior, during the night and day, they'd told her what to do. She was just a nurse, not a doctor, and she hated to betray the girls' trust, because she was starting to care for them, but she also had a job to do.    
  
"Huh?" Jemma asked lazily. She wasn't falling asleep, but she felt loopy and was aware it was the medication.    
  
"It's about time some of the hospital psychologists visit you. It's not just you, it's recommended for everyone who survived." Hailey informed them. 

Skye's heart monitor betrayed her outwardly calm appearance as s he looked back over at Jemma, a well of angry, frustrated tears glassing over her eyes without spilling over. "Maybe they should have bothered to actually come evaluate her before you doped her the fuck up," she ground out the minced words through a clenched jaw. Of course they had stress and anxiety!! They spent six months - or five years, whatever!! - every day just trying not to fucking die! There was a fallout from that, a reckoning they had to face and no amount of numbing was going to change that, just merely trap it beneath the ability to process it.

"I'm sorry, don't shoot the messenger." Hailey held her hands up in surrender before she grabbed the tray. "I just follow the chart."    
  
Jemma mumbled something incomprehensible and moved her leg under the blankets to brush against Skye's. The burning sensation underneath her skin was subsiding and she wouldn't say so, but she was grateful for the medication. It was easier than trying to talk it out.

Skye's eyes darkened and she ground her teeth tighter to bite her tongue against the outburst the wanted to escape. Control. Everything was about control. Skye was in control of herself. She purposefully forced herself to bite back her angry thoughts, though her hand did curl in on itself to create a tight, white knuckled fist, nails digging into her own palm. Jemma's leg brushing against hers was distracting but she was still afraid to make any moves to touch Jemma first without her permission. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Yeah?  Who's the one updating the doctor that hasn't been in to evaluate either of us since yesterday morning?" She asked Hailey pointedly. It was all fine and good that Jemma was calm now, but that medication was going to wear off and the issues they numbed would return. Where would Hailey or the doctor be then? Just arbitrarily ordering another shot?

"I don't diagnose or treat, I just told your doctors what happened, and what happened is that she had an episode last night and has been acting strangely. If you like, I can send in the psychiatrist. You can take it up with him." Hailey sighed. She didn't want to bicker with her patients and if Skye had a problem (Hailey didn't deny that there was one) she needed to bring it up with the ones who told her what to do.

"If the psychiatrist wants to know how she's acting, they should be here to witness it for themselves and evaluate it by speaking with her as part of their job." Skye said. "You can pretend to be ignorant and innocent all you want but let's call a spade a spade. They're diagnosing and adding medication to her chart that you're 'just following orders' on but you're the one giving him the information in the first place." She didn't care one bit if Hailey wanted to sigh and act like she was being unreasonable. The idea that the doctor would just diagnose that over the phone without speaking to either of them set her on edge. Sure, it might have been precipitated by some not so great experiences she'd had with those kind of doctors over the years in her past but this was Jemma's well being they were talking about and Hailey hadn't even taken Jemma's concerns into mind before injecting her with a sedative. What other things could have been in that needle? Or what could be in any other needle they inject Jemma with while she was in the sedated state? Skye would never know what the names of the medications were or what they were meant to treat. Skye wasn't willing to pretend this was okay and not advocate for Jemma's right to be given information on her medical treatment while they were here. Maybe she was out of line, but it was Jemma and Skye wasn't willing to risk, well anything.

"I'm not saying it's right because I'm not a doctor, but we've only got one psychiatrist right now and his goal with Jemma was to give her a mild sedative so she would be safe until he had the time to evaluate her, which is supposed to be later today." Hailey snapped back. Her eyes widened and she clearly hadn't been supposed to say that. "I wasn't supposed to tell you any of this because of doctor patient confidentiality, so do me a solid and be patient." Hailey tried to calm Skye down, but she didn't know if it was working.

It was entirely disorienting, the idea that there was something about Jemma that was supposed to be kept from Skye, after everything they had been through. After they'd stitched each other up, cauterized their wounds, been intimate, helped each other go to the bathroom for fucksake, after all that, there was stuff that was meant to be kept from her. A pit of dread had already been forming in her stomach but thinking about this fact seemed to solidify it. Her facial muscles remained taut and unsettled, her first still clamped into that tight fist. "Whatever makes you feel better about it I suppose," she muttered before she looked over at Jemma, also disoriented by how remarkably quiet her normally ramble-happy girlfriend was currently. Skye’s ultimate goal shifted to the nearsightedness of getting Jemma out of this hospital as soon as humanly possible. She slowly forced her fist to unfurl and reached out for Jemma, making sure her hand stayed within Jemma's sight so she could see it coming, while making sure to not move too quickly for fear of startling her, sedated or not.

Jemma reached out for Skye's hand in front of her as soon as she saw it and curled their fingers together. "You're soft." She mumbled, brushing her thumb over the back of Skye's hand. Hailey's face twisted with guilt and she hurried out of the room after giving them a quick reminder that Jemma's parents would be arriving soon.    
  
"I'm not completely drugged." Jemma sort of murmured a moment later. She was still conscious of her actions, it just felt like the medication was taking the edge off. It made her more comfortable and stopped all the thoughts about their future. "I'm alright." She closed her eyes and sighed.

Skye felt her own well of guilt for the way she spoke to Hailey, but, she was going through her own head space issues and she was far out of her league for knowing how to take care of Jemma and make this all right again, not that it had ever been right she supposed. She felt her own emotions welling and spiking as her chest tightened and her eyes began to glass over a bit. She squeezed Jemma’s hand and almost told her that she doubted she was 'soft.' "I love you," she told Jemma, sure of only that at this point in time of her existence. It was the only reason she was still alive, the only reason she'd made it off the island, and the only reason she held on so long, tooth and nail, at the end. She hadn't the words to properly confess that she had never lived before for another person, only for her own selfish survival or out of sheer spite. It had never been something she did out of love for another human being. It had never even been about love for herself. Her survival before the crash had merely been instinctual, or to spite someone of authority in her life. This was different. It was everything.   

"Love you too." Jemma whispered. She finally closed the distance between them by scooting over until their hips were touching. She brought Skye's hand up to her lips and kissed it, then brought their hands, still clasped together, to rest at her chest over her now calm heartbeat. "So much," she added for extra measure.

Skye squeezed her hand gently for a moment but eventually pulled her hand free so she could move her arm around Jemma. She leaned across Jemma to reach for the rolling tray she’d pushed away earlier and pulled it back over for her. She let go when it was over Jemma’s lap and pulled her own tray over. “Hungry?” she asked. She opened her own plate, relieved that they hadn’t been bringing her meat with her meals after that first one had sent her stomach roiling. Skye would force down the food she didn’t feel all that hungry for if it would help Jemma regain her appetite somehow. 

"Not really," Jemma made a body movement that was a combination of a shrug and a shake of her head. "Mouth's dry though." She twisted her body to reach for her already filled plastic water cup on the table next to the bed and drank it probably a bit too enthusiastically. She placed it back on the table and nuzzled into Skye's collar.   
  
"Thanks for sticking up for me." She sighed, showing that she was indeed aware of her surroundings even after the medication. "Good thing we have the animals or the psychiatrist would think we're even more bonkers." Jemma joked, but the implication that they were already a little crazy was there.

Skye set the plate down and pushed the trays back and out of their way after putting the laptop onto hers to get it out of the way. She pulled her fingers gently through Jemma’s hair and kissed the top of her head. “For whatever it’s worth, I would happily spend the rest of my life being bonkers with you,” she attempted a stupid little joke in turn. 

"It's worth a lot," Jemma pretend pouted at the thought that Skye didn't know how much something like that really meant to her coming from Skye, especially after everything. They were going to last.

________

Skye really hated this whole situation. For once, the psychiatrist wouldn’t speak with them together. Part of her could understand that. The other part felt overly protective and wary of being separated after the whole incident with the sedative. She gave the psychiatrist a lot of pushback while speaking to him. She didn’t lash out at him but she did express her irritation when warranted (which she thought was often). She flat out told him she didn’t trust his opinion after they spoke about the incident with Hailey and the sedatives. She admitted she had a bias against shrinks because of situations from her past, though she didn’t go into great detail. He brought up the fact that she kept asking nurses to keep the scars on her left arm wrapped up. Skye resisted telling him about the incident that caused those scars until he badgered and badgered and badgered her and  _ then _ she snapped at him, without shouting, and told him that a friend on the island gouged the flesh from her arms when spiders the size of army tanks fought over her and ripped her in half, while she unwrapped the gauze and thrust her forearm into his face and asked him if he wanted to count the long streaks of scars to see if they matched up with possible fingernail spacing. 

The psychiatrist wanted to put her on medication. Skye told him no, that she would sign any paperwork necessary but she was not taking medication she knew nothing about after barely a half an hour of talking with a doctor. She was an adult. She was in control of her faculties. She did not have the urge to hurt herself and she was in possession of a number of skills she’d practiced many years to exercise control when she felt like she was spinning off the rails. If, at a later date removed from this hospital stay, she felt like she needed continued help, she would seek it out from a therapist and go from there but she was not taking any medication this doctor was prescribing. Skye had survived many things in her life up until now and she could survive the fallout of the crash, the island and the raft.

Now, she was waiting for Jemma to return from her talk with the doctor and she was entirely anxious. Would they force medication on Jemma while Jemma was by herself and had no one advocating for her aside from herself? Would Jemma let them do that? Was medication necessary in order for Jemma to be able to sort out the fallout on an even keel? Was that a plan Skye could even get behind given her own reaction? Skye was up and pacing, pulling the IV pole with her so the thing didn’t pull out of her arm again, but she was pacing the room, jittery and worried and feeling entirely uncentered with Jemma’s absence. Was that going to be a problem once they were out of the hospital? Would Skye be able to get herself to a point where being in different rooms or places from Jemma when it was necessary was a thing she could handle without panicking? Skye frowned to herself and kept pacing. 

It was a little more than a half hour, closer to fifty minutes, when the door to the psychiatrist's office finally squeaked open and Jemma slipped out, pulling the IV pole with her (and honestly leaning on it a bit, her legs still weren't the strongest). Her face was a ghostly shade of white and her knuckles were tense against the cold metal of the IV. She looked up and caught Skye's eye while she was pacing, but she wasn't sure what to say.    
  
"And you're sure I can't change your mind?" The psychiatrist had a sad looking frown on his face before Jemma shook her head and slipped out of the room. He asked them if they needed assistance getting back to their room and Jemma shook her head to that too.    
  
He had asked her how she was feeling at the beginning of the session, which Jemma found quite annoying. It was a very scripted thing to ask but she had supposed she had to understand given that he was a doctor and not her friend. She'd told him she was fine and he'd quickly countered her by asking if she'd recovered from her episode the night before and its aftermath. After that Jemma had gone silent and he wasn't able to get another word out of her for another ten minutes. He was never able to pry the cause of her shower distress out of her, but Jemma had recognized a look in his eye the moment he asked what her relationship with Skye was like and she went on to ramble about how much she loved her. He'd asked her a lot of questions about her experiences on the island; some she answered and some that she didn't. Then he told her what he thought and they'd spent the rest of their session debating pros and cons before Jemma finally outright refused and got up to leave.   
  
"He wants me to take meds." Jemma rolled her eyes as she walked out into the middle of the empty waiting room lined with chairs. She gently grabbed at Skye's forearm and guided her over to the row of seats on their left so they could talk.

Skye could see that Jemma was distressed by her body language, from the look on her face, to the tight knuckles. She shuffled closer and wondered if reaching out for her would be a bad move. She wanted to make sure Jemma had enough support to walk and she wanted to have the connection between them too, but she didn’t want to exacerbate whatever issues talking with the doctor may have stirred up. 

Skye frowned as Jemma spoke and followed Jemma’s lead to the seats. “He tried the same with me,” She said. Her brow scrunched and furrowed as she struggled to properly recite the names of the medications the doctor suggested. “Said something about anxiety, mood stabilizers and lectured me about lashing out at people who were just doing their jobs,” She murmured with a frown and looked over at Jemma. “Did he suggest the same ones for you?” She asked. Was this just a pattern of fitting patients into boxes and making them pop pills to keep them under control rather than actually fixing a problem? Was she wrong for flat out turning the medication down? 

"So he tried to diagnose you with bipolar disorder too, huh?" Jemma asked. She was irritated with the information that the doctor was just trying to stick labels on them and sedate them to make them quiet while profiting off of all the costs of medication and treatment. It seemed especially likely for them since as their lawyer had told them, they were going to be rich.

Skye blinked and her eyes widened. “...no,” She shook her head. “He said I had PTSD and...I dunno some fancy flowery words to tell me I had anger issues,” As if she was somehow not supposed to have anger issues after everything that happened. Her words came out quiet though in the wake of Jemma’s comment. Was she going about this wrong? Was this something they should be paying attention to, the doctor’s diagnosis for Jemma’s condition? “I didn’t...I don’t know what the things he suggested for me would do to me and I,” She frowned. “I was afraid to trust him after the sedative thing,” She looked at Jemma. “Do...you think he might be right about any of it?” Jemma had more experience with the medical field stuff than Skye did. Maybe she wasn’t that kind of doctor, but she was a super genius and had tons of experience with disease/medical conditions, right? Skye wasn’t sure at all and because of it, her resolve began to unravel, worrying that her own distrust of the doctor because of his authority status in the the hospital would inadvertently derail their treatment or hinder Jemma getting help if it was what she needed. Without realizing it, her knee began bouncing with her anxiety the way it had in the terminal and on the plane while her fear of falling had been in extremely high gear. 

When Jemma saw the bouncing she immediately sought to rest her hand on Skye's thigh, not because she wanted to stop Skye's jitters, but because she wanted her to know they were valid and reasonable.    
  
"I don't think I have bipolar disorder." Jemma shook her head. But then again, how could she be sure? What if she was in denial? But she had never had issues before, she'd always been mentally stable as a child. Then again, the psychiatrist had made a point about the development of bipolar disorder existing as a common effect or reaction to trauma. "Do you think my mood swings dramatically or that I'm behaving strangely? He seems to think my nightmare last night was an 'episode'." Jemma used finger quotes as she said it. As weird as it was she trusted Skye to judge her mental health more than the doctor. Skye had known her before she was ill if that was the case.

Skye rested her hand on top of Jemma's. She chewed anxiously on the still peeling corner of her bottom lip as she considered this information. She searched Jemma's face as if trying to discern how Jemma would react to her answer.  "I don't...I don't think the nightmare was an 'episode,'" she said.  "But...what happened afterward," she cleared her throat. "I think maybe that could have been, because-," Skye didn't get to explain her reasoning for it, though.

"So you think it's a possibility." Jemma didn't ask it, she stated it. She could tell by the look in Skye's eye that even though she thought her own diagnosis was crap, she thought Jemma's might have some weight to it. Then again, Jemma hadn't been the one to have to pull her girlfriend out of a freezing shower after she'd scrubbed herself raw. It was more terrifying than Jemma initially realized to wonder if she was really in control of her own mind.    
  
"I'm not taking it." She shook her head. Medication wouldn't help her maintain a self aware version of herself. It would alter her brain chemistry and that wasn't something to kid around with.

Skye frowned. "I don't,  I don't think he was wrong with my diagnosis," she admitted. "...But I've had those issues long before the crash." She struggled to figure out what her stance fire this situation should be in light of her own refusals. "I don't...know anything at all about what he wants to put me on and until I do,  I can't make an informed decision on taking it so I'm not deciding until I'm out of this hospital.  Until then,  I'm struggling and relying on all the old tricks I've learned to get myself through and survive another day." She searched Jemma's face again. "Is whatever he wants to prescribe going to keep you calm but awake like the sedative did?  Or is it going to do other things?  Maybe it can be a stop gap until we're out of here and can get into a more structured therapy setting to....to retrain our brains?"  

"You think I should take it, don't you?" Jemma crossed her arms over her chest and couldn't help but get defensive. Needing medication meant that there was something wrong in her brain and that wasn't something Jemma exactly wanted to accept since her brain was her livelihood. She at least answered Skye's question though. Maybe she would change her mind. "Medication would stabilize my mood, which he thinks I need." Jemma scoffed. "What does he know, he's just a doctor. I have two PHDs in biochemistry!" She protested.

Skye's eyes dropped down to Jemma's arms as she crossed then defensively against Skye and frowned. Her brow creased further as she tried to think her way around the conversation to avoid a fight but then Jemma went from defensive to irritation to exclamations. "I..." Skye realized her hands had come up, arms bent at the elbows, palms out toward Jemma in surrender and tried not to frown even further. She closed her mouth and gave her brain a few more minutes to mull it over.    
  
Before she spoke again, she brought her eyes back up and kept them locked to Jemma's in the hopes that, if nothing else, she would see Skye's concern for her in them while she said what she knew she needed to say. "I think in the middle of this morning I pulled you, sobbing, out of an icy shower where you tried to scrub your skin off your muscles, a half hour after that you were perfectly fine and wanted to plan for getting out of the hospital, then twenty minutes later you wouldn't touch me and were nearly crawling out of your skin until Hailey gave you that sedative." Skye paused only long enough to breathe, though she tried to keep her voice as calm, even if tinged with concern, as she spoke evenly. "We've been through psychological hell, Jem...being a genius with multiple doctorates doesn't change that, yeah?" She wanted to sound convincing but she also knew she was out of her element. When she'd lived with the Brodys they had gone, together, to a family therapist that was okay and helped them with the transition and understanding each other. All of Skye's other experiences with shrinks of any kind were mostly forced on her and they has been awful experiences.    
  
Skye was trying her best to push thoughts of them out of the forefront of her mind to keep the old from tainting the new, but it was difficult. Growing up, she'd developed her own techniques to get her through the panic attacks and the nightmares and the fear and mood swings. Some of it unraveled during their time on the island, the raft and when she initially awoke in the hospital the first few times and some of it she managed to cobble back together because she knew she had to keep it together both for Jemma's sake, for the others and because she knew they wouldn't be released from the hospital otherwise. She didn't trust people easily (barring Jemma and maybe Bobbi), and hospital personnel were no exception, but fear was either controlled or it controlled you and Skye wanted to remain in control of herself.

"I-" Jemma started, gearing up to fire out a defensive response, but she had no logical explanation for what had happened early that morning. She had acted completely in the moment and honestly, she hadn't been in control and she wouldn't have been able to stop the situation without Skye's help. It was true that she had experienced a wide range of emotions that morning, but did it mean she was mentally ill and needed medication? The answer to that was what was uncertain.    
  
"Do you think I'm crazy?" Jemma asked quickly. Her arms unfolded and she reached for Skye's hand, gripping it tightly.

Skye's eyes widened and she simultaneously shook her head and squeezed Jemma's hand, used it to pull her closer. "No," she shook her head. "No, I absolutely don't think that at all," she brought her free hand up to rest along the side of Jemma's face, gently ran her thumb along her cheek. "I think we both need some rewiring after the life we've lived the last six months," she paused and tilted her head from side to side a few times. "Or, y'know, five years, same difference apparently..." this alone was enough to break her brain still. "I think that I love you, and you're hurting and I want to help you find a way to alleviate that together, so we're ready for...the rest of forever." But she did not, at all, think Jemma was crazy. There was a huge difference in 'crazy' and ill. Their bodies and minds had been destroyed by the shit they'd seen, they'd had to do, that they'd (in many cases barely) lived through. This was not crazy. This was starved, brutalized, beaten, violated and pushed to the absolute limits of endurance and mental fortitude. It was absolutely not 'crazy.'

Jemma nodded to Skye's words and leaned deeper into the cushioned chair as she mulled it over in her head. If she had what the doctor said she had and she didn't take the medication, she could continue feeling the frustration she'd been feeling for a while now. Trying the medication didn't mean she would be bound to it for life. If she didn't like it, she could stop.    
  
"I... I'll try it." Jemma's voice was quiet and unsure, but it grew in volume and confidence with her next words. "For rocking chairs." But there was still more in question, Jemma wasn’t the only one he had made a suggestion to. “Are you going to try it?” 

Skye recognized, a little too late, that while she’d been trying to convince Jemma she was talking herself into a bit of a corner. For the sake of trying to help Jemma, she’d insured that her own choice would be to trust the doctors, regardless of whether she actually trusted them or not, to prescribe medication for her that she didn’t want to take without looking into whatever they were. She was at a disadvantage there since she didn’t know what all the intricate names for medicines were, what they did or what side effects they might have. If she said no, now, then Jemma would second guess the decision she’d now made. 

Skye took a deep breath and glanced toward the doctor’s closed door. She looked over at Jemma and swallowed as many of her fears as she possibly could and nodded. “I will,” She nodded. “So long as you help me look up the stuff he wants me to take?” She hoped the underlying ‘talk me down from my anxiety and paranoia about it,’ was implied there since she’d already did her best to do the same for Jemma. 

"Of course." Jemma nodded. She probably already knew a lot of the effects of medications he could prescribe them. It was more about them being willing to try it and watch each other for negative effects.    
  
Jemma glanced back up at the psychiatrist's door and then to Skye. She did this a few more times before she realized that to get the medication, they were going to have to ask for it. It was different to take control and make a change happen than to simply accept when a doctor offered.    
  
"Together?" Jemma stood up, using the IV pole to pull herself to her feet, and held out her hand for Skye. Once Skye was up, she led them back to the thick wooden door and raised a fist, hesitated, and then knocked.


	29. And We Have Pizza

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warnings:** Flashbacks and nightmares to some of the more harrowing moments on the island, including some of the ones involving attempt rape as in this chapter. 
> 
> Sorry for the delay between chapters! RL gets between us!! :D  
> Sorry for typos, those are usually all mine, not Skimmonsfiction's!  
> As always, thanks for reading, for the kudos, comments and love! Thanks for sticking with us! Enjoy!  
> <3<3<3<3<3<3
> 
> ____________

They day finally came when they were being released from the hospital. Trip, Ace and Raina had all been released in the morning before the sun had come up. Their relatives or friends had either picked them up or came to escort them home. Bobbi, Skye and Jemma each had to wait for specific doctors to sign off on their release. Skye and Jemma's came mid-afternoon but Bobbi's was waiting for blood test results to return. Skye and Jemma visited her and the baby a last time with updated contact information for them for the apartment they'd be staying in with Jemma's parents for the time being.   
  
Afterward the returned to their room and changed into the clothes Jemma's parents brought for them - still just loose, soft, joggers, shirts, hooded sweatshirts, sock, new sneakers, etc. Faces were washed, hair was brushed, teeth as well. Skye turned of the laptop after a last check up on the animals and slipped it into her messenger bag, one of the few items returned to them at she'd kept close rather than sending back to the apartment with Jemma's parents. She wanted to walk out of the hospital, but hospital policy stated they had to be wheel out so she and Jemma each settled into a wheelchair, each pushed by an orderly with Jemma's mother walking along with them, chatting away with Hailey while Jemma's father had pulled their rental car around to the pick up area.  
  
Everything felt surreal for Skye. She was still mind boggled by the fact that they'd even made it back to civilization, let alone that they were finally being released from the hospital. Even with the prescribed (somewhat at Skye's insistence to the lowest dosage she could talk the doctor into) anxiety medication in her system, Skye still felt her hands wringing together in her lap and a slight extra flutter in her heartbeat the closer they came to the doors.  
  
As they drew closer, she realized there were groups of people milling about on the sidewalk outside of the hospital's glass door entrance. She frowned and glanced toward Jemma, arched her eyebrow to silently ask if she was doing alright.

When Jemma saw the crowd outside and the vans with varying news logos on the sides, her heart dropped into her stomach and her eyes widened. She reached across the gap between her and Skye's wheelchair and managed to snag her hand. The nurses wheeling them out slowed when they neared the exit, but without word to stop they decided to push on.   
  
The moment the doors opened Jemma regretted leaving the hospital at all. The sun's rays burned her eyes and lights were flashing in her face. Camera shutters were clicking from every direction and microphones were being shoved near their mouths, accompanied by reporters screaming over each other to have their questions about the crash, the island, and the dinosaurs answered. The nurses sped up to push through the crowd and Jemma's hand lost Skye's as they were separated by the journalists who filled every bit of space they physically could. Jemma brought her knees up to her chest, pulled her hood over her head, and promptly started sobbing from the stress of being surrounded and not being able to locate Skye.   
  
"Back it up!" An amplified voice boomed. A few police officers had stepped in when one of the reporters tried to grab Jemma's arm to get her attention and she'd shrieked. "Clear the area!" The policeman shouted through his megaphone. The ground around them finally started to clear with shuffling feet and the girls were quickly rolled to the back of a minivan Jemma's father was driving with her mother in the passenger seat. The automatic side door slid open and Jemma lunged for cover, sticking herself in between the middle row of seats and the back of the driver's seat, heaving and hyperventilating. The door finally slammed shut once Skye was inside and it was quiet.

Skye’s initial gut reaction was to clamp down on Jemma’s hand and brace for impact, so to speak. She squinted in the sunlight and tried not to panic when their hands were separated. She ignored the questions that were hurled their way. “Jem!” She called out to try and let Jemma know she was there. She didn’t bother pulling her hood up, instead she kept track of Jemma to make sure she was physically alright. She lunged for the reporter that grabbed at Jemma’s arm and twisted their wrist away from Jemma. She was more than relieved when the invasive crowd started to part thanks to the police orders. The moment Jemma dove into the van, Skye pushed herself out of the wheelchair and into the van. She manually pulled the sliding door shut behind her and slipped into the spot next to Jemma, speaking right away to let her hear her voice.

“Jem, hey, it’s okay,” Skye’s hands were shaking quite a bit as she reached out, trying her best not to startle Jemma too much as she reached out to wrap her arms around her. “They’re gone now. We’re okay.” she tried to assure Jemma as well as herself.

Jemma's breath was shaky but her muscles relaxed some when Skye touched her. In her mind's eye, as the crowd had surrounded her, she had been back on the beach, swarmed by compys, fighting for her life. Her scars burned and itched and she scratched at them absentmindedly before she came to and her glossy eyes started to return to normal.  
  
"I'm okay." Jemma shuddered and pulled herself out of the crack while her father put the van into drive after making sure Jemma was alright. "Are you okay?" She asked Skye.

Skye shook her head ‘no’ without thinking about it at the same time that she said, “Yeah,” as she was trying to put her focus on making sure Jemma was alright first. She was winded and her heart was still racing violently in her chest. Her hands had been doing their same low-level trembling since they’d been on the raft and bot, but after that episode they were trembling a lot more than usual. Her knee bounced as she settled into the seat next to Jemma and she put a shaky hand on top of it to try and stop it. “We’re okay,” She reminded them both, though she didn’t sound very certain of it. They were going to the zoo. They’d be able to see the animals and calm them down. She wondered if they thought Skye and Jemma had abandoned them. She frowned as she reached to Jemma’s hand to keep it from scratching at her scars.

Jemma sighed and tried to find another distraction for her hands when Skye diverted them from her scratching. She put one hand over Skye's on Skye's leg and flat out sat on her other hand to avoid doing anything detrimental to herself. At least she was conscious of it this time.   
  
"We're okay." Jemma repeated softly, though she wasn't sure who she was trying to convince. Her mother turned back and gave the two of them a hopeful look, like maybe seeing the animals would return them to a healthier state of mind and somehow fix everything. Jemma wasn't so sure.   
  
____________________   
  
Skye felt restless and anxious, despite the medication. They hadn't seen the animals in a long time other than on the camera. It was possible the animals thought they'd been abandoned by now.  How would that affect seeing them again?  From what she could see on the cameras,  human contact was next to nil for the animals since they were looking to avoid injury.   
  
She held tightly onto Jemma's hand as they walked through the back area of the zoo. She tried to pay attention to what the keeper that was leading them was saying but she strained her ears instead to listen for the sounds of Trudy, Rex or Ruby. She could only imagine that the turned in her chest she'd been feeling about the animals since they'd woken up without them was what it felt like to be a parent  forced to be away from their kids for whatever reason. She could only hope,  as the keeper began to unlock the gate to let them into the pen, that the animals would forgive them.

The pen's system was made up of an outer and an inner gate, so opening the first gate would allow them to step into the in between space and it could be closed behind them before the inner door was open and granted access to the enclosure. The keeper opened the first door after asking them one more time if they were sure they wanted to risk going inside. With a firm yes, the gate was opened and Jemma held Skye's hand while they walked into the entrance cage, her parents watching anxiously from behind. It wasn't until the keeper slid open the inner gate from outside of the entrance cage that Jemma froze. Straight in front of her was the most realistic jungle enclosure she'd ever seen in a zoo. It probably wasn't realistic at all in reality, but Jemma's brain happily filled in the gaps and she took a step backward, eyes wide and heart thudding so erratically in her chest that she thought her finally healed ribs might crack.

"Whoa," Skye murmured as she took in the surroundings. Her hand clenched around Jemma’s. She swallowed hard and looked over at Jemma. "Jem...it's not real.  It's just -," Skye never got to finish, because the animals,  alerted by the sound of entrance,  picked up their scents on the wind and gathered to investigate. Rex let out a wail, similar to the ones they'd watched him make on the computer. And then he rushed them. Skye let go if Jemma's hand just in time to open her arms as Rex raced to her and leapt into them.   
  
Skye staggered as she caught Rex, who was bigger than she remembered.  She chuckled as Rex licked her face and nuzzled heavily into her but list her balance and wound up on the ground under the loudly purring machine. Skye ruffled up his fur and hugged him back, unable to help it as tears spring suddenly from her eyes. "I know, I'm sorry. It's okay. I missed you too, go see mum," she scratched behind his ears before Rex hopped from Skye and circled Jemma, leaning into her,  purring and yowling loudly.  He popped up onto his hind legs to lick at her neck and face. Rex circled between them, so excited that he couldn't stay still or quiet.

"Rex," Jemma grinned. The saber toothed tiger's presence made her snap out of her small episode and when Rex got on his hind legs and put his paws on her shoulders (he was taller than her now) she hugged him tightly and buried her face into his furry chest. He tucked his head over Jemma's shoulders and she didn't even care that his long fangs rubbed up and down her back. He was gentle enough that it didn't matter.   
  
A squawk that couldn't have been Rex came next and Trudy came thundering onto the scene, Ruby at her heels and Buzz flying around her head. Thankfully the large netted enclosure had kept him inside. Buzz stayed true to his name and fluttered busily around both of their heads. Ruby circled Skye's feet, mostly looking for Ace, and Trudy gave Skye a gentle nudge with her head before practically screaming at Rex to get her turn with Jemma. Rex switched back to rubbing on Skye while Trudy continually head butted Jemma affectionately. Jemma's laughs soon filled the air and it was probably the happiest she'd been since they'd been sedated on the freighter.

Skye pulled Ruby into her lap. "He's not here, girl, but he's okay," she promised as she hugged the mini horse and patted her. She smiles at Trudy and pat her feathers. "You're a sight for sore eyes," she said before Trudy and Rex switched off. Rex laid across Skye's lower torso, begging for scratches between bouts of nuzzles and cuddles with Skye and Ruby. "Hey buddy," Skye greeted buzz, running a finger down his body when he landed on her shoulder and buzzed her ear with his wings.   
  
Skye felt herself laughing amid the tears in her eyes.  She heard Jemma laughing too. It was a bright spot in what had been a tense,  bleak few weeks. She reached up to clasp one of Jemma's hands, do relieved that the animals were okay and were happy to see them.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get you out of here soon.” Jemma promised them even if they couldn’t understand. The zoo was the safest place for them at the moment. Until they had their own home with a reinforced property perimeter the animals would have to stay at the zoo (away from the zoo’s visitors, of course.) “We’ll visit all the time.” She told them as Trudy squawked again and softly head-butted her.

"Yeah," Skye agreed as Ruby went from Skye's lap to go circle Jemma and Trudy. Rex more or less pinned Skye down so he could alternate by nuzzling her face, neck and shoulder, purring against her ear.  "As soon as we find a place that fits all of you and get the paperwork in order, you kids are still stuck with us," Skye cut in and ruffled up Rex's fur. She looked over at Jemma with a small smile,  hoping the good of this visit outweighed the bad in this situation.

“One big happy family, right?” Jemma laughed and smiled as she said it, but also still looked to Skye as if asking for some sort of confirmation. It would probably take a long time for her to get over the feeling of disbelief about her own life, but each reassurance would help.

The deal was pretty forthright and simple but Skye thought it worked well. When Jemma didn't believe (whatever that might pertain to in a given situation), Skye would believe for them both and vice versa. It wasn't always a perfect system but that's what relationships were, wasn't it; being the backbone of support for their partner. Skye managed to get Rex to leg he sit up and as she did so, she flashed what she hoped was both a reassuring and hopeful smile while she reached to slip her fingers along the inside of Jemma's forearm until they reached her fingers and entwined theirs together, Gave Jemma. 

"That's the plan," Skye said with confidence, which was saying something since all her previous attempts at building a family of some kind for herself had turned into disasters. Skye and Jemma had already weathered the disasters. It was time for them to reach the big happy family portion of their lives. "And we're sticking to it." She added as extra, firm assurance.

________

It took quite a bit of convincing after a few hours, and laying down to nap with the animals, to get Skye and Jemma to agree it was time to head out so they could settle in at the apartment they would be temporarily sharing with Jemma's parents until everything could get sorted and they could get properly on their feet. It took another hour of trying to reassure the animals that everything was okay and they would be back to see them as soon as possible. Eventually, they were back in the van, huddled together, silently wiping each other's tears and murmuring reassurances to each other.  
  
By the time they made it to the apartment, Skye felt like she'd run a marathon. She wasn't sure if this was because she hadn't built anywhere near up to her previous stamina, or if it was just so emotionally draining to be so helpless to take care of the animals that were, essentially, their family. It was likely both. Thankfully there were no photographers that Skye could seem she kept close to Jemma, keeping an a around her waist as they followed their way to the apartment and got a all tour of the place. It was luxurious compared to living on the island or raft, that was for sn sure.   
  
Skye was standing, leaning really, against the doorway of their own bathroom inside their bedroom, chewing lightly on her bottom lip and contemplating the merits of convincing Jemma into just soaking in the tub together for awhile. It would let them clean the lingering air of hospital off of them while also letting them regroup with each other in the wake of seeing and having to leave the kids behind.

Jemma was currently shuffling around the room, moving things from her bags to different places in the room. Her instincts were telling her to leave everything packed in case they needed to flee, but she was forcing herself to try to surround herself with her things to calm herself down. She moved her new very basic clothes (and the periodic table pajamas, which had survived) into one drawer in the dresser and left the other for Skye’s things. Book on the nightstand, journals and dinosaur artifacts under the bed, and picture frames on the dresser and walls. Her mother had had the photos on the disposable camera developed for her while she’d been in the hospital. The ones of the island and the creatures on it went under the bed with her journal and the ones of all her friends, those who had survived and those who hadn’t, where put on display so even if Jemma couldn’t be with them, they were all together somehow. They had all gotten phones and exchanged numbers, but communication had been light because everyone was overwhelmed settling in.   
  
The last thing Jemma found in her bag made her frown. She reached into the final pocket and when she grasped the last object and pulled it out, it clattered as pills rolled around inside the orange bottle. She headed in Skye’s direction and smiled shyly as she slipped past into the bathroom and put her medication in the drawer by the sink.

Skye had been thoroughly lost in her own thought spiral trying to process everything that had happened to them when Jemma slipped by her. Skye's attention instantly shifted to Jemma, affectionate gaze following Jemma's movements.   
  
"How are you feeling?" She asked it quietly and watched Jemma's face for any subtle changes during her answer.

“Simultaneously like I could win an eating contest and sleep for three days straight.” Jemma cracked the joke to get her thoughts off her embarrassment about the medication as she slid the drawer shut. The apartment was temporary but it still felt good to know all her things were unpacked. What was even stranger was that they could do whatever they wanted. They could go get food, they could take a nap, hell, they could go for a run or go see a movie. That kind of freedom existed for them now.

Without thinking about it, Skye absently scratched at the sleeve of over her forearm. Below was the gauze covered forearm filled with scars from the giant spider fight. Still, she smiled at Jemma's joke. "Pizza?" she smiled and arched her eyebrows, remembering their many conversations about what to eat for their first official meal home. "Thennnnn… Maybe a bubble bath?" she nodded toward the empty tub. She wanted to be clean from the hospital smell, but she knew Jemma might not go for submerged in water for any length of time still. There was always the standing shower instead, anyhow. Or, y'know, the bed. Distraction and fatigue to recuperate through rest. They could manage it together.

Jemma’s smile faltered a bit at the mention of a bubble bath, which brought back memories of drowning and of her episode in the hospital. She used to enjoy bubble baths though and it wasn’t something she wanted to be afraid of forever, so she was inclined to get over it.  
  
“That sounds lovely.” Jemma went back to smiling. She would have asked if Skye wanted them to go get it or if they wanted to order, but the apartment felt safer than the rest of the world so it was going to have to be delivery. As she grabbed her brand new iphone from her nightstand though, she realized she was actually going to have to talk to someone aside from their friends or hospital staff.   
  
“Let’s order online.” Jemma exhaled softly when she remembered that was an option. They’d still have to answer the door but it was less painful than having an extended phone call.

Skye followed Jemma back into the main part of their bedroom. "Good idea," she nodded. She grabbed her own iPhone but put it down next to her when she sat on the end of the bed in favor of reaching for Jemma. She caught Jemma lightly by the waist and pulled her closer. "One plain pizza or a bunch of plain pizzas?" She asked with a joking grin. "How hungry are you?" She ducked her head and kissed Jemma's sternum before sliding her arms around her middle. She hadn't quite gotten used go having electronics again, so her distractions tended to come in the form of physical contact of some kind with Jemma. She didn't know when Jemma's parents would return from shopping, either and there was no telling when they'd get real 'alone' time again next.

“Enough for leftovers so we don’t have to order it again.” Jemma suggested. They weren’t ready to go out into the world yet and just talking to the person who would deliver the pizza would be a challenge. It wasn’t healthy to stay in their little bubble for long, but a few days was warranted. She tapped the plus sign next to quantity and ordered three pizzas, enough for both of them to stuff themselves and share leftovers with her parents. She paid using her father’s credit card (he’d given her permission to use it) and showed Skye the confirmation screen and the estimated delivery time.   
  
As soon as Jemma put down the phone it began ringing, startling Jemma nearly into Skye’s lap. She picked it up with excitement though because only their friends knew her number. Despite this, an unknown number popped up. She exchanged a shrug with Skye before she picked it up. Maybe one of their friends had changed their number. The voice that greeted her was feminine and strange.   
  
“Hi, my name is Carol with USA Nightly News, we’d like to make you an offer for an interview-“   
  
“How did you get this number?” Jemma asked with slight anger in her tone and slipped away from Skye to pace around the room.   
  
“We’d like to offer you an all expenses paid trip to our studio and a four figure sum to appear live for an interview-“   
  
“We’re not interested.” Jemma said firmly.   
  
“Even if-“   
  
“The answer is no.” Jemma pulled the phone away from her ear, hung up, and tossed the thing onto her bed, curling her fingers into her hair.

Skye had reached to catch Jemma by the waist already planning to pull her down into her lap when Jemma was startled by the phone. She leaned in and managed to place a lazy kiss to Jemma's collarbone just before Jemma was suddenly out of her arms and pacing, agitated with the person on the phone who clearly was not one of their friends.  
  
It was all over before Skye even processed it, leaving Jemma looking rather frazzled. Skye fought between wanting to let out her own frustration and wanting to soothe Jemma's. "Hey," she spoke softly, moving to stand up. She reached out and hooked her arm around Jemma's waist again, pulled her over into her brace. She slipped her fingers along Jemma’s arm, over her wrist and attempted to free her fingers from her hair. "I have something I want to tell you," she said as she moved her hand along Jemma's back and tried to guide her head to her shoulder while she unconsciously sent them swaying ever so slightly from side to side.

“What?” Jemma asked on an exhale, just starting to calm down with Skye’s touch and breathing slightly faster than her normal rate. Her heart was pounding in her chest and there was a sick feeling in her stomach from the call that felt like a major violation of their privacy.

Skye kissed the top of Jemma’s head and said. "We have," she glanced at the clock on the nightstand, "43 minutes before the pizza gets here," she leaned back to look at Jemma and, with the most serious expression she possibly could, whispered as if it were a conspiracy, "You're so damn gorgeous, I love you and I wanna touch your butt," she barely managed it without cracking to grin but she managed it. She knew it was over the top silly, but wasn't that a bit of what they needed right now to balance everything else around them out?

Jemma couldn’t help the raucous laugh that exploded from her lungs at Skye’s not completely false joke. It made her grin and her smile, for once, reached her eyes, crinkling their corners some until she finally calmed down. Her hand left her hair and both of them met Skye’s waist and slid around to clasp together at the small of Skye’s back.   
  
“Then by all means,” Jemma said slyly, tilting her head up to kiss Skye and taking a few steps backward in the direction of the bed until her claves made contact.

Skye couldn’t help the stupid smile on her face when she saw the crinkly corners of Jemma’s eyes after that loud laugh. They had a lot to sort through, Skye knew that. She also knew that situations were temporary. They’d come out of it alright but when they were in the thick of it, there were going to be intense moments. Small pockets of levity were pretty much how they’d have to survive this and Skye knew that those pockets of time would grow larger and larger as they went. She’d just need to keep reminding Jemma of this whenever she could.

A content little hum escaped the back of her throat as they kissed as if to say, ‘don’t mind if I do,’ the pads of her fingers already slipping beneath the hemline of Jemma’s shirt and trailing across the expanse of skin just above where the waistband of her pants hung. When they hit the bed, Skye crawled right into bed with her, breaking contact with Jemma’s torso only so she could push her own unzipped sweat jacket off her shoulders and to the floor to get it out of the way. She brought their mouths back together as soon as the material was gone and leaned er weight mostly on her hand on either side of Jemma’s shoulders while she settled straddled across her hips.

“Eager now, are we?” Jemma giggled between kisses, but slid her hands down Skye’s sides to her waist anyway, hooking her thumbs on the waistline of her pants, just teasing. She lifted her head from the pillows to meet Skye’s mouth with equal fervor, nibbling at her bottom lip and swiping the tip of her tongue over the indents she left.

"Shamelessly so," Skye grinned against those kisses, absolutely eager. She helped Jemma out of her jacket before her hands pushed under the hem of her tshirt, sliding the material upward as the pads of her fingers traced against the outline of her torso. She broke their kiss only to breathe and in the wake of it kissed and nipped her way across Jemma's jaw, to the underside of it and to her neck.

Jemma inhaled sharply and tilted her head just enough to allow Skye easier access. She caught her own bottom lip between her teeth and closed her eyes while Skye kissed at her neck so she could just revel in the feeling of her attention and the soft skin beneath her fingertips. Her hands slid up from Skye’s waist and grazed her sides. Jemma was inexplicably happy that she could no longer feel Skye’s ribs poking out and her frame had a healthier, more solid feel.  
  
“I love you.” Jemma murmured.

Skye stilled, just for a second. She picked her head up just enough to gaze down at Jemma’s face, sure that even those words could do no justice whatsoever to truly explain to Jemma how intensely she felt them for her. They were the only words, at least available, though. “I love you more,” she grinned and kissed the corner of Jemma’s mouth before she made a trail down the center of her chest, slowing only when she’d made it just below the pushed up hem of her shirt. She shifted her weight on her knees, inching  bit lower than Jemma’s hips on the bed. As her lips left a slow trail of kisses, licks and nips down her torso, Skye’s traced paths north under the material of the cotton tshirt, fingers and palms pressing and drawing, mapping out the mounded topography of her chest. They were safe. They weren’t quite ‘healthy’ physically but they were getting there quicker every day, and there was nothing stopping them from making it to their overall end goal of that set of rocking chairs on their future back porch. Skye would happily lose herself freely in this moment, more freely perhaps than she had at the waterfall that first time.

Jemma laughed at Skye’s response, but she didn’t think Skye could possibly love her more than Jemma loved Skye, so she decided it must be a draw. She brought one hand up to Skye’s face and brushed her thumb over her cheekbone, which also wasn’t as pronounced as it had been near the end of their time on the island and at sea. Her hands wandered, grazed down her arms and then lightly progressed back up her stomach, and then around to unhook her bra. She sat up some to distract Skye with more kisses and only had them part when she pulled Skye’s shirt over her head.

Skye pulled her hands free from the shirt as quickly as she could. They came back as soon as they were free from both her shirt sleeves and bra straps and framed Jemma’s face along her jaw and brought their mouths together again for a few more kisses, but had to break away again, this time to get Jemma’s shirt out of the way since they were both sitting up mostly. Her fingers traced around Jemma’s sides, fingers reached the clasp of her bra and made short work of unhooking it. She traced light patterns along the back of her shoulders and along her arms as she pulled the straps off her shoulders and pulled the material free before blindly dropping it behind her to the floor.

Jemma took the brief moment that they were separated to observe Skye’s nude upper body. She was riddled with scars, just like Jemma was herself, but now that she was getting healthier and they actually stood a chance at forever, Jemma thought she was breathtaking.   
  
“You’re so beautiful,” Jemma whispered into Skye’s mouth when they reconnected. She explored the expanse of Skye’s chest and torso with her hands, stopping to rub and squeeze where she knew Skye would like, and continuing down to the waistline of Skye’s pants, the boundary past which Jemma’s fingers just barely slipped to test and tease.

Those words had been said to Skye before and she was sure some of them in earnest but she was also sure she never believed them until Jemma said them. Her hips shifted and she moved so they were lying next to each other. She pressed and leaned into every touch and kissed Jemma as fervently as if it was the last thing she was ever going to do in this life. If she was honest with herself, that was kind of the plan anyhow. "Got that backwards, Doc," she barely managed to murmur it between short breaks for air. "You are."   
  
Her own hands were tracing their way around Jemma’s torso, attempting to stroke claim over every millimeter of her skin, scarred, unscarred, freckled and unblemished alike. Her as circle around Jemma's waist and her hands had just pushed past the waistband of Jemma's pants, palms coming to rest around the curves of her rear when she felt Jemma's fingers dip below the front of her pants.  The muscle under Jemma's fingers jumped as Skye inhaled a gasp and, as her own hips rolled go press herself closer to Jemma's touch, her grip on Jemma reflexively tightened and pulled her closer. “You like that, huh?” Jemma teased and slid her fingers further to touch and feel between Skye’s legs, sliding her fingers back and forth between wet folds to make her even more eager while she also closed her eyes and inhaled sharply because of the placement of Skye’s hands. All she could think about was how good it had been last time they had done this and she was convinced that they could top it. They were in a real bed this time after all.

Skye's brain went on a temporary short circuit. Her forehead came to rest against Jemma's jaw and an unfiltered moan escaped her throat as her lips hung suspended over Jemma's neck. Her hips rolled again, eager to shift against Jemma's touch. It was entire possible her racing heart would explode any moment, but really, what a way to go? Her teeth dragged against the underside of Jemma's jaw, tongue and lips following in their wake before she nibbled at her ear. "I surrender," she murmured against her ear. There were certain things Skye couldn't relinquish complete control over and, even at the waterfall she'd needed to hold onto some semblance of control over the situation, however minute it might have been. She didn't need that now, not with Jemma and she needed Jemma to know it too. The fingers of one of her hands traced up to the back of her hip, fingers pressing in to hold on whenever Jemma's fingers hit particularly sensitive areas that made her hips rock out of her own control. She made a slow trail kissing her way down Jemma's neck toward her collarbone on a purposeful path.

“Do you now?” Jemma continued her teasing and made sure to make Skye’s pleasure as drawn out as possible, because she deserved nothing less. She waited until Skye elicited plenty of heavy exhales against her neck before she finally gave Skye what she wanted and slowly inserted a single digit into her core and curled it slightly, waiting for Skye to adjust.  
  
“How’s that?” Jemma asked quietly, using her free hand to cradle the back of Skye’s head and pull her back up to Jemma’s face so she could meet her with a kiss.

"Fuck! - I love you," the gasped words were swallowed up by that kiss. Skye felt the heat as it coursed through her from her core out to every nerve ending she had. Her muscles pulled against Jemma's finger as her hips shifted, ever wanting more. She rolled them slightly until Jemma was mostly on her back, sunk further against the intimate touch, their legs tangled up in a bit of a mess. Skye's fingers didn't stay idle. Her hand left her rear and pressed into the small of Jemma's back. The other stayed below the waistband of Jemma's pants. She turned her palm down, curled her fingers through the patch of silky hair just before her intended destination at Jemma's center. She slipped her fingers over the wet folds from top to bottom and kept going, cupped her hand over Jemma's core and pressed the heel of her hand against her in time with Jemma's fingers moving against her.

Jemma didn’t even realize it was happening until it was too late. She enjoyed it for a split second, just enough for her to press her head back into the pillows and close her eyes... and then she saw Ward’s face. Her blood ran cold, her stomach churned, and suddenly her heart was hammering in a way that wasn’t good. There were only a few signs before Jemma fell apart and they were hardly enough for Skye to tell anything was wrong. A small whimper escaped Jemma’s lips, indistinguishable from a sound that could have been interpreted as pleasure. She shifted uncomfortably and tried to open her eyes to rationalize with herself and see that it was Skye, but when she opened them she saw a clear sky, the gritty feeling of sand assaulted her senses, and for a brief moment she could smell Ward. She panicked. Her hands immediately stopped what they were doing and with wide eyes she shoved at Skye’s shoulders and started thrashing underneath her, trying to break contact and making upset noises the whole way.

Skye hasn't picked up on any of those initial clues, she'd been much too lost in the moment to realize what was happening at least until Jemma was suddenly shoving her and thrashing about while crying out. Skye fell to the mattress next to Jemma, her eyes widening as her brain struggled to shift gears and catch up to what was happening. "Jem-?," a particularly well swung elbow caught Skye directly in the mouth and sent her falling back again, hand to her mouth as she felt where her lip split from being smashed into her teeth. She wiped it roughly with the back of her hand then quickly scrambled to her knees next to Jemma.   
  
"Jems, Jemma!" Skye caught one of Jemma's wrist when she swung again, only to avoid being hit, she held it ad loosely as she could. "Hey, Jem, Jemma, hey, it's me, it's Skye! You're okay, you’re safe-," she reached for the sides of Jemma's face to try and still her head in an effort to get Jemma to look at her. Lust was replaced on Skye's face with concern and guilt.

“No!” Jemma shouted and clawed at Skye’s hands on her face, trying to break the contact between her and her illusion of Ward. Even if she knew somehow that it was Skye, she had that feeling of self loathing and disgust in the pit of her stomach that wouldn’t let her look Skye in the eye. So she continued struggling and scrambling away, rumpling up the sheets in her wake until she finally fell backward off the side of the bed with a thump, hit her head on the wooden floor, and started sobbing.

Even though she was reluctant to do so, Skye let go of her when Jemma's nails sunk into her hands. "Jemma, I'm sorry. Jem, it's okay, we're not on the island-," she tried to lunge for Jemma but couldn't reach her before she fell out of bed. Skye scrambled quickly to get out of the bed. She quickly reached back and grabbed the covers from the bed. Slowly, she inched toward Jemma, her own eyes brimming with tears at the way Jemma was sobbing. She crouched down and held dropped the covers over Jemma, covering as much as she could without covering her head.   
  
Skye wanted to reach out and touch her so badly she almost couldn't stand it. "I'm sorry," she sniffled quickly. She should have known better. They were both still healing over many things and Skye should have definitely known better than to let everything progress the way it had. So Skye knelt on the floor a few feet away, sitting back on her heels. "Please open your eyes, Jem, it's just me...they're gone, we're safe..." Skye's hands rested on her own thighs, nails digging into her skin through the material of her pants from trying so hard to refrain from reaching out to touch Jemma.

Jemma clutched the material to her chest as soon as she felt it and her entire body started up a bout of quivering that she couldn’t stop nor contain. She rubbed the back of her head with her free hand and slowly, over the course of a few minutes, began to slow her breathing, though she kept her eyes shut because she didn’t want to open them to find that their escape had been a dream. She laid back on the floor and laid the hand that wasn’t holding the blankets against her eyes.   
  
“I can’t-“ Jemma started, but she didn’t have the words to finish. Can’t what? Rationalize with herself, calm herself down, move past what happened on the island, be intimate with Skye, go a day without having or getting near a panic attack? She couldn’t do any of it. “I’m sorry.”

Skye picked her hand up from her leg and started to reach for Jemma but caught herself and stopped.  Ali she wanted to do  was gather Jemma up in her arms and hold onto her,  calm her down, assure her they were safe, that it was all over. "It's  okay," she assured. Skye moved to lay down in front of Jemma so that whenever she did open her eyes, the first thing she'd see would be Skye. "We'll stay right here until you can," she said. She wiped her own eyes quickly and very softly asked. "Is it okay if I touch you?" She asked. "Just your hand?" Surely Jemma would recognize her touch and  realize it was her and not Ward or Garrett or anyone else on the island.

Jemma crossed her legs and locked her joints underneath the blankets to give herself a feeling of security. She took a deep breath and nodded to Skye’s request, moving her hand from her eyes to rest on the floor palm facing up.

Skye wanted to tuck the blankets as tightly around Jemma as possible if it would make her feel more secure. She nodded then realized Jemma's eyes were still closed. "Okay," she said, moving slowly so as not to further spook her. She slipped her hand into Jemma's but didn't hold on too tightly, kept her grip loose, ran her thumb gently or Jemma's knuckles. "I'm sorry, Jem," she apologized, her voice choked a bit with emotion. She should have known better, given everything that happened. Anything could set then off and this...this was a major trigger for Jemma and Skye hadn't used her brain at all.

“It’s not your fault.” Jemma said just loud enough for Skye to hear her. She gave Skye’s hand a small squeeze and after a moment, she finally turned her head and opened her eyes. It was blurry at first, but the first thing she registered was that there was red on Skye’s face and when it came into focus she gasped.  
  
“You’re bleeding!” She exclaimed. She rolled onto her side so she was facing Skye and reached out to wipe away some of the blood on her lip and cheek. Tears welled in her eyes and she wondered how many times now she had accidentally inflicted wounds on Skye. “I’m so sorry.”

Skye blinked, having already forgotten about the cut lip.that half of her face flinched when Jemma touched it. Ah shook her head. "No, no, no," she shook her head and, still moving slowly to avoid startling her, Skye reached to tuck her hair out of her face. "It was just an accident," she assured. "I love you. We're okay," she motioned around them, worried that lingering on touching Jemma anywhere but her hand might set her off further. "We're  safe. Pizza will be here in a little while," she forced a severely tiny smile and blinked away the tears trying to well in her eyes. "Can we move you back to the bed?" She figured that would be plan one. Plan two would be to get them both back into their clothes, Jemma especially, back into her layers of protection.

“Pizza.” Jemma sighed and nodded. Pizza was normal, she could handle that. At least she hoped. They’d been looking forward to pizza for so long and Jemma wasn’t going it ruin it with an episode, so she forced a smile and hoped it would feel real soon enough. Fake it till you make it was a saying for a reason, wasn’t it?   
  
“Thank you. I love you too.” Jemma made sure not to forget to say it. Skye had been so good about taking care of her no matter what the cost, on island, boat, and land, so Jemma needed to make sure Skye knew how grateful she was and how much she loved her. “I can handle getting up.” She confirmed. Her tshirt was close enough to grab and pull on and Jemma crawled back into bed and laid down on her side with a sigh.

Otherwise preoccupied with doing whatever little bit she could to make sure Jemma was alright, it wasn't until Jemma grabbed her shirt and crawled back into bed that Skye was able to consciously (and uncomfortably) registered the painful throbbing that ached between her legs from the sudden way they'd stopped earlier. She took slow breaths in her nose and put her mouth as discreetly ax she possibly could to avoid letting on about the discomfort. She pulled her tshirt and sweatjacket back on, zipped it quickly and grabbed the covers to bring them back to the bed. After she draped them over Jemma, she went around and crawled on on the other side, leaving just a small gap between them so she could let Jemma decide when she felt comfortable enough to bridge the distance.   
  
Skye buried a hand under the pillow beneath her head. The other she reached out with to test the waters, gently running her knuckles along the curve of Jemma's face before she lightly combed her finger through her hair. Touching Jemma and lying in bed with her did nothing to quell the ache in her core but she knew disappearing into the bathroom for a sudden cold shower wouldn't fly so she just had to deal with it. There were worse lots in life, that was for damn sure. "I'm sorry I scared you, I wasn't thinking about what I was doing-,"

“Neither was I.” Jemma cut her off. She didn’t want Skye to feel the guilt that was so evident on her face. Skye was capable of shouldering an immense amount of guilt, but Skye hadn’t been the one to rape her, so she didn’t deserve one bit of it. It wasn’t Skye’s fault just as much as it wasn’t Jemma’s fault. “If I didn’t know my limits there was no way you could.” She added.

Skye pressed her lips together and listened when Jemma cut in.  She nodded and tried her best to wipe the guilt from he face, though she wasn't sure how successful she was at it.  She wanted to apologize again for not getting to the beach in time to prevent it from ever happening in the first place.  The hardest part of letting it go was that Skye knew exactly what Jemma was going through.  They experienced it from different scenarios but Skye knew the fallout well and it killed her to know Jemma was going through this.   
  
"I know what it's like," she hesitated and cleared her throat.  "How it feels to be pulled back into that moment..." she dropped her eyes away and shuddered,  unconsciously shifted closer to Jemma though she managed to keep the small bit of space between them. She brought her eyes back to Jemma's. The big difference, besides the circumstances behind each event's causes, was that Skye had to survive it on her own. She wound never let Jemma experience that kind of hell on top of what she was already burdened with.   
  
"I just want you to know that I love you.  Without condition.  No matter what happens,  whatever we struggle our way through,  whatever it takes, I will never leave you.  There will never be a day, an hour, a single moment where  I don't love you,  and you will never have to shoulder anything, no matter what it is, alone." Skye resisted the urge to  wrap her arms around Jemma and pull her in close since she was still waiting on Jemma to feel comfortable with it.

“Isn’t it strange,” Jemma started, barely a whisper coming from her lips as she said it with tears in her eyes. “That the best thing in my life can appear during the most unspeakably horrific experience?” She finished. She loved Skye with her mind, body, and soul, but this was the closest she could come to expressing it. “I didn’t believe in soulmates before you.” She murmured, finally closing the space between them and tucking her face into Skye’s shoulder.

Skye hasn't realize she was avidly holding her breath until Jemma curled into her and she'd exhaled that long breath of relief and wrapped her arms around Jemma. She kissed the side of her head. "I never knew there was a reason I kept fighting to survive all those years," she murmured, "now I know it was so I could find you." It really was extraordinary,  out of an entire world full of billions of people,  that they could find each other and then survive the crash,  the island and the boat together. It was much more than simple luck.  It was fate. They were meant for each other. The universe brought them together.

“I think the first purchase we make with the airline’s money should be a set of rocking chairs.” Jemma smiled, this time genuinely. She draped an arm over Skye’s waist and sighed into her shoulder, snuggling closer into her warmth and holding her tightly. Just when she felt comfortable, there was a knock on the apartment door that made her flinch.

Skye grinned, but before she could say anything,  that knock at the door arrived. Her stomach growled angrily.  She lifted her head to look over at the clock and confirmed with a sigh, "pizza." She kissed the side of Jemma's head a couple of times.  "I'll get it," she disentangle herself from Jemma and climbed from the bed.  Quickly combing her fingers through her hair, she headed out of the bedroom and to the front door. She checked the peephole first to make sure it was just the  pizza person before she pulled the door open. "Hey," she greeted with a small nod.

It was a boy probably in his late teens that was at the door and before he looked up he started his spiel to reading the order and the name the delivery was for but when he looked up there was a look of recognition in his eyes and about his face and he halted his routine of handing over the pizza.  
  
“You’re one of the survivors from the plane crash.” He said, dumbfounded. He must have seen their faces in pictures on the news or found out their names or faces in some other way, but however he recognized her, he did, and his interest immediately changed from finishing his delivery to questioning Skye. “I heard on the news you found dinosaurs, is that true?” He started asking a barrage of questions without even giving Skye time to answer. It was a completely naive, sightless boy and he held no reserve for what was a very sensitive topic. “How did you survive the crash and all that time? What dinosaurs did you see? Did they kill anyone?!”

Having spent most of her life flying under the radar,  Skye was wholly unprepared for a person to recognize her and then to throw a barrage of questions at her excitedly. "Uh...w-well, um..." she didn't know what to say and on top of it, asking about whether the dinosaurs killed anyone or not sent her specifically back to the cliff top and the pterosaur nests. In her mind's eye she saw Fitz's terrified face just before she shot him to put him or of his misery. She swallowed hard but couldn't find her voice.  Her eyes were wide and she was completely frozen  as her mind was whisked back to those moments on the island.

Jemma had her ears tuned in to the sounds coming from the door to make sure Skye was safe out of pure instinct at this point and she didn’t like when what was supposed to me a short exchange between two strangers started to make Skye uneasy, and Jemma couldn’t blame her. She got up out of bed with a bout of bravery she hadn’t had earlier and nearly stormed over to the door.  
  
“Yes, we encountered dinosaurs. It’s interesting, I know, but a lot of our friends have died in horrific ways and it’s incredibly impolite to question us about it without invitation.” Jemma lectured him, stopping his accidental verbal assault short. “Thanks for the pizza.” Jemma reached out, took the boxes (tried to keep a straight face when she caught a whiff of it) and closed the door in the teen’s face.   
  
“Are you okay?” Jemma quickly shuffled to the kitchen, put the pizzas on the counter, and came back to hug Skye from behind, wrapping her arms around her waist, clasping them at her stomach, and resting her chin on Skye’s shoulder.

The teen's eyes widened when he realized not one but two of the survivors were standing in front of him. As soon as Jemma took the pizza boxes, the kid fumbled for his phone and tried to snap a few photos as Jemma shut the door in his face.   
  
Skye was still stuck in place, unable to get the image of Fitz's death from behind her eyes, of Coulson's death as the compys got him, of Mace and Quinn, Donnie, all those she had killed herself out of necessity, of that night in the jungle when they couldn't find Jemma and only found monsters and blood trails. Her muscles stiffened when Jemma touched her she didn't pull away. Instead her arms reflexively rested along Jemma’s at her waist. Skye intended to nod but she was still lost in her own head so she wound up shaking her head no. She tried to blink away the tears in her eyes to clear them and pull herself together but it just sent a few stray sliding down her cheeks.

“It’s okay, come here,” Jemma reached up and wiped away a stray tear on Skye’s cheek before gently tugging and leading her over to the couch, where she sat her down and then sat next to her, resting her hand on her thigh and her head on her shoulder.  “What do you need?” She asked.

Skye let Jemma lead her to the couch. She pulled herself together just enough to quickly wipe her wet cheeks off ansc take a deep breath. "Nothing," she shook her head. "It's okay. I'm okay," she murmured as if saying it would make it true. "W-we should eat before it gets cold." She was not going to ruin the one meal Jemma spent all that time on the island and the boat and even the hospital, thinking about. Nope. "I'm okay," she repeated as she settled a hand on top of Jemma's on her thigh. "I'm okay." If she said it enough, it would eventually be true.

Jemma rubbed her hand up and down Skye’s thigh some and gave her a comforting squeeze to finish.   
  
“We’re okay.” Jemma agreed and promised her. There were a lot of things that still upset them, the last hour was proof of that, but at least they were safe, and Jemma voiced this to Skye. “We’re safe. And we have pizza.” She giggled and gave Skye’s cheek a wet kiss to try and cheer her up.

The corners of Skye's mouth turned up just a tiny bit after Jemma giggled and kissed her cheek. She slowly exhaled a deep breath and nodded, trying her best to pretend her pulse wasn't racing with anxiety or that her hands weren't going to be stuck in their seemingly permanent tremor the moment she let go of Jemma's hand or older own lap. "Let's go eat," she forced a small smile that couldn't reach her eyes even though she tried. She sniffled quickly as they gathered themselves and stood up to head for the small kitchen. Without looking at them, Skye clenched and released at her sides as she tried to steady the nerve-related tremor in her hands that had started back on the island and, though it varied in degree depending on her anxiety and stress levels, it never seemed to leave completely.

“C’mon.” Jemma grabbed for Skye’s hand and tugged her back toward the counter, not even bothering to get plates before she flipped open the lid on the top box of cheese pizza, releasing a strong aroma that Jemma never thought could induce the kind of excitement that it did in that moment.   
  
“Oh,” Jemma sighed and inhaled deeply through her nose, just enjoying the smell of it for a moment before they ate it. “Dig in?” She smiled and looked to Skye.

Skye stomach growled angrily when the box opened and that scent hit her. She smiled, mostly because of Jemma’s reaction to the pizza. There were so many times she had promised Jemma that they would get to this moment, and so many times she had to force herself to believe it so that Jemma would believe her. Now it was here and Skye was almost afraid to reach out for a slice, as if doing so would make the mirage disappear. She nodded toward the pizza. “You first,” She smiled, maybe wanting to enjoy watching Jemma as she dug into the coveted pizza. Her patience didn’t last that long. Once Jemma had a piece and had taken a bite, Skye reached into the box for her own slice. They didn’t bother grabbing plates or going to sit down. They just stood there, at the counter, catching grease droplets with their free hands while stuffing their faces with slices of pizza.

_____  
  
The first thing Skye consciously registered was the crackling sound of a fireplace against the backsplash of crashing waves against the shore. Her brow furrowed as she squinted against the brightness on the other side of her eyelids. She shifted and felt gritty sand beneath her hands despite the fact that she was soaking wet, which had made her feel cold down her bones. Skye shot bolt upright when she heard a scream, her eyes burst open wide and she looked around, frantic. She knew that scream. She scrambled to her feet. That was Jemma’s scream. Skye blinked and turned a circle in the sand. Fifty yards from where she was standing at the front part of the plane, on fire in the sand, the only thing illuminating the dark. Skye gaped at it. This wasn’t right. She turned in the sand again, looking for the others. She hadn’t landed in the sand. She’d landed in the back of the…Skye spun toward the water. She could barely make out the light at the top of the tail of the plane as it was shifting downward in the water. “Jemma..” She murmured, her brain still not quite able to process what was happening, Skye raced through the sand for the water, peeling her bag and her jacket off as she went.   
  
Just before she made it to the lapping water’s edge, a blur from her periphery lunged at her. Skye went down on her back with a gasp, her vision swirling a moment. She put her hands out to the person’s shoulders to push them up off of her and was met with a choking/gurgling sound as Mace stared down at her, blood oozing from a hole in his neck and splattering down on her face and neck. With a panicked scream, Skye barely managed to throw his weight off of her and clawed her way across the sand. A wave crashed into her and the sudden influx of saltwater mixed with the blood on her face made her sputter and gag. She made it to her feet but before she could rush into the water to swim out to the tail when she heard Jemma’s shrill scream erupting from the jungle behind her followed by the loud screeching of terror birds.   
  
Skye spun around toward the dark jungle. Her feet moved before she realized it, carrying her across the sand at breakneck speed just as people started appearing, people she knew, people she knew hadn’t made it off the island, dead people, people covered in wounds and sores, black circles around their eyes – people she’d once considered family. She dodged their attempts to grab her as they called out to her, told her not to chase after the screams, that it was too late. Skye ran headlong into the thick jungle, blind because of the darkness, tripping and groping her way through, following the terrible sounds of Jemma screaming for help which were nearly drowned out by the terror birds.   
  
After what felt like hours of running and scrambling, Skye burst through the think vines of the jungle into a clearing and stopped in her tracks when she wound she was suddenly on a sidewalk out front of a very familiar house. Her heart caught in her throat. She knew this place well. After the Brodys had died, when Skye started to spiral out of control, the nuns had given her over to the foster care system to be placed in a group home. For six months at the group home, Skye had been subject weekly sexual abuse by a former priest that volunteered on overnight shifts for the home. Eventually, she’d found a younger girl he was abusing and though she hadn’t stuck up for herself, had just done what she could do survive the abuse, her need to protect the kids in the house younger than her led to her attacking him, which led to her stint in juvenile detention and led to the arrest of the man.  The bile hit the back of her throat just before she pitched over and retched.   
  
“Hey there, beautiful.”   
  
The voice made Skye’s blood run cold. Ward. She spun and found him standing behind her with that cocky smirk on his face and murderous venom in his eyes. Skye stumbled back, falling against the steps of the house, she clambered up them and rushed inside, pulse racing as she panicked. As soon as she made it inside the door, she was rushed from the side. A hand wrapped around the front of her throat and  her back was slammed against the wall next to the stairs. Her feet were just barely off the ground as she choked and gasped for air.   
  
“Well, well,” Garrett’s thick, deep voice sung out with devious glee. “Looks like I caught the big bad spy with her pants down,” he grinned and Skye felt her spine shrivel.   
  
Skye’s brain was firing in so many different confusing directions all she could process was ’No, no, no, no, no!’ She squirmed and fought wildly against Garrett’s grip. Her loose pants slipped down her hips and she let go of where she was digging into Garrett's hand and arm, blindly reaching for her gun or her machete, either of the two. Neither was there or, if they were, they were past her reach. Not again. Not again. Skye was nearly sobbing, though she could only just breathe with how tight he was squeezing her throat.   
  
“Tell me, Skye…do they know it’s your fault they’re dying one by one in this hell hole?” Garrett pulled Skye from the wall and before she even knew what was happening, she’d been slammed onto her back on the dining room table. Ward was over her head, he grinned menacingly down at her and roughly twisted her arms over her head and pinned them. She struggled wildly against them as Garrett tore at the buckle and zipper of her pants, reaching below her waistband and groping at her here and there. Skye screamed and swung her lower half as forcefully as possible. She managed to knock Garett off balance. When she rushed back toward her, she swung her feet out and kicked as her as she could. Garrett caught her legs and wrenched them down which pulled her free from Ward’s grasp. Skye grabbed the first thing her hands hit, she didn’t know what it was, and slammed it against the side of Garrett’s head.   
  
Skye wasn’t entirely sure how but in the flurry of the fight, she broke free and scrambled to the stairs, racing up them before Ward and Garrett. There were only so many places to escape, so she wound up burrowed in the back of a linen closet, hiding behind a laundry bin, gasping for breath and trying to muffle her sobs into her knees. It’s not real she tried to tell herself as she rocked back and forth, arms wrapped around her drawn up knees. It’s not real. Wake up. It’s not real. They’re not here. They’re dead. Wake up. It’s not real.   
  
___   
  
In the waking world, in the apartment, Skye had started off shaking and sweating during the nightmare. She’d managed, in her sleep, to pull herself out of the bed she had been sharing with Jemma. In the living room, she’d actually puked as she had in her dream. Her unconscious mind sought somewhere to hide, something she’d done throughout most of her childhood in various foster homes. By the time she’d screamed out loud in real life as she had in her dream, Skye was inside the kitchen, tucked in the small space between the dishwasher and the counter wall, where a wide trash can had been. It was barely big enough for a human to tuck into but Skye had managed to tuck her way into it, her knees pressed to her chest, making her wheezing gasps for air even harder to tame as she began sobbing, unable to stop it. Her head face the opening of the gap where the trashcan sad after she’d pushed it out, open and full of floods of tears but she wasn’t actually consciously awake or seeing anything as she was still stuck in her nightmare in the linen closet as the panic attack from the nightmare now raged. Her nails dug into her own arms around she had them wound as tight as possible around her legs.   
  
Jemma hadn’t noticed Skye leave the bed, but she was woken with a jerking start that sent her bolting upright when she heard Skye’s scream. Her hand flew under her pillow and came back out with a kitchen knife that she hadn’t even truly realized she’d been keeping there. She stumbled out of bed, crying out Skye’s name and struggling to untangle herself from the sheets.   
  
“Skye?!” Jemma yelled. She managed to make it into the living room, which was combined with the kitchen without a wall between the two, but she couldn’t immediately see Skye and her heart rate skyrocketed. “Where are you?!” She asked, not focused enough to figure out where the wheezing and sobbing sounds were coming from. All she could think about was something getting to Skye and tearing her from limb to limb or Ward or Garrett managing to get their hands on her. In her mind her biggest concern was Skye’s noises stopping and Jemma finding her dead. Eventually, in her frantic search of the apartment, she came around the table and was so startled by Skye down low on the ground that she dropped the knife with a clatter and stepped back before she realized what was going on. Skye’s eyes were open, but she was looking at something that wasn’t there. Jemma dropped to her knees in front of Skye and almost reached out to touch her, but remembered how horrible Skye’s touch had felt during her own episode earlier that day, so she refrained.   
  
“Skye, Love, can you hear me?” Jemma forced herself to take slow even breaths so she could try to calm Skye down despite her own residing fear that something horrible had happened to them once again.

Skye's tremors were no longer just in her hands. Her entire body was shaking. Still stuck in the nightmare, she heard the approaching footsteps, Ward or Garrett's she wasn't sure which, and curled in on herself, wrapping herself into the tightest ball she could. Her nails were dug in spite tight to her arms she had started drawing blood. And then she heard Jemma's voice. In the nightmare she was stuck in, it came from the shadow standing outside the slatted door of the linen closet. Skye shook her head, her hands pried off her arm and twisted in her hair as her palms covered over her ears.   
  
"It's not real, it's not real, it's not real," she told herself as her nails sunk deep into her scalp. "It's not real, wake up, please wake up," she begged herself in trembling whispers. The commotion of it all had woken Jemma's parents who were quick to turn on the lights as they came to investigate the situation. The sudden light only made Skye force herself further back in the small space she'd tucked into, like it could actually protect her for long.

“Jemma, Darling, are you-“ Jemma’s mother started, but Jemma turned and held up her hand, palm out, to indicate that they should stay back and be quiet.  
  
“I’ll handle this, go back to bed.” Jemma nearly hissed. She didn’t mean to be sharp with her parents, but nerves were on end and Jemma couldn’t deal with helping Skye and making sure her parents didn’t get in the way or make things worse.   
  
“Jemma-“ Clive started, but Eliza stepped in front of him, put a hand on his chest, and gently pushed him back toward the bedroom like Jemma asked. She could understand that Jemma didn’t mean anything with her attitude and Eliza was sure Jemma was the only one who could do anything for Skye, so she had her husband leave with her.   
  
“Skye, wake up.” Jemma coaxed gently after figuring out that Skye was most definitely still asleep. Her voice wasn’t seeming to get through to Skye, so she got up, quickly wet a paper towel, and very carefully reached into the small space to press it against her forehead. She had to get in front of Skye and slightly lean into the tiny space to access her.

The cold wet cloth definitely did the trick. It also did it so quickly that Skye jolted. Her head snapped up and back, eyes wide and not quite fully focus or adjusted to the light, the back of her head smacking into the side of the counter wall. She pushed back but there was nowhere to escape to and, before she’d even been able to see who it was in front of her, realized only that she was trapped. In a panic her arms swung out in front of her and collided with whatever was coming at her as she emitted what could only be considered a scared whimper. If she’d been fully conscious, she would have scolded herself for making such sounds rather than defending herself. She blinked, startled by the fact that she wasn’t in the linen closet. Disoriented, she couldn’t quite figure out where she was and then, she realized. “J-Jem…?” she asked in confusion as her eyes slowly started to come back into focus to reality.

When Skye’s arms flailed out, one of her hands caught Jemma in the throat and both surprised and winded, Jemma fell back onto her ass on the wooden floor, coughing and gagging. Her own hand came up and her fingers circled her neck, as if the pressure of it would relieve the flash of pain and the resounding soreness and inability to breathe. Her other hand reached up to be ready to block any further onslaught until she heard Skye say her name and her muscles relaxed.

Skye fought the queasy feeling in her stomach and the dizzy spell that swirled through her head. She blinked and frowned when she saw Jemma sputtering on the floor but holding her hand out toward her as if to block her off. “Wha…” she frowned and shifted her weight, but hesitated to move forward. “A-are you-,” Her eyes widened. “D-did I…?” Had she hit Jemma?? Her voice shook like the rest of her. “I-I’m sorry…” she whispered, inching toward Jemma and reaching a shaking hand out but didn’t reach far enough to actually touch her just yet, as if she were scared to do so. “I’m s-sorry.”

“Oh, Skye,” Jemma sighed and said with a slightly scratchy voice from the accidental hit her windpipe had taken. She reached out and immediately grabbed for Skye’s hand, running her thumb across her knuckles. “It’s alright, I’m okay.” She promised. She moved her hand away from her throat to prove it. “Do you think you come on out of there?” She asked gently, making sure Skye knew it was okay if the answer was no.

There were exactly two other times in which Skye had hit Jemma. The first had been on the beach the night of the plane crash. CPR hadn’t worked and Skye was so desperate to make Jemma’s heart start beating again that she’d beaten her fist multiple times on Jemma’s sternum to try and jolt her heart back into action. It had worked and it had left a series of nasty, deep purple bruises on Jemma’s chest for days afterward, but she was alive. The second had been on the raft while  desperately trying to get Jemma to drink the turtle blood to keep her from dying of dehydration. First, she had held Jemma’s nose shut to get her to open her mouth, at one point she’d been more or less choking her to try and get her to drink it. Eventually she had hauled off and slapped Jemma. After it was all said and done, Bobbi had come to talk to her, to threaten her about ever hitting Jemma again. She had no intention of ever doing such a thing ever again. Hell they hadn’t known they’d even get off the raft at that point. But even so, she’d had no intention of ever hitting Jemma again.

Except now she had. Skye hesitated, not sure she should leave the space. She’d found small spaces to hide herself all throughout her childhood - the back corner of a crowded closet, the understairs cupboard, under desks, anywhere she could fit and no be found. At the Brody house she had tucked herself into the cabinet between the washer and dryer in their basement. Robin had discovered her in the hiding space once and had simply closed the cabinet and told her what time dinner would be before she left. She took to leave boxes of girl scout cookies in the cabinet for her as a treat. She never asked her why, had just accepted that Skye had felt safe there for whatever reason. Skye hesitated but hung her head and ducked her eyes as she inched her way toward the opening of the cramped space, fresh tears cascading down her cheeks as she sniffled and murmured another whispered string of apologies.

“Shh, shh,” Jemma hushed and murmured words of comfort as Skye slowly eased out of the cramped space. As soon as there was enough room, Jemma slipped her arm around Skye’s shoulders and gave the one opposite her a small squeeze of comfort. “It’s alright now.” She whispered and kissed the side of Skye’s head next to her ear. “It was a dream.” She promised. She didn’t say ‘it was just a dream’ because she knew very well that some of the things in that dream could have been all too real. But it had been a dream, at least this time, and Jemma hoped Skye would start to come down from it soon.   
  
“Up we go.” Jemma slid her arm down to Skye’s waist and pulled Skye’s arm over her shoulders so she could help haul Skye to her feet. She didn’t go all the way back to the bedroom but rather to the small couch in the living room less than ten feet away, where she sat Skye down, draped a blanket over her shoulders, and headed back to the kitchen. She filled a glass with water and got a new wet paper towel before she returned, and she had Skye lie back on the couch. The paper towel went on her forehead to help cool her down and ease the sweating along with the water, which she made sure Skye had gripped in her hand before she let go. Jemma then took her place kneeling on the floor beside the couch, stroking Skye’s hair and wiping away tears.

Skye was still shaking as Jemma led her to the couch. She hugged her arms around herself and barely resisted the urge to reach out for Jemma before she could get far from the couch. She couldn’t stop the shaking no matter how hard she willed it, she also couldn’t stop apologizing, especially when Jemma was coddling her the way she was after she’d hit her. “I’m sorry,” she murmured again. “I couldn’t w-wake up,” She drowned and a shudder rolled through her, making her shake even more. “It was s-so real,” She clenched her eyes shut and shook her head as another shudder struck her. “I’m sorry Jem.”

“Skye, it’s okay.” Jemma’s near scolding voice tried to get through to her that it really wasn’t her fault that she had lashed out unknowingly and she knew Skye was assuming guilt. She also knew Skye was dealing with whatever had taken place in her dream, and they had ample material for producing nightmares. “Consider it karma for me busting your lip.” Jemma reached out and brushed her thumb over the little injury she’d accidentally made on Skye’s mouth. “Do you need anything?”

Skye dropped her eyes away again as Jemma touched her lip. She frowned and shook her head. “I dunno…” she murmured. She shifted and moved to sit up. She let the paper towel drop to her lap and roughed her hand through her hair. “W-we should go back t-to bed,” She sniffled again quickly as she pushed her fingers through her hair to push it back out of her face. She didn’t want to go back to bed but she didn’t want to keep Jemma up either. She was afraid to close her eyes for a prolonged period of time let the dream return but she felt like just sitting there she was going to crawl right out of her skin.

“You should drink some water first.” Jemma urged verbally since putting the glass in Skye’s hand hadn’t been enough. Self care wasn’t either of their strong suits, but they were good at taking care of each other.

Skye glanced down at the water and felt her stomach turn over. She knew Jemma was right and she should drink the water, especially since she could still taste the sour bile at the back of her throat. She lifted the glass and took a few (tiny) sips from it, though she’d had to hold it with both hands to keep it steady enough not to spill. Her eyes lingered on Jemma’s throat for a moment and she had to bite into her bottom lip to stop herself from apologizing again, which made her flinch since her teeth pressed into the part of her lip that had split earlier. She dropped her eyes to her lap and squirmed in her spot.

“Good.” Jemma nodded and took the glass from her shaking hands to set it down on the coffee table. She moved the paper towel to sit next to the glass and told herself she’d come get it later in the morning when Skye was asleep. “C’mon, let’s get you back to bed.” She wiped away the last of Skye’s tears from the corners of her eyes and helped her get up again. Once they got back to the bedroom and Skye was on the bed, Jemma excused herself to go let her parents know everything was alright and then quietly slipped back into the room. She crawled onto the opposite side of the bed than she usually would have slept so she could lie down behind Skye and wrap an arm over her waist like a security blanket and tuck her body against Skye’s back to make her feel safe.

Skye's was already kind of curled up, with a handful of the sheets fisted in one hand and her other tucked under her pillow, trying to stop the tremors. She wanted Rex to burrow against her side so she'd have Jemma on one side and a purring machine on the other to send her back to sleep. She would have even taken Trudy trying to wedge between them. There was a part of her that wished they were sleeping on the floor of their cave with their animals and their friends still alive, listening to the white noise of the waterfall. Another part of her vehemently hated her for wishing such a thing.   
  
Even though she knew it was Jemma crawling in behind her, a strangled whimper squeaked out of her throat before her muscles properly relaxed. Her hand automatically let go of the sheets and sought out Jemma’s at her waist. She wanted to apologize again, but she knew Jemma would tell her it was alright. To Skye, it wasn't alright. She was supposed to be holding it together, because that's how they were going to get through all of it. Instead she was cowering like a child and she couldn't seem to stop.   
  
She sniffled quickly. "I-I know it wasn't real..." she murmured. "I couldn't w-wake up," she hated herself even more for the breaks in her voice. She even knew she was being much too hard on herself but Skye didn't feel like sh could control any of it at the moment and that, alone, made it all that much worse.

“Skye,” Jemma said sternly, but countered it by kissing the back of her shoulder and squeezing her hand. “I love you, it’s alright now.” She promised. She also promised herself that she was going to stay awake the rest of the night and watch and listen for any signs of distress coming from Skye so she could wake her up if another nightmare started. Skye had done the same thing for her more than once.

Skye fell quiet but for a sniffle or two. Her breath hitched every so often as she came down from all that crying earlier.  "I love you," she replied eventually,  once she knew her voice was steady. Skye had no intention of actually falling back asleep,  but she didn't want Jemma to have to stay awake because of her nightmare, which was why she suggested going back to bed to begin with.  She tried to close her eyes,  but in a flash she saw Mace's face, with all the blood seeping out of the wound in his neck.  A violent shudder shoo through her spine and she forced her eyes open again,  afraid that closing them again would c make her get stuck back in the dream again. "Jem?"

“Hm?” Jemma hummed into Skye’s shoulder. The shudder did not go unnoticed and Jemma held Skye even tighter and more securely for it. “What is it, Love?” She asked.

Skye hesitated a moment.  "I can't stop myself from thinking," she paused again. "From thinking...I don't...I don't think I deserved to make it off the island with all of you," she really hated this thought and her inability to stop it from swirling through her mind.

“Oh, Skye-“ Jemma choked on her own words and her eyes started to water at Skye’s admission. She’d had that feeling too, but it had been quick during her shower episode at the hospital. This was different, this was something that was clearly deeply rooted in Skye’s mind.   
  
“Without you I don’t think anyone would have gotten off the island.” Jemma tried to reassure her. She knew Skye felt guilty about the deaths she’d caused but she also believed wholeheartedly that it was because of Skye that she, Raina, Bobbi and the baby, Ace, and Trip survived.

Of all the awful memories and thoughts she had to struggle with,  this one was the most invasive. She wanted to believe she'd done all she could to counter weight all the terrible things she'd had to do on the island, on the boat, even in her life before the crash. She couldn't seem to shake the fear that even with all the good, she hadn't balanced the scales.  Part of it went back to the fact that she was part of the reason their plane went down. So even the deaths that weren't on her personal 'kill list,' fell to her fault, just like when Garrett asked if the others knew it was her fault. She never should have tried to put Miles on that plane.  She turned her head slightly to look over her shoulder as best as she could from her spot.  "What if they're haunting me because it's true?" It was crazy, hands down 100% bonkers to think this was the case,  but with the way her nightmare started and the inability to stop the intrusive thought,  Skye asked it as if it were a perfectly rational question, even though she knew deep down it wasn't.

“It’s not true.” Jemma promised her. She tucked her chin over the top of Skye’s shoulder so she could tilt her head to the side just a bit to kiss Skye’s cheek. “You’re one of the most morally sound people I’ve ever met.” She assured her. Without Skye, Jemma knew she never would have made it through the island, the raft, and all of their trials. Skye had had to do some terrible things, but she had been the strongest of all of them for doing them. If she hadn’t done some of the things she felt guilty for they may not have made it. Jemma just didn’t know how she could get Skye to believe this.   
  
“Take Mace for example.” Jemma started. She knew that was a sore spot for Skye and tried not to let it sit too long without elaborating. “Without you he would have died a long, miserable death. You saved him even if you don’t think you did.” Jemma explained. “And JT. You saved him too. You haven’t just saved lives, you’ve saved souls, Skye.”

Skye flinched when Jemma mentioned Mace. His had been the hardest.  It was purposeful. Skye stepped in to do it because she knew Jemma counseling and because she knew Coulson and the others wouldn't. It was her burden to bear now. For a moment,  she could hear the waves again,  could hear the wind in the beach,  see the tarp she'd strung up to blocked the scene and later used to cover Mace's body. He wouldn't have survived his injuries. She could still hear his pain stressed voice begging for someone to end it so he wouldn't have to suffer for an unknown amount of time before death took him, could hear his stained voice talking about his daughter right before she made the puncture wound in his neck. Skye clenched her eyes shut and shook her head slightly,  fighting against the sob caught in the back of her throat.   
  
If she had to make the choice again, she would have absolutely volunteered to do it in Jemma's place every time. All of the the terrible things she had done stuck with Skye vividly. Some days, Donnie and his young age played her. Some days, it was Fitz's face just before she shot him. Mace and Alisha were the ones that haunted her most. She couldn't best to look at the scars on her forearm from Alisha's nails, digging in to hold on for dear life, for her life. Skye couldn't save her either. And the permanent reminder on her arm made her skin crawl often.  She wrapped it in gauze daily to avoid having to see it.   
  
"Mace had a d-daughter," she whisper, voice staining. "Her name is Casey." She sniffled. "I asked him to tell me about her before I...s-so he was thinking about...Instead of what I was about to..." she shivered and her body pressed back into Jemma’s embrace. "She's seven..." Skye paused and sniffled. "I...I guess she's older now,  though," five years. She was probably twelve. What did she remember of her dad?  How had she dealt with life without him over those five years?

“There are a lot of people who are going to be trying to contact us soon, I’m sure.” Jemma sighed. It was a given that more than just the media would be looking for them. People would want to know how their friends and family died and Jemma didn’t know how she and Skye would respond or react, but that was a problem for another day.   
  
“Focus on what you can control.” Jemma used Skye’s technique that often worked on her to help calm her down enough to sleep. “Just breathe, in, out,” Jemma guided Skye for a few breaths until she had the pace down on her own.

Skye squeezed Jemma's hand. She nodded and followed along with Jemma's pacing for breaths. Eventually, her pulse calmed and the tremors stilled except for in her hands. It took a little while but,  as the adrenaline finally fully dissipated, Skye's ability to fight sleep offl left with it.  She eventually fell asleep tucked into Jemma's arms, this time breathing evenly, with no signs of disturbing dreams evident.

___________

The large, metal garage-type door slid up and open with creaking and banging sounds that were so loud that at first Jemma flinched and shied away, grabbing onto Skye’s hand tighter and pressing into her side. The man who opened it turned around and wiped his hands together to clear them of dust.   
  
“Take all the time you need.” He said gently and gave them a soft smile before heading off to leave them alone. Jemma’s hand slowly left Skye’s and she stepped forward out of the sun and into the small, boxy, concrete room, propelled by an invisible force that could have been attributed to a desire to be connected with Fitz again. Jemma, with a blank look on her face, walked up to the first box and opened the flaps, not sure what she was expecting. It could be anything. They were visiting the storage space her and Fitz’s parents had been paying for since their disappearance. When they couldn’t pay their rent (since they were missing) they were evicted and because both of their parents lived outside the US, they’d hired a moving company to box up all their things and move it into storage, where it stayed for five years because neither family had the heart to go through it. They never imagined one of them would return, but Jemma and Fitz’s parents had been in touch and decided to leave all of Fitz’s things from the apartment to Jemma.   
  
Jemma carefully lifted what looked like a hunk of metal and wires out of the box and her eyes immediately filled with tears that brimmed in her eyes and soon overflowed onto her cheeks.   
  
“Fitz and I- well, mostly me, I wanted to have a cat.” Jemma sniffled. “But we were much too busy to take care of an animal; I was always leaving town and-“ she was too choked up and instead chose to show Skye. She flipped a switch and suddenly two lights on what was now recognizable as a mechanical cat’s head lit up. Its metal ears wiggled from side to side and when Jemma put it down it started walking in a circle. The fake cat made her muss both Fitz and Rex.

Skye hung slightly back. She didn't feel right digging through anything that might have belonged to Fitz among the boxes.  She watched Jemma instead,  to make sure she was okay.  Her eyebrows arched as she eyed up the metal and wiring. She stepped back slightly when she flipped it on. Skye blinked and watched the mechanical cat.   
  
"Wow," she crouched down to look more closely at the little robot.  "Imagine if we gave it a small outer fursuit and some saber teeth - Rex wouldn't know what to do," she smiled sadly, both missing Fitz and feeling heartsick that they couldn't free the animals from their cage's and take them with them.

“Rex used to be that small.” Jemma chuckled and wiped away her tears with a little grin on her face. She managed to catch the little robot and turn it off to focus on whatever was in the next box. The one underneath Fluffly the MechaCat was full of books, including but not limited to the Harry Potter series, which made the group of boxes that would be coming back to their current apartment with them in the rental car they were finally allowed to drive with updated licenses.   
  
She found lots of normal things like dishes and bedsheets that she left in the storage space since they already had them at their apartment, but she also found other things that would be useful like all her old clothes, which she could now see was an excessive collection of button up shirts, cardigans, ties, and converse shoes. It was much different from the sweats and tshirts she and Skye had been wearing as of late. Among all of these normal items she occasionally came across things that made her tears well up again; anything that had belonged to Fitz, some of his work, things he had made for Jemma, and picture frames filled with memories. It was like a walking through a museum after what they had been through and it was strange to see just how many possessions she had had before the island when during their experience they had a mere bag full of earthly possessions.   
  
“I should have a yard sale.” Jemma joked. Most of it was random junk or decorations and wasn’t worth keeping when they could start fresh. “It’s not like we need the money though.” She pointed out. It had been a month and a half since the airline had approached them again about their settlement. The airline had offered a great sum of money to not sue and the lawyer Bobbi had found for them even talked the airline into raising it for their group of survivors. Jemma wondered if they paid the same to the families of the dead. Either way, it was enough money to not have to work for a long while, so they would be able to settle in and move on with their lives in considerable comfort. It was just getting there that was the problem.

Skye word quickly at her own cheeks, thinking about when they'd first found Rex, remembering that one of the people they'd list as a result of the poisoned water resulting from Rex's dead mother being caught upstream, was Elena. She promised herself that she wouldn't let her emotions cripple her today,  so she pushed the thoughts from her mind for the moment. She stuck close to Jemma,  offering a hand squeeze,  hug or quick kiss when she thought it was needed.    
  
She smiled at the mental image of the chaos that would occur were the news to catch wind of such a garage sale. She tilted her head slightly. "The media circus could be worth it if you did something more that with proceeds going to a charity of some sort?" Skye herself didn't have any of her previous possessions. They were all just things though, nothing of sentimental value. Some things from her past were on her phone and various servers she had access to again sind she had really available internet, but her clothes, her furniture, all of those types of things were long gone by this point.   
  
There was only one item that held sentimental value to her that she would have been devastated to lose, but thankfully,  it was tucked away safely in her safe deposit box.  It was a blanket the Brodys had given her the first night she'd arrives in their house. It was a bright sky blue color and in one of the corners, her name had been stitched into it. Robin had made it, gave her a big speech about it being hers to keep forever, belonging to her no matter where life took her. Coming from places were often times she had little more than a mostly empty black trash bag to cart what few items she possessed with her, the gift had been more than overwhelming. Long after the Brodys she had spent many nights crying herself to sleep wrapped in that blanket.  It was the one item she never let anyone take from her and she took great care of it since it was obviously irreplaceable. Because of the nature of her search for Miles, she had put the blanket in her safe deposit box for safe keeping until her return. Now she wasn't sure when she should retrieve it, but the urge to get it and wrap it around herself was strong.

“I wonder what a worthy cause for the yard sale could be.” Jemma smiled softly as she rummaged through a set of dishes and pondered what deserved their money. All of their friends had enough in compensation from the airline to get a fresh start, as well as the families of the deceased, so what could they donate to?   
  
“I’ve got it.” Jemma actually raised a finger when the idea breached her mind and had she been a cartoon there would have been a light bulb flashing on above her head. “Does the LA zoo have a conservation program?” She asked. The animals they had brought back with them were the last of their kind in this world and maybe a donation to a conservation program would be their part in helping other animals threatened with the same fate.

Skye smiled a big dopey, affectionate smile as she watched Jemma’s little cartoony ‘Eureka!’ moment. She arched her eyebrows curiously and considered it with a tilt of her head from side to side. It was pretty brilliant actually, not that that was very surprising coming from Jemma after all. “I’m sure they have something along those lines,” She reasoned. “We can call them when we get home and see, maybe they have some kind of big cat conservation,” She couldn’t imagine they’d quite have anything to Trudy or Buzz, or specifically Rex, but they might have something for tigers or wild cats. She stepped closer to Jemma and reached out to pull her closer by her waist. “Y’know, you’re pretty smart sometimes…” She joked with a crooked smile.

“Well I would hope so,” Jemma giggled and allowed herself to be pulled into Skye’s embrace. “It is my livelihood.” She added. “Or was. Maybe will be. Depends on if I can get another degree and get my name out in paleontology.” She was joking, but she also wasn’t. She didn’t want to never work again, and she was sure she couldn’t fly in a plane ever again, so it was time to do something new. With all their discoveries she could make a fortune in paleontology, but she needed a degree first to be credible. “I should use the money from the airline to get another PhD.” Jemma made a small gasping noise as her train of thought led to a conclusion.

Skye chuckled. She leaned in and kissed Jemma’s forehead. “If that’s what you want to do,” She leaned her forehead to Jemma’s and stole a couple of quick kisses. “Then, yes, absolutely.” She smiled. Skye honestly had no idea what she was going to do. She had been through her final debrief with Gonzales and everything was squared away with him, no harm no foul. She was free and clear and she had nothing hanging over her head anymore as far as he was concerned. She wasn’t part of any secret agencies. She wasn’t a spy. She had no degrees of any kind. She was just...Skye, now, whatever that meant. “We’ll have to get you one of those vests with all the pockets so you can proper stool are your paleontology tools in them all.” She mused.

“That would be lovely.” Jemma grinned and locked her hands together at the small of Skye’s back so they were held tightly together. “Studying dead dinosaurs will be a nice safe change of pace.” She said, but she also wondered: if she did get into this whole paleontology research business, would she become inclined to try to find the island they had inhabited? Would she be open to that at all? Her sudden worries showed on her face as a light frown that dampened her smile.

Skye noticed the change in Jemma’s expression. “Hey,” She said as she ducked her head slightly to catch Jemma’s eye. “Where’d you go just now?” she asked, prying as gently as she could. She knew the zoning out and the darkened expression meant it was island related, but she wasn’t sure exactly what diverted Jemma’s enthusiasm specifically.

“If I want to be any kind of legitimate scientist in the area...” Jemma trailed off, searching for the words to explain what she felt to Skye. She swallowed and started over, somewhere that Skye would be able to understand.  
  
“Scientists don’t just play around, the goal of the scientist is to search for answers, for truth, and to do so in the most effective way....” Jemma explained, trying to see if Skye understood what the drive to be a scientist really meant. She glanced up and met Skye’s eyes and then looked back down at their shoes. “If I want to do that, I don’t know how I’ll feel just digging up ancient fossils when I know that our island exists and may be one of the only ones who can help find it.” She was ashamed to admit that she might want to find the island again. The idea of going back was completely horrifying, but she also had a desire for answers, because she was, after all, a scientist.

Skye could actually feel the color draining from her face as Jemma’s words sunk in. Thinking about Jemma going back there after what it took to leave and knowing that she would have to go because there wasn’t a chance in hell that she would let Jemma go by herself, it made Skye’s stomach churn. “Don’t even joke about that, Jem,” her arms loosened and she stepped back from Jemma’s personal space, ran a hand through her hair as she stepped over to a random box Jemma had already looked through and pretended to be interested in whatever turned out ot be in there (it was one of the boxes of dishes and kitchen things).

Jemma could feel a physical pang of pain in her chest when Skye stepped away from her and she saw the look on her face. It was horrible, Jemma knew, that when she imagined their camp at the waterfall that she could still remember the beauty of it and the happy parts like their special trip together when they made love for the first time, when Jemma lazed about in Skye’s arms sketching or sleeping or when they shared meals around a communal fire... it felt a bit like home and Jemma simultaneously felt like throwing up at the idea of going back and missing it in a way. It felt more familiar to her than their apartment and the city and all of the people in their faces. She didn’t consciously decide to feel that way, she just did, and that was why she hurt inside when Skye acted like she had done something wrong by letting the thought briefly pass through her head.   
  
“I- I’m sorry.” Jemma quickly sputtered. She turned and started rummaging through the nearest box, which ended up being shoes, and kept her watery eyes off of Skye. “Maybe some things are best left undiscovered.” Jemma said, but she was only saying it to make Skye feel better.

Skye understood those feelings. She wasn’t immune to them. But even just the thought of either of them setting foot on that island ever again - even if they had endless resources at their fingertips and the ability to leave at any time...Skye just felt the growing pit in her stomach at the idea of it. “I…” Skye was preparing to turn around an apologize but the way Jemma said that placating comment at the end, like she didn’t actually mean it, like she was saying it to stop Skye from her reaction. Skye crossed her arms around herself and shuffled further away, keeping her eyes down and away. Any expedition to that island for didn’t just risk more people dying...it dug up the bones of the terrible things they’d had to do there, of those terrible things _Skye_ had done. She eventually made her way to an armchair with a dust cover on it. She pulled the cover off and sat down. She leaned forward, rested her elbows on her knees, folded her hands together and rested her chin and mouth against it, her brow furrowed deep in thought and dueling memories.

Jemma wasn’t oblivious to the immense amount of emotional distress Skye was suddenly in and she snapped from her own emotions into a state of worry for her girlfriend, whose eyes were getting more and more distant by the second. She put down the pair of shoes she was holding and moved to kneel in front of Skye, a hand on the front of each of her knees.   
  
“Hey,” Jemma spoke softly and calmly, so as not to jostle Skye out of any thoughts too quickly. She was calm, gentle, and reassuring and any hurt in her heart was gone, replaced by love for Skye. Her passion for research and the pursuit of knowledge could only be outweighed by one thing, and that was her love for Skye. If she didn’t want to go back, they wouldn’t, and if she didn’t want to think about it... well, Jemma couldn’t promise that, but she could do her best to not talk about it whenever those unavoidable feelings crawled into her mind.   
  
“This isn’t today’s problem.” Jemma shook her head. Maybe if someone ever found the island (since she was sure people were looking now) they would have to face that when it came to them, but they were much too soon in their recovery to see a visit back to hell as anything other than a passing thought.

]Skye was definitely getting lost in daydream visions of all the most terrible possible outcomes of going back to that island. For the moment, she could see herself as the person in the sequel to a movie that had survived the first movie that was just walking around going ‘YOU CAN’T GO BACK THERE, TERRIBLE THINGS WILL HAPPEN!’ and then that person still winds up going back and having to then re-survive the terrible place all over again while all new people were dying around them. Jeff Goldblum. She would basically be playing the part of Jeff Goldblum in that Jurassic Park sequel in this scenario.

She blinked and came back to herself a moment before her eyes focused on Jemma in front of her. She reached out and framed Jemma’s face with her hands. “I’m not trying to stifle you or your choices for the future,” she said quietly. “I am...endlessly thankful that I found you and that we survived together and made it back here to the mainland relatively intact, but...you can’t expect me to jump for joy at the thought of you even thinking about willingly walking back into the bowels of hell, for any reason.” She frowned. They didn’t get to rocking chairs and old age by making that kind of choice. It just didn’t work that way...right? What would the others think if they suddenly announced to them that they were returning to the island?

“I know.” Jemma nodded. She squeezed Skye’s knees and found a small smile inside herself that surfaced when she looked at Skye’s face. There were more important things than science, Jemma knew, and she was more than willing to trade it for Skye any day. They’d just have to see how the future went before they decided to do anything about their past.

They had a deal. Wherever Jemma went, Skye was going too. So she knew in the end she really would have no choice in the matter if Jemma made the decision to go back in the event that someone found the island. It was just the way it was and already Skye's mind was simultaneously cycling through what supplies she would need and how she could pack them to be prepared but to be the most mobile possible, plus the amount of human remains thy would be found, plus the dangers they'd have to face and finally plus the the fact that she would still be replaying and reliving the deaths on her conscience all over again in more vivid detail. She felt the Phantom burning itch in the scars on her forearm that resulted from Alisha's death grip as the spiders pulled her away to play tug of war. They were covered at the moment both by a sports compression Jemma's father had bought for her after he'd watched her wrap it multiple days in a row in multiple layers of gauze and also by the sleeve of her sweatjacket. Still, she felt the weight of the on her forearm in the way they tingled and burned, trying to remind her as often as they possibly could that she just couldn't hold on to save one more person. 

  
"I'm sorry," Skye exhaled and dropped her eyes down away from Jemma's and to her lap. She hadn't meant to leg anything get to her while they were here. In fact she'd been more banking on just trying to be there for Jemma since she knew half of the stuff in the storage space belonged to Fitz. Thinking about that made Skye inadvertently flinch as she closed her eyes and gave her head a single jarring shake to try and force the vivid, almost instantaneous memory of leaning over the edge of the cliff and aiming specifically for Fitz's one eye as he stared up toward her. A quick shudder rolled down her spine before she could stop it. She took a slow breath and hung her head further in a similar way to the way Rex hunched up and ducked his head whenever he did something that made Skye or Jemma scold him for.

“I love you.” Jemma murmured back in response to Skye’s apology. Telling her it was okay implied that Skye had actually done something wrong, but she hadn’t, so she settled for telling Skye how she felt about her with hopes it would make her feel better. Jemma placed her hand on Skye’s cheek and brought her head back up so they could meet eyes at the same time that she stood up, leaned over, and pressed a gentle kiss to Skye’s lips before heading back to the next unopened box.

Skye echoed the words back to Jemma in earnest just before that kiss. She hesitated as Jemma head back to one of the boxes, watching her go and absently rubbing at her forearm as it bothered her with pins and needed again. She reminded herself that the phantom feelings were just in her head but it didn't make them go away. She stood up from the seat, crossed her arms loosely both to solve her fiddling with her one arm and to just do something with them since she didn't feel right poking around through the boxes, at lead until she saw a particular box. It had an opened top and the corner of a picture frame stuck out of it.   
  
Skye reached for it and when she pulled it out she came face to face with pre-airport terminal Jemma and Fitz, both smiling cheek to cheek, almost laughing, their smiles stretched so wide that they were squinting snc each had little wrinkles in the corners of their eyes. It looked like someone had caught them at a party of some kind, where they'd had just enough alcohol to be laugh happy and eager to strike a pose. Skye smiled at the image but instantly felt a sharp jab of pain in her chest at the same time. She tucked the small frame under her arm and wandered closer to Jemma, but didn't intrude on her search through various boxes.

Jemma was currently rummaging through a box of random trinkets and gadgets and pieces of technology that Fitz had had on his desk before they left for Indonesia and she paused when she got to the bottom and her eyes started watering when her hands, feeling course from all the rough edges and metal material, found plush. She dug a little deeper and manage to reveal a stuffed monkey. It wasn’t anything valuable or of good quality, it was just carnival junk, but it made Jemma’s eyes water.   
  
“Fitz insisted we go to the Ventura County Fair once when we were visiting friends in the area and I didn’t want to go because I had things to do.” Jemma started her story and turned to face Skye, wrapping her arms around the stuffed monkey. It was blue, which Jemma absolutely hated. “Monkeys aren’t blue!” She’d exclaimed to Fitz. He told her it didn’t matter because it was meant for children, to which Jemma responded: “That doesn’t make it any better, some poor child will grow up thinking monkeys can be blue and be told someday that they aren’t. He’ll be so disappointed.” She’d been referring to the way her parents had told her she could be anything, but then pushed her away from a career in archeology because it was “a waste of intellect.” Fitz had just laughed at her and told her it was just a toy, but the idea that something you believed was true for your whole life was actually just an illusion still seemed to apply. Dinosaurs existed. Now it was still just a stuffed toy in her arms.   
  
“Fitz spent twenty dollars on the game trying and was miserable at knocking over the cans with the ball. I won it for him in one try.” Jemma chuckled.

Skye moved closer to Jemma when she paused and closer again when she turned around with the stuffed monkey. Her eyes shifted from the blue monkey to Jemma’s face but she resisted reaching out to wipe off her cheeks just yet, wanting to wait until the story was over. Having not expected the ending, her head tipped up a bit and she let out a loud snort of laughter. “Of course you did,” She reached out to cradle Jemma’s cheek with her hand. “Did you spent time surveying angles and trajectories in your mind’s eye before you knocked them down or did you just let it rip and show those cans who’s really boss?” She asked with a chuckle as she tried to picture each scenario and the way Jemma’s tongue brought stuck out, pressed into the corner of her mouth between both her lips while she was concentrating, preparing to throw the ball.

“I don’t need to rely on math.” Jemma scoffed. “Don’t you know I have a killer arm?” She smiled and shaped her right hand into a fist, brought her arm up, and bent her elbow to show off her not-so-fantastic-but-A+-for-confidence biceps.

A slow smile spread across Skye’s lips as she looked at Jemma’s flexed bicep, her mind rolling back to that moment when they were on the island, on the beach, eating their terror bird meals before Jemma moved into her shelter. Jemma had commented that while the cooked terror bird was no thanksgiving turkey, it was still better than Skye’s ‘dreadful birthday cake flavored bars.’ Skye had feigned offense and flexed her bicep as she’d insisted that those protein bars were needed to feed and maintain her muscles. Her muscles right now were a sad and pathetic shadow of what they had been back then. She knew she would get back into her gym routine someday but she hadn’t quite started regularly putting herself back together yet. She hated the island. She really did. She did not hate the small moments they’d had together on the island, not one bit, but she hated that place.

“I do now,” she leaned over and kissed Jemma’s flexed bicep before she stepped closer, moving the frame tucked under her arm out of the way so she could lean in and steal a few proper kisses. “Imagine how buff those muscles would be if we started feeding you birthday cake protein bars,” She teased between kisses.

“Oh that’s not worth it.” Jemma scoffed and laughed at the same time, shaking her head and bumping noses with Skye. “Those are atrocities.” She giggled.

Skye scoffed,  feigning offense. "They're delicious. We should get some on the way back," she joked.

“We can, but they’re for you, silly.” Jemma chuckled and playfully shoved Skye’s arm before she pulled out her phone and added Skye’s protein bars to the long list of foods they wanted to go shopping for on the way home.

___________  
  
Come the weekend, Jemma and Skye were to head to Ace's aunt's house for a barbecue gathering. Their first stop of the day was actually to the zoo to spend a few hours with the animals. The animals had gotten used to their enclosure but the heartbreak in their eyes and in Rex's cries whenever it was time to leave made Skye hate herself for having to leave. This time was even worse since they had clearance to take Ruby with them, while having to leave the other behind. Trudy seemed to understand their explanations, though she didn't look pleased, but Skye had to keep Rex occupied while Jemma carried Ruby out and then had to listen to a double dose of Rex's confused wails on her way out. She only had a few moments to try and pull herself back together as the zookeeper approached and walked with them through the back areas of the zoo put toward where Jemma's parents were waiting in the car. She gave them some startling news to go along with the binder of information for caring for Ruby that she had written specifically for Ace to be able to understand based off of her care for Ruby while she was in the zoo.   
  
It turned out Ruby was pregnant. The zookeeper rambled on about a whole section of the binder that held pregnancy information for regular size horses, a number of ways to contact her and also pictures of an ultrasound they had done. In the car, Skye handed over the binder to let Jemma read while she held Ruby in her lap. When they reached the party, Skye could barely hold onto Ruby, who was repeatedly snorting and whinnying loudly from the moment the door opened and she smelled Ace. Once they made it into the back yard, Skye bent down and let the little horse go and she immediately raced off for Ace, who beelined right for her as soon as he saw her. It did help make up for her own sadness at not being able to take the other animals with them, at least, to see Ace and Ruby excitedly prance around each other and cuddle.   
  
They were swept into the barbecue after the and Skye was glad she'd forced herself out of sweats and into the one pair of jeans and single button down blue plaid shirt that Jemma's parents had bought her since she likely would have felt out of place otherwise with everyone back to wearing normal clothes. She'd been shying away from shopping for new clothes, though she had no answer for why, exactly, whenever she was asked. The pair of black converse sneakers on her feet were at least worn in, having worn them since they left the hospital. Today was the first day she'd actually attempted to style her newly cut, just above shoulder length hair. It'd been cut two day prior, to finally just get all the dead out and give it an actual style to begin with and Skye had found that, sitting in the chair doing something so normal as getting a haircut had set her nerves on fire. She'd nearly burst into tears five times, almost puked once and the stylist had to gently scold her more than a few times to sit still. But now she was put together, new hair, new clothes, her sleeves rolled up just past her elbow and buttoned to keep the cuffs in place, the front of the material of the shirt tucked into her jeans to get it out of the way while the rest hung loose, a few of the top buttons open. She'd even managed a tiny bit of very modest lipstick and mascara from Jemma's mother, to help make her look less like a corpse.   
  
Skye supposed she really looked the part because everyone's initial reaction to seeing her had been of wide-eyed surprise, which made Skye do quite a bite of blushing, which made some of them goad her a little more. She tried to pretend she felt like herself, or like a relaxed version of herself but, honestly, she felt...off. She couldn't quite explain it. Part of her knew that it was partially the things wrong with her brain and nerves. The other part of her just wanted to breathe. She stuck by Jemma's side for awhile while they were discussing the surprise news they'd been given about Ruby. Soon enough small pockets of varying conversations cropped up. Skye excused herself and headed inside to use the bathroom. On her way out she stopped to look through the framed photos on the wall that featured Mike and Ace together at different ages of life. It took her a moment to adjust and quell the burning in the bridge of her nose before she went back outside. Stopping by the cooler, she grabbed herself a beet and tossed out the cap but didn't drink from it right away. Hanging by the outside of the small groups of laughing, cheerful people, all of whom she knew and cared for, Skye did what felt most natural to her; she observed rather than participated.   
  
She found a spot by a set of padded adirondack chairs and sat on the front edge of one, crossed one leg over the other and leaned on the armrest with her right elbow, leaned her left elbow along her knee and braced the bottle with it. Then she watched. She watched Jemma's mother play with Ruby, Ace and Ace's cousin. She watched Jemma’s dad as he spoke with Ace's aunt and Trip, watched Raina press her ear to Bobbi's belly only to receive a swift kick to the cheek, each Bobbi, Raina and Jemma snickering about it. She watched it all with a small smile on her face because she loved them, but with a single worry crease puckered in her forehead because she hadn't been able to chase away the lingering anxiety from the back of her mind ever since their conversation in the storage place when Jemma suggested the island might be found one day and that Jemma would want to return if it was, for science. It was a stupid thing to let plague her, she knew, but she couldn't let go of it just like she couldn't let go of her oldest habit of existing just on the edges of familial inclusion, because she wasn't supposed to have all of this.

Jemma was in a similar state physically, but her own looks had brought out a more normal side of her, unlike Skye’s withdrawn reaction. The moment Jemma had on a pair of skinny jeans, a collared shirt, and, of course, a cardigan, she felt a swell of normality wash over her that kept her mood elevated, especially after seeing all her friends with some gained weight and healthy looks about them. She chatted with Bobbi about plans for the baby and with Raina about how she, Bobbi, and Trip were sharing an apartment. It almost made Jemma feel a bit guilty for isolating herself with Skye and her parents, but her friends didn’t seem to think anything of it so she did her best to brush it off.   
  
It would be a lie to say she hadn’t noticed Skye backing away from conversation and beginning to observe, but she also knew that was where Skye was comfortable for the moment and didn’t want to push her. Bobbi, however, was a different story and was a lot better with Skye when it came to tough love. She excused herself from Jemma and Raina’s conversation about the changes in iPhones over the past five years and chose a seat next to Skye, leaning back and stretching out some to make room for her significant belly.   
  
“Look at her,” Bobbi chuckled and gestured to Jemma with her cup (which was just juice). “You always been into nerds?” She asked Skye with a smile, referring to Jemma’s choice of dress.

Skye was preparing to stand up when Bobbi approached but instead shifted to lean toward the other side of the chair was in so she was angled toward the one Bobbi was sitting in. Her eyes shifted from Bobbi and the baby bump over toward Jemma at Bobbi’s instruction. She took in the animated conversation between Raina and Jemma and two things simultaneously popped into her head; the moment in the airport terminal when she decided she was going to sit herself down on her carry on next to Jemma…and the moment in Garrett and Ward’s camp when Skye was sure they’d sent Jemma on a death march out of there by herself and she’d swung her gun toward Raina and pulled the trigger. The only reason Raina wasn’t dead was because Mack was just as fast as Skye and had snatched her up and swung her aim off.

Skye swallowed against the later of the memories and shifted her focus back to Jemma just as Jemma’s eyes squinted and crinkled when she laughed loudly. Her lips curled upward a little bit and she shook her head. “Just the one,” She confirmed. “She looked really cute in a tie, despite the humidity…” With nothing left to do with her hands, she lifted her bottle up for a small sip.

“You two really are something special.” Bobbi nodded and took a small sip from her drink. “You’ve reached a level in six months that most couples don’t ever attain.” She shook her head with slight disbelief and contemplated her own relationship with Hunter. It had probably had more of an aspect of creature comfort to it than Skye and Jemma’s had, but that didn’t mean it was any less important to her. Hunter had been a casual love because he had been funny, kind, and loving when she needed it more than ever. She loved him, that was for certain, but it was nothing like what Skye and Jemma had and she knew it. They were something else. “How are things going? Both of you recovering well?”

Skye wanted to say, ‘five years...technically,’ as a joke but she thought it would come out hollow. On top of that, she was conscious enough of her surroundings to think about how hard it must be for Bobbi to be doing all of this without Hunter, even if she had Trip and Raina with her currently. They’d all been in fairly consistent contact with each other, now that all manner of technology was easily at their fingertips at least. “It’s definitely something I’ve never experienced before,” She conceded. She knew circumstances probably rushed the intensity of their feelings a bit. She knew they were special, however much of a bias she had about it, she’d felt it right away, even if she’d fought it for a time.

Skye looked over at Bobbi, almost frowning. “Ups and downs from day to day as usual, y’know? Anyway, I’m the one who should be asking you stuff like that,” She said, hoping she could shift Bobbi’s attention away from herself and any of the things on her mind. “How’s our little drummer boy treating your organs today?” She asked with a small smile, knowing the kid had to be some measure of active from the way Raina’d received a kick earlier. Same old Skye, doing her best to deflect away from conversation surrounding herself, especially if questions about her state of mind or feelings were involved. Old habits for an old dog fighting off trying to learn new tricks for the moment.  

“We’re both doing great.” Bobbi answered and absentmindedly placed a hand on her own belly to gently rub against it. Little Lance responded with a kick and it made Bobbi smile down at herself. “I don’t know how good of a mom I’ll be.” Bobbi admitted, looking back up to Skye with a slightly concerned frown on her face. She shook her head slightly and after a moment she was smiling again.  
  
“Think you and Jem will ever have kids?” Bobbi tried to bring the conversation back to Skye, since she knew Skye probably avoided thinking about herself or talking about herself at all costs. It would do her some good to think about their happy ending.

Skye’s brow furrowed and her head tilted curiously as if she couldn’t figure out where that insecurity came from despite the fact that Skye was riddled with her own across a large swatch of areas. “You’ll be a great mom,” she said with earnest and great confidence.

Skye dropped her eyes to the bottle in her hands, thumbnail absently flicking at the peeling corner of the label. She shrugged her shoulders up and nodded. “Someday, I think so yeah,” She hazarded to look over at Bobbi. “I think we need to find a house with suitable space for the animals first. And Jem wants to go back to school,” She glanced across the yard at Jemma for a moment. Skye didn’t really have a lengthy future plan. She needed to get Rex, Trudy and Buzz out of the zoo, and they needed somewhere more permanent to live. That was about all the focus she could manage, especially when the anxiety/brain issues needed to be dealt with as well. Her brow furrowed and she turned back to Bobbi. “She wants to get a degree revolving around the fossils,” she felt the tension in her shoulders as the muscles stiffened and even felt the extra creases in her brow as it wrinkled. “I think she’s hoping by the time she finishes, they’ll have found it…” She knew Bobbi would know ‘it’ referred to the island. Her throat suddenly felt dry but she resisted the urge to chug from her beer.

“It?” Bobbi asked, imagining a random dinosaur skeleton in a museum. Then the image of a dinosaur changed to include shaped flesh and she started to understand. “Are you telling me she wants to go back?” Bobbi lowered her head and hissed at the volume of a whisper, glancing over at Jemma with a look on her face that showed her distaste for the opinion. She couldn’t believe that Jemma could possibly want to go back after everything that had happened and everyone that had died, including Hunter.

Skye frowned and looked over at Jemma again before dropping her eyes to her lap as if she’d given away a secret she wasn’t supposed to tell. Was she supposed to keep that to herself? She shifted in her seat and frowned. “She, uh,” she cleared her throat a bit. “She said studying dead dinosaurs would be a nice change of pace and then there...I dunno, there was a look on her face and, y’know when I asked about it she said that she wouldn’t know how she’d feel just digging up ancient fossils when she knows that our island,” She cringed as she said it, “exists and we may be some of the only ones who can help find it.” Skye became increasingly uncomfortable as she spoke, thinking about her own reactions and rolling through the film reel of murder she’d committed on the island. She shifted her body away from facing the direction of the others in the year, as if that might shield her from...she wasn’t even sure what. She cleared her throat lightly again and kept her eyes firmly toward her knees, trying to hide the way the corners of her eyes flinched slightly as she imagined setting foot on that island again.

Bobbi was quick to recognize the near-tears in Skye’s eyes and her hand moved to rest on Skye’s shoulder. She hesitated, but gave it a squeeze.   
  
“She’ll come to her senses.” Bobbi tried to assure Skye, though she was worried herself with the new information given Jemma’s innate curiosity. She had wandered into the jungle after a terror bird after all. “Once you and her have your little kidlets and you’re living the life she’ll realize she doesn’t want to go back to that hellhole.” Bobbi said. At least that was what she hoped for Jemma and Skye.

Skye let out a long slow breath, just trying to keep herself in check, to keep from looking like she had in the storage space when Jemma had mentioned all of this. She swallowed and nodded, though it was clear she wasn't at all convinced that this would be the case, even if they had kids. And what would happen if they found the island after Jem and Skye already had kids? Would Jemma really suggest leaving them behind, even knowing the time jump existed? Every one single day on the island would amount to something like ten days back home. How would they explain this to kids? Would Skye be able to make herself leave their kids to keep her promise to go wherever Jemma went? "I didn't react well," she admitted, with a glance in Jemma's direction. "Eventually she left it at, 'this isn't today's problem,'" she looked over at Bobbi. "I hope they never find that place," she kept her voice steady, though quiet as she exhaled. "Especially if it's a point when we already have kids," she shuddered slightly and gave her head a small shake to jog it all loose in her head. She cleared her throat quickly and looked over at Bobbi. "Enough about stuff that's not happening. Have you got everything you need for the baby? Everything arranged and assembled how you want it? Is there anything we can, yknow, get or do for you?"

“I’m a future millionaire and a future mother, so combine those two things and imagine the baby’s nursery right now.” Bobbi chuckled. The checks were starting to roll in from the airline and Bobbi thought her baby deserved to be spoiled. At least college wouldn’t be a problem. “I’m set, but thank you.”

Skye made a face but smirked. “Geez, leave some spoiling for the rest of us,” She made a show of rolling her eyes at swatting lightly at the side of Bobbi’s knee. It was pretty much a given that everyone of them was going to spoil the kid beyond rotten. It was only fair for it to be a team effort, given everything else they’d all been through together right? Skye finally lifted her beer for a small sip and glanced back over toward where Jemma was with the others, unable to fight the compulsion to find her whenever they were more than a few feet apart for very long. She smiled when she spotted Jemma looking back at her and found her brain wandering off into thoughts about that question about the two of them having kids and whether or not she would be a good mom. Bobbi, she knew, would be a great mom. Jemma? Definitely a great mom, no doubt endlessly organized and ready for all things. Skye? Who knew, really.

“Watcha thinking?” Bobbi grinned and leaned over to bump shoulders with Skye. She had a big smile on her face just from watching the invisible string always linking Skye and Jemma.

Skye's cheeks flushed a bit and she ducked her head and hunched her shoulders a bit. For so long, starting on the island and continuing on the raft, Skye thought of everything in the terms of the immediate future. Now, 'the future' before them stretched on for decades, not just 'the next twelve hours until it's time   to sleep again.' It was hard to adjust to this change when getting caught. "Six months ago, I'd have never ever had a remote thought about having a family," she shrugged and brought her eyes back up to Jemma's across the yard. "It would have never been on the radar.”

“Well you’ve got one now.” Bobbi smiled. She moved he hand from Skye’s shoulder and leaned across the gap between their chairs, pulling her into a hug. “We’re all your family now.”

Skye leaned into the hug. "Yeah you are," she nodded and then was promptly kicked in the rib by the baby. "Yeah, you too, smartass," she murmured in the direction of Bobbi’s baby bump. It was going to be awhile before this daily revelation stopped short circuit in her brain. With all the terrible things they'd all  been through, she kept seeing Jemma and the others and feeling overwhelmed with what she considered extreme luck. She just had to hold onto them now, make sure nothing happened to them now just as before, keep them safe.


	30. Welcome Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warnings:** There's discussion of sexual assault to a minor in parts of this chapter, fyi. Get the tissues, you might need em for this one!!
> 
> Hello lovelies, it's been awhile! How are you??  
> Sorry for the typos, they're usually mine lol, please feel free as always to point them out especially if they're funny!   
> There are some links scattered throughout the chapter with relevant videos, please feel free to click them for temporary youtube detours! :D  
> Have at it!!   
> <3<3<3<3
> 
> ___________________

“Ok, Dad, how does it look?” Jemma adjusted the throw pillow on the dark brown couch one last time and stepped away, looking at the living room as a whole. For the past month or so her father had been taking her to her physical therapy sessions for her hand, but he’d also been helping her with other things. It wasn’t technically a lie because Jemma did actually go to physical therapy, she just didn’t tell Skye how long the sessions actually were and what her and her father did afterwards.   
  
House hunting had been difficult, especially while keeping the whole thing a secret, but she managed to find a four bedroom house (room for potential children and visitors) with a large enough backyard for Trudy and Rex to live in. It was on a cul-de-sac and she’d already spoken to a few of the neighbors and explained that they’d have dinosaurs for neighbors. There were three other houses on the street for sale, which had quickly been bought up by Bobbi, Raina, and Trip. It was more than perfect. After the papers went through, Jemma started decorating. The front door led straight into the living room, and though it was an odd choice for a living room, Jemma had the walls painted not just any purple, but dynamic magenta. The furniture was dark brown and went with the color. There was also a kitchen, a dining room, and three bedrooms that Jemma made sure were furnished. She’d wanted to give Skye a gift, so she made her a home.   
  
“It looks perfect, I’m sure she’ll love it.” Clive assured Jemma. “Skye is with your mother, they’re almost here.” He looked up from his phone to a wide eyed Jemma, who hurried into the kitchen rambling about candles.

Skye was overwhelmed. She loved Jem's mom Eliza, and her dad Clive as well, but she had been wholly unprepared for a shopping trip for clothes, etc, to be so extensive. It was nearing on four in the afternoon and they'd been out since 9:30 that morning with only an half hour lunch break. The trunk was stuffed with clothes, shoes and accessories. Skye had been impressed with just how spot on Eliza had been with just coming repeatedly to the dressing room with armfuls of clothes she thought Skye would like and nearly 80% of them fit perfectly.    
  
Skye was half asleep and more than ready to just find Jemma and curl up with her for a much needed nap. She yawned and nodded as Eliza said they needed to make one more stop, only partially processing it as they pulled into an unfamiliar driveway. Skye climbed from her side of the car dressed in a pair of tight dark jeans, a plaid button down tucked into them with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, a pair of black boots loosely tied to her feet, her mee sender bag slung across her shoulders.    
  
She eyed up the house with a curious furrow of her brow, wondering if she'd missed information about Clive and Eliza having friends that lived in LA. It was entirely possible and Skye's brain was too tired to process anything suspicious as she followed Eliza toward the front door of the house. It was a nice looking house and the street seemed nice and quaint,  cul-de-sac with some kids playing together here and there. Skye wondered if she and Jemma would find a place like this for themselves eventually. The screen door nearly hit her in the face as Eliza pulled it open as Skye's attention had been drawn to the pair of rocking chairs on the porch. Her mouth went dry as she thought about how the promise of a pair of those had been one of the things that kept her and Jemma clinging on to whatever they could of life for so long. 

"W-Who did you say lives here?" Skye stammered slightly as she tried to jostle her thoughts loose, not even realizing that Eliza hadn't knocked on the door, had just opened it to go in and Skye was blindly following her.

“Someone you know very well.” Eliza smiled.

“They’re here!” Jemma exclaimed when she heard Skye’s voice outside. She called to her chuckling father to go answer it and rushed to the kitchen to grab the platter with the cake on it, but not before she lit the birthday candles on top. The front door was opening when Jemma made it to the living room and a wide grin stretched across her face when she saw Skye, along with a nauseous excited feeling in her stomach to see Skye’s reaction.   
  
“I don’t know when your birthday is or if you even know, but you said you’ve never had a birthday cake and, well, you’re home now so... happy birthday and welcome home, Skye.” Jemma stepped forward and she was sure she was blushing after her rambling.

As they walked into the house, the first thing Skye noticed were the walls of the living room. She knew that color in an instant; Dynamic Magenta. She'd told exactly one person about the color of her bedroom in the Brody house. "Jem," it came off her lips in a whisper just before Jemma appeared in front of her and began rambling. That second shock wave made her jaw hang slack. Her eyes shifted from the walls, to the cake and then to Jemma. "I..." she knew she was supposed to talk, to respond to this overwhelming gift of a home of her very own, given to her by the one person in the universe she wanted it with most, but the hot, salty tears sprang to her eyes and were cascading down her cheeks and dripping off her chin before she could stop them.    
  
A small sob escaped her and all she could do was swing a hand up to cover her mouth, embarrassed by her overly emotional display. A home. And a birthday cake. And a family. Skye had a home. She wasn't just drifting, trying to make it another day to get to their promise of those rocking chairs. They had a home. It wasn't an apartment or something temporary until the next thing rolled around. It was permanence. She'd had trouble fathoming it before Jemma and since her had longed to know what it felt like and now...it was so overwhelming.  Her eyes struggled to focus on the blurry shape of Jemma's face. "I love you," the word was garbled up in the thick emotion of her voice as she surged forward, only mildly trying to move around the cake, which Clive quickly swooped in to grab before a catastrophe struck, and wrapped her arms around Jemma, pulling her in as tightly as she could. She had so many questions, so many things to say to Jemma about all of it, but the I love you and a very weepy, "T-Thank you," were the only two things that made it past the emotional lump in her throat   


“Oh Skye, I didn’t mean to make you cry!” Jemma laughed a bit but deepened the embrace Skye pulled her into. She had expected a strong reaction, but she wasn’t quite sure she’d expected tears from her when presented with the elaborate gift, which wasn’t even over yet. “I love you too, very, very much.” She smiled and kissed the side of Skye’s head, which was firmly pressed into her neck and shoulder. She held onto her for a few more seconds before she made them part by gently taking hold of the sides of Skye’s arms and guiding her to stand at an arm’s distance away from her.

“There are some others who want to see you.” Jemma smiled and nodded to her father, who made his way through the living room and into the kitchen, where there was a sliding glass door to the backyard. The moment he opened it, a large saber toothed tiger, a troodon, and a massive dragonfly came barreling into the house and toward the living room.  
  
At first, Skye's brow furrowed as she reluctantly let Jemma put space between them. She quickly wiped her at her face to clear the tears and sniffle quickly, trying to pull herself together with a deep breath but she abruptly lost it again as she tried to catch Rex when he jumped at her excitedly. For a second, Skye was suspended in air with Rex licking and nuzzling at her face, neck and shoulders before she wound up on the floor on her back, crying laughing and trying to pet each of the three of them, so very relieved that they weren’t stuck in the zoo by themselves anymore. Sure, this was technically a new kind of cage for them, but, they weren't on their own with only strangers.    
  
"Ohhh, I missed you," Skye hummed out through another sniffle followed by a laugh after Buzz's wings tickled at her ear. The whole (immediate) family was here! This was too much...it was everything. Her still watery eyes turned to Jemma. "When did you...how..?" How had she not had any clues this was going on without her realizing any of it!

“My physical therapy sessions were forty-five minutes.” Jemma explained with a smile. How Skye had believed they were two hours long, Jemma didn’t know, but it was good that she did or Jemma wasn’t sure she would have been able to pull this off. She still wasn’t done with her surprise though. “Don’t forget about the candles!” Jemma suddenly remembered and picked up the cake from the coffee table where her father had left it.

“Don’t want wax in the frosting do we?” Eliza chuckled.

“Go on, make a wish.” Clive encouraged.

Skye managed to climb free from the animals with a few last pets and scratches. They were going to need some enclosures on the backyard probably. The animals were very well behaved but this wasn't their natural habitat and it wouldn't do if anyone accidentally got hurt for curiosity's sake.  She wiped another stray tear away and sniffled as she smiled at the cake. She glanced around st those surrounding her and murmured a soft, "I already have everything I ever..." she let out a nervous chuckle as her voice was still thick with emotion. She looked across the cake at Jemma and thought, ' _ except one thing _ ,' before she inhaled a deep breath and carefully blew out the candles, trying her best not to splatter any wax on the cake.

“What’d you wish for?” Jemma asked cheerfully, having to hold the cake up and out of reach from Rex, whose nose was wiggling back and forth as he tried to get a whiff of the food.

Skye shifted on her feet, one hand reached into a pocket of her messenger bag the other signaled to Rex to sit down so he’d behave despite the temptation of the cake. “A yes,” she cleared her throat and took a deep breath and then stooped down to one of her knees. Her hand came free from her bag, thumb flipped open the ring box it held and she held it up toward Jemma. “I could...probably spend hours telling you every single reason I love you, and it looks like you’ve already bought the rocking chairs, so, I’m gonna keep this short and to the point...” She kept her voice steady even though her hands were trembling, though this time it wasn’t from the PTSD anxiety but from the nerves the question she was actually about to ask. “Will you marry me, Jem?” She asked. 

Jemma gasped and the cake was held up with one wobbly hand, since the other was covering her gaping mouth and moving slightly to wipe her watery eyes. She hadn’t expected Skye to turn this around on her, but it was definitely a pleasant surprise. Eliza and Clive made happy, surprised sounds and Eliza quickly dove in to relieve Jemma of her cake holding duties so she could reach into her back pocket. She pulled out a small object and before she answered Skye, she got down on one knee herself to be at eye level with Skye and held out a simple golden band between two fingers. 

“I would love that more than anything in the world.” Jemma nodded with a small sob. “Will you do me the honor of marrying me back?”

Skye's eyebrows shot up. She let put a startled chuckle as Jemma produced her own ring and echoed the proposal back at her. Her eyes were shining with tears again. The only difference keeping the gold ring she was holding up for Jem from being a plain band was the eternity symbol shaped into the top of it. "You really had all the bases covered didn't you?" She asked through another sniffling chuckle as her heart bounded erratically around her ribcage. "Of course I will - where you go, I go, right?" She reached out to the side of Jemma's face with her free hand to pull her in for a proper string of kisses.

“I wanted to make your new birthday a day to remember.” Jemma whispered between kisses. She only broke them apart when her father made an exaggerated coughing noise and her mother cleared her throat. Jemma laughed and leaned back, grabbing for Skye’s left hand and slipping the ring onto her finger.

Skye snickered slightly. "It's perfect," she assured as she slipped her ring onto Jemma’s finger.  She stood up and used Jemma's hand to pull her to her feet then used them to pull her in and wrap her up in her arms.  "Thank you, Jem, for all of it, everything." She kissed her cheek. "Here I thought you were insisting on long rehab sessions to try and get better faster," she chuckled.

“I feel better already.” Jemma sighed and tucked her head into Skye’s shoulder, setting them about swaying slightly and occasionally squeezing them closer when Rex tried nuzzling between their legs or Trudy stuck her big snout into their faces.    
  
“Come on, let’s get these kids back outside so I can give you the grand tour.” Jemma was beaming and she held Skye’s hand to lead her to the massive backyard and then to show her the rest of their new home.

_______________

May 25th at 6:43am after nearly seventeen hours of labor, Lance Hunter Morse was born, a couple of weeks early but no worse for wear at all. Though there was only supposed to be three people in the hospital room at a time, a great of sweet talking and bribing of the nurses and doctors had occurred to ensure that Trip, Raina, Jemma, Skye and Ace could all go in together to visit with Bobbi and the youngest of their group of survivors. The room was full of flowers, stuffed animals and special request takeout food they’d brought in with them (also against the rules). 

Already one spoiled baby, there were no shortage of arms to hold onto the new little human and he was more than content to wiggle about or sleep in their arms. When Jemma and Skye had first arrived, Ace had been sitting in a chair with the baby in his lap and arms cradled around him to hold on. When the baby started to fuss a bit, Ace’s eyes widened and Raina moved to scoop the baby up and pass him back to Bobbi. Skye hung back behind Jemma’s shoulder as she squeezed their way to Bobbi’s bedside. 

“The gang’s all here,” Trip teased. 

“Except the animals,” Ace pointed out. 

“Imagine the heart attacks that would’ve caused with the staff,” Raina quipped as Jemma greeted Bobbi and suddenly had the baby in her arms. Skye was momentarily distracted by the sight of Jemma cooing down at an infant cradled in her arms. 

“Hope the drugs haven’t fully worn off yet?” Skye teased as she moved to drop a kiss to the top of Bobbi’s head and hugged her quickly. She shifted back and absently backed a bit further away from being within arms’ length of the newborn. Skye loved kids and this kid in particular was no exception. She couldn’t describe the weird feelings fluttering about her chest as she eyed up the scene of Jemma holding the baby. She settled to sit down in one of the extra chairs in the room, perfectly content to watch the over abundance of happiness surrounding the room and everyone in it. This was something they deserved, all of them. She stuck closer to the edge of the crowd of the, though not wanting to hold the baby. Babies were different from kids. Kids bounced, they were resilient. Babies were fragile. Skye had the uncanny ability of destroying fragile things. It would be better to just observe. It didn’t make Skye any less happy just watching all the fussing, laughing, cooing, swaying, cradling and nuzzling going on.  

“He has your nose.” Jemma smiled and started rocking a bit on her heels to gently bounce the baby in her arms to soothe him back into sleep. He was only a few hours old and had already done quite a bit of crying, so everyone was happy to see the cute little baby finally pass out.    
  
“His eyes.” Bobbi added and bit her lip some. Raina grabbed for her hand and the both of them smiled. Trip sat next to Ace in one of the chairs, and Jemma’s eyes found their way to Skye’s. She couldn’t help the proud, happy smile that came with Lance falling asleep in her arms. It made her wonder if, once she and Skye were married, they could talk about kids. It had been mentioned, but they’d never actually made a plan, too afraid it could be taken away from them with one of their lives on the island. Now, when they were apparently legally in their thirties and biologically in their late twenties, maybe it was time to consider.

Skye’s mind was already on a roller coaster. She’d reached out to give Bobbi’s shoulder a quick squeeze after the comment about the eyes. She honestly didn’t know how Bobbi was so strong to have gone through an entire pregnancy, half on a deadly island and raft in the middle of the ocean and then the latter half of it while she was still recovering physically, mentally and emotionally from the fall out since. She had all of them for support but doing this without the adult version of Hunter couldn’t have been easy, especially knowing how he’d died. Her thoughts shifted as she watched Jemma swaying to lull baby Lance into a perfectly content sleep, complete with drool and tiny little baby snore hums and she began to wonder if they really would have kids. It’d be different for them, of course. Adoption and the foster system would be involved, that was a given. It wouldn’t be easy and they would most likely be taking in kids of varying ages if they did it, not necessarily. Infants. Although she supposed there were artificial means to let one of them carry a baby if they decided they wanted at least one biologically. 

“Let’s hope he’s got Bobbi’s sense of humor, though,” Skye quipped, though there was a fond smile on her face when she said it. She missed her sibling-like fights with him. She hated that he wasn’t here to meet his son. She fought against the guilt spiral that wanted to take over. Today was a happy day. She would let nothing soil it. 

“He’ll be just as strong, too.” Trip added. Bobbi gave him a small smile of thanks.    
  
“And tall like you!” Ace made sure he got to add something as well, but it made Bobbi chuckle.    
  
“Maybe, but Hunter wasn’t very tall.” Bobbi shook her head and glanced over at her baby as Jemma wandered around the foot of the bed to get to Skye.   
  
“How about you hold him? You haven’t said hello yet.” Jemma grinned and held her arms out slightly, making sure the baby’s head was still supported.

Skye went from craning her neck to watch the sleeping baby to leaning back into the chair and doing her best to hide the expression of panic/fear that temporarily washed over her face at the prospect. She gave her head a small shake and exhaled a nervous chuckle. “No need to risk waking him up just for that. I’m sure he’ll be up all hours of the night raising hell from the get go,” She teased. It wasn’t as if Skye hadn’t displayed parental abilities in the past. They were different though. Those kids, like Ace, had been older and could hold full conversations and reason things out. This was wildly different. Lance was brand new. He was fragile. He needed to be protected. Skye was...not a good luck charm by any stretch of the word. So far as she was concerned, in fact, she wanted to avoid any of her bad luck passing on to this new life if it was at all possible. She knew it was flawed thinking. She really did. But Skye couldn’t stop it. 

“You better hold him, you’ll need the practice.” Bobbi said jokingly sternly with an equally convincing face. It all made Jemma blush, since it held the implication that she and Skye were going to have babies. Skye was going to hold the baby whether she thought she should or not.    
  
“Here, hold him, Bobbi has a point.” Jemma smiled and outstretched her arms over Skye’s lap so it was too late for her to do anything but hold the baby Jemma gently set down on her legs.

“No, wait, I-,” it was entirely too late and Skye knew it as her arms automatically moved to cradle the tiny, wrapped up human that felt impossibly tinier now that he was in her arms rather than someone else’s. Her heart rate spiked and within moments of the baby’s ear hitting her chest and hearing the erratic rhythm beneath her collarbone, his little eyes popped open again and Skye got an up close view of the fact that they were definitely Hunter’s eyes. Her own eyes widened. “Don’t cry,” she pled very quietly, “They’re all staring at us,” She knew it without looking. She moved to try and lull him back to sleep with gentle and absent bouncing in her cradled arms. Rather than crying, the baby just stared at her curiously. 

Jemma’s grin broadened and there was a tight but warm feeling that spread through her chest watching Skye hold the baby. It was like her instant maternal instincts, which had already been activated from holding the baby, were telling her immediately after seeing Skye with the baby that she wanted kids. Their furry (and feathered) kids were great, but there was something in the idea of adopting a child that made Jemma more than excited.

For a moment, the baby seemed content and then his brow started to furrow and he started to wiggle around a bit more than Skye’s nerves would have liked. She realized it was her own anxiety that was making the baby anxious so, in her panic to ensure the poor kid didn’t cry again, at least for no reason, Skye did the first thing she could think of that might calm the baby down, which happened to be singing. The first song that popped into her head happened to be one of the songs they’d listened to a  number of times on the raft from her desert island playlist, Bob Marley’s,  [ _ Three Little Birds _ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaGUr6wzyT8) [.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaGUr6wzyT8) It was calm, mellow and something that was an ingrained part of the back of Skye’s mind. She’d also forgotten, in that momentary panic of wanting to thwart disaster, that the others were watching her. 

_  
Don’t worry about a thing  _

_ Cause every little thing gonna be alright _

_ Singing don’t worry, about a thing _

_ Cause every little thing, gonna be alright  _

 

_ Rise up this mornin’  _

_ Smiled with the risin’ sun _

_ Three little birds _

_ Pitch by my doorstep _

_ Singin’ sweet songs _

_ Of melodies pure and true  _

_ Sayin’, this is my message to you _

 

_ Singin’ don’t worry, about a thing  _

_ Cause every little thing, gonna be alright _

_ Singin’ don’t worry, about a thing  _

_ Cause every little thing, gonna be alright _

 

By the time she’d gone halfway through the song, her own heartbeat had mellowed and the baby had stopped fussing and went from staring at her and the new sound emanating from her mouth while she swayed with him to completely passed out again and contently drooling all over her collarbone. It wasn’t until she looked up that she realized she’d lulled the whole room into silence while they were staring at the two of them and she felt the heat in her cheeks and the tops of her ears as they flushed and she dropped her eyes bashfully again down to the baby so she didn’t have to look at them. 

“You better start learning lullabies because I think Jemma’s in love.” Bobbi joked, promptly snapping Jemma out of her trance of staring, causing her cheeks to flush a deep shade of red.    
  
“Well obviously.” Jemma quipped back, holding up her left hand and spinning the engagement ring around her finger once with her thumb. She smiled back at Skye and winked, because yes, she was in love.

Skye chuckled softly without looking up from the baby at first. She felt a little less embarrassed when she realized she wasn’t the only one blushing. “I think I’ve got a solid repertoire stowed away for good measure,” she joked as she smiled affectionately at Jemma. 

“At least now we know who Bobbi’s gonna call when he won’t sleep,” Trip grinned.  

“Just don’t go getting famous for that singing voice and leave us behind.” Raina jokingly chided and shook her head. Jemma laughed and Ace, frowning, asked, “Aren’t we already famous?”   
  
“Unfortunately, yes.” Jemma sighed. They’d had some trouble avoiding the press; USA Nightly News wasn’t the only media outlet to call and as they discovered, Jemma and Skye weren’t the only ones. Maybe they’d all share their story someday, but if they did it they’d do it together.

____________________

Skye and Jemma were relaxing on the front porch after dinner with some mugs of hot tea and a couple of thin throw blankets across their laps, watching the various goings-on around the cul de sac as the sun was making its way down for the day. Her thumb absently turned her wedding ring around her finger, a new habit she’d developed ever since she’d started wearing it after the proposals. Officially, they’d been married for a week, having had a small ceremony in their backyard a week earlier on June 23rd. Everything was official now. Skye had a last name that actually meant something much more to her than just a word on a piece of paper that was supposed to be her real name. She had a home, a family and a name. A year ago, this would have never been something she considered a remote possibility outside of occasional pining for it. Using her toe to gently rock her chair, she waited until she saw Jemma putting her mug down and reached out, swooping in to grab Jemma’s hand to bring it to her mouth to kiss the back of her knuckles a few times. 

“I never imagined my life would be so docile,” She murmured with a grin. Granted...they were living with dinosaurs, but that wasn’t the point. They weren’t fighting to survive every moment. They were simply able to be with each other. There were no secrets, no lies hiding between them. Everything just fit perfectly into place and Skye still didn’t know how she’d been this lucky to make it back and have such a full heart it almost always felt like bursting open in all the best ways possible. 

“Enjoying the domestic life?” Jemma smiled and with the hand at Skye’s face, she was able to brush the backs of her fingers over Skye’s cheek. They hadn’t done much that was unexpected of newlyweds, but they hadn’t gone on a honeymoon. Their new house was vacation enough. They’d spent lots of time lounging around because more time was spent doing other things in bed than actually sleeping, and it wasn’t like they had jobs to get to. That was something they would work on eventually, but they had enough money from the airline to not have to worry about it for a while. Jemma was still researching paleontology programs and she was taking her sweet time, not quite ready to leave her new house with Skye to do anything other than go across the street and visit their neighbors, which happened to be their fellow survivors. A few of the other neighbors had come by with welcoming gifts of food, so they hadn’t even had to cook

Skye nodded. She knew their circumstances were specific but even so, “It always seemed unattainable,” she said. “Now I’ve picked up knitting...not the kind of new skill I’d be learning if I’d gone back to my old life,” She smirked. “I never knew life could be so...perfect,” she said in earnest. Without Jemma, it never would have been anything close to ‘perfect.’ Their neighbors, the ones that weren’t survivors, had proved to be very nice. And along with their food offering, their kids had begged to meet the animals. It had been fun watching the interactions between them nall, watching as the animals were extra careful with the kids. It made Skye increasingly wonder when she and Jemma might start their own family and just how much they might decide to add to their little family. 

“It is pretty perfect, isn’t it?” Jemma sighed. She squeezed Skye’s hand and brought their locked fingers across the short distance between their chairs to rest on Jemma’s armrest. She leaned back in the chair, slightly rocking, and glanced over at Skye’s face. Jemma didn’t think anything could make this exact moment any more perfect, but she could think of a few ways to make their family even better. Skye was always so good with little Lance, who was a little over a month old, along with all the other kids on the street. Jemma knew Skye would be a good mother.   
  
“I know we’ve only been married for a week...” Jemma started. “But it feels like we’ve been together for ages.” She brought Skye’s hand up to her lips and softly kissed her knuckles. “How would you feel about fostering a child?” Jemma asked. She was too excited to even wait to see Skye’s reaction, so she elaborated. “Not a baby. Everyone wants babies. Someone who needs us.”

Skye leaned her head against the chair back and smiled over at Jemma. Her eyebrows arched high up her forehead as Jemma spoke. She opened her mouth to reply by Jemma went on again. A slightly watery smile greeted Jemma when she finished speaking. Technically, they'd been together fur five years,  right? What good reason did they have to weight, really? But that bit about it being an older kid really struck Skye's heart chords. "I love you," she said first and foremost. "And I would love nothing more than to get started on a family with you " she answered. "For however many kids wind up needing us...how've old they are, " she smiled. 

“Wonderful.” Jemma smiled and gave Skye’s hand another squeeze. They were going to be parents. It was a dream come true, really. “What do you say we start the paperwork tomorrow?” Jemma asked eagerly. They had no reason to wait. “I’m sure we have a kid out there who’s waiting for us.”

"Solid game plan," Skye grinned and wondered if certain and new experiences with Jemma would ever stop feeling simultaneously exhilarating and still scary at the same time. She let go of Jemma's hand only so she could stand up and lean over to scoop Jemma up out of her rocking chair. She sat back down in her chair and settled Jemma sideways across her lap with some blanket for cushion under her legs on the armest. She kissed at the crook of Jemma's necl, wrapped her arm around her middle and rested her head against the chair back just to smile at Jemma in the setting sunlight. "Do you suppose they'll hold it against us that our house includes giant prehistoric animals?" She wondered.   
  
Jemma giggled at Skye’s romantic gesture and wondered if Skye had gained all her strength back of if Jemma was still underweight herself. Maybe it was a combination of both. Either way it was cute and romantic and Jemma slung her arms over Skye’s shoulders and clasped her hands together behind Skye’s neck.   
  
“Who, the social worker?” Jemma raised a brow. It was a good point. “There’s no rule against having dinosaurs.” She chuckled. She was sure that one wasn’t in the books.

Skye let out a snort of laughter. "I hadn't considered that dinosaurs wouldn't be in the rule book," she snickered. Skye tried her best to let this moment be light and happy. As happy as they both were to start a family, adopting older kids from the foster care system when they'd been in it for some time often led to the kinds of harrowing childhood stories that Skye had to tell. She knew that wouldn't deter either of them from taking someone in. It just meant there was a lot they had to try and prepare for based off of whatever was in any file the social worker brought to them, once she and Jemma passed all necessary certifications and home visits.    
  
"I have a feeling this will be more adventurous than raising dinosaurs..." she joked with a soft chuckle.

“I think if we can handle three dinosaurs we can handle one kid.” Jemma chuckled. She knew it wouldn’t be easy to make an older child see them as parents, but with love and affection she was sure it would happen. They had a kid out there somewhere and Jemma knew it.

Skye smiled and leaned over to kiss Jemma's cheek. "I know you might be tired of hearing this," she grinned and leaned her forehead against Jemma's temple. "But I really freaking love you," she said before falling quiet to enjoy the perfectly peaceful moment with her confirmed soulmate.    
  
______________________   
  
August 3rd turned out to be the day Skye and Jemma were due to meet their first foster child. She was an eleven year old mixed race girl of Chinese, Native Hawaiian, Irish, Portuguese and Puerto Rican. She'd been born in Los Angeles. Her biological father died when she was two. Her mother spiraled into drugs and alcohol, remarried and both she and the stepfather abused Tali in different ways. When Tali was five, her kindergarten teacher noticed some unusual bruises and asked Tali's mother about them.   
When Tali waa absent from class for the next week, the teacher called social services. The long and short of it was that Tali was founded chained up in a backyard shed, malnourished, dehydrated and chained up by the ankles, which had festering wounds on them from being chafed by the chains.   
  
Tali's mother and stepfather were arrested and both put away on multiple counts of child endangerment and abuse as well as well as for various drug-related charges. Tali made her way into the system once she was out of the hospital and had been shuffled around foster and group homes ever since. She had behavioral problems, but Skye could understand how those developed rather easily. She liked Chinese takeout, monster movies and taking things apart to see how they worked before putting them back together.    
  
Skye had studied her file for six straight days while talking over their impending new charge. Skye spent a decent amount of time knitting up a surprise for Tali in the form of a soft knit lavender (a color that had been listed as one Tali liked in her file) large throw blanket complete with Tali's name knitted into one of the corners. The Brodys had given Skye something similar on her first night in their house. It was meant to be one thing that wasn't a hand me down or thrift store item piled into a single trash bag that sent with her whenever it was time to change foster homes. It as Skye’s  snd Skye's alone and no matter where she went, it would always be hers.    
  
Shortly after leaving the hospital, Skye had brought hers home from a safe deposit box it had been safely tucked away in. The Brodys had explained that they planned to make their home the last one Skye ever had to move to until it was time for her to go to college or move put on her own and whenever that was, the blanket would go with her of course. In front of them, Skye had accepted the gift and nodded without speaking.

Unsure about the new foster family, Skye had hidden in her new bedroom closet, barricaded in with a pillow, marveling over the kindness of the gift before she'd wrapped herself up in it and cried herself to sleep that night. Of all the places she wound up after the Brodys that blanket had been a very important constant in her life. It only seemed right to create something like it for Tali after reading her file.    
  
Skye glanced at her watch and then the clock, wondering if both were wrong. "They said 2:30, right?" She wrung her hands together and paced, like she'd been doing most of the day since they'd woken up. She glanced through the blinds again.   

“Deep breath in and out, Love, they’re probably just a few minutes late.” Jemma walked up behind Skye, rested her hands on her waist, and kissed her cheek. She was giving the advice to herself as well, since her heart was hammering in her chest. This could be it, this girl that they were going to meet could be their family.    
  
Jemma had also nearly obsessed over the file and made sure she knew every single word of it. Tali had been in lots of trouble at school, which Jemma found a bit concerning, but she knew how the foster system was thanks to Skye and she wasn’t going to judge Tali for anything that happened before she met them. They were supposed to help heal Tali’s emotional wounds and Jemma knew she’d have to rely on Skye for help on this one because Skye had a deeper understanding of the system and would probably be able to connect with Tali easier.   
  
“There they are.” Jemma breathed. A sleek black car had pulled up to the curb and the social worker they’d gotten to know, Maria, stepped out of the driver’s side and walked around to open the back door.

Skye couldn’t help wringing her hands together again even as Jemma tried to calm her down. She wanted this to be easy for this little, easier than it had been on her when she’d done it all the different times she had for all the different foster homes she’d been moved to. She didn’t want Talia to ever have to worry that the day would come again where she’d have to put her worldly possessions into a trash bag and cart them away again to some new unknown place. Skye momentarily held her breath, chewed on her bottom lip. 

  
“Should we walk out to meet them or wait for them to knock?” Skye tried to remember if one or the other ever felt more or less nerve wracking when she’d been the kid in the situation. She wanted to rush out and hug the poor girl immediately, before the back door of the car had even opened. “What do you think they put in our file to tell her?” She wondered as she started for the door. They could meet in the middle, open the door and wait on the porch for them to approach, right? That would be welcoming wouldn’t it? In the kitchen, they had sandwiches and all manner of snacks and drinks for a late lunch set up. The animals were in the backyard, having been lectured on needing to be on their absolute best behavior today. Skye caught a glimpse of Raina’s blinds waving from across the street and had just enough time to realize that Trip, Raina and Bobbi were all spying on them from Rain’s living room, all three wanting to meet the newest member of their clan as well. 

Skye smiled as Maria approached with a somewhat downtrodden, slightly unimpressed looking Talia behind her. Skye felt her stomach lurch as she remembered those conflicted feelings - waning so bad to believe there was a forever family surely somewhere out there for her but having been burned one too many times to let herself believe this would be it. 

Talia squinted in the sunlight and looked up at the house, sizing it up first before she glanced at the two women on the doorstep. She’d never been in a foster home with lesbians before, so that was new she supposed. She zoned out while Maia greeted the two women, Skye and Jemma Simmons. She’d been giving information on them and she’d googled a great deal more and wasn’t sure how much of it she believed. Talia looked back and forth around the cul de sac, only minimally relieved that they at least looked like they were in a decent neighborhood. They house looked pretty large too. Maybe she’d have her own room.  

“Tali,” Maria’s voice called her back to the present and Tali blinked and looked at Maria. “Do you want to say hello?” Maria asked her expectantly. 

Skye smiled warmly at the girl. “I’m Skye,” She took half a step forward after nervously glancing at Jemma and held her hand out for Tali, giving her the option of shaking her not. 

Tali felt too anxious to accept the shake. She made a show of hefting her bag over her shoulder a bit and nodded. “I know,” She said as Skye pulled her hand back. Tali pretended not to see the slight in Skye’s face that she covered over quickly. “You’re Jemma,” She nodded to the other woman. “When do we eat?” She tried to put on a practiced air of nonchalance. It would be dangerous to let her guard down and give in to the hope that this might be her final home. It was just a stop on the journey and all she could do was hope it was a decent one for however long it was hers. 

Jemma forced herself to keep smiling even through that look on Skye’s face when Tali didn’t accept her greeting. It made Jemma slightly defensive, along with Tali possibly assuming to know their story, but she had to remember that there were a lot of walls she’d have to get through before the eleven-year-old would come anywhere near trusting her.    
  
“Whenever you’re hungry.” Jemma smiled and with one hand, she grabbed Skye’s hand, and with the other she gestured toward the door. “Come inside.” Tali and Maria entered the house and Jemma and Skye followed behind, but Jemma took the lead once they were inside and led them to the kitchen. Rex was sitting on the back porch, staring into the kitchen with a cool, collected look on his face, looking regal as ever. “That’s Rex, don’t mind him. Trudy and Buzz are also out there somewhere...” Jemma looked around the windows but didn’t see them. It was probably best, Trudy was quite the scary looking animal. Sure, Rex had foot long fangs, but Trudy looked like a raptor and like nothing that should exist today.

Skye squeezed Jemma’s hand to reassure herself. She knew this was going to be a long road but she’d hoped to get it started off on the right foot. Skye kept an eye on Rex when he spotted Maria and the new stranger. He sniffed the air but otherwise stayed seated in his spot and yawned. Talia spotted the very large tiger with gigantic fangs. She’d seen pictures in the file of the animals but pictures didn’t always provide adequate scale. She wondered just what kind of madhouse the social workers were putting her in. Was this how they’d get rid of her from burdening them for good? She’d become dinner for a sabertooth tiger and dinosaurs?? She swallowed a lump in her throat. 

“The kitchen’s this way,” Skye motioned for them to follow. Maria followed them first, already used to the animals from numerous home visits she’d had with Skye and Jemma to assess the safety of the animals interacting with other humans. Tali studied her surroundings as she trudged behind them. There were pictures scattered around the walls. Everything was nice, neat and tidy and Tali wasn’t sure if that was specifically because of her arrival or if they were general neat freaks. 

When she turned into the kitchen and saw the tray of sandwiches, the bowl of apples and oranges next to a bowl of cut up fruit piled so high it looked mountainous, all sat next to snacks and cakes, her eyes widened and her stomach growled. Food wasn’t always so excessively available and on top of it, she hadn’t eaten dinner last night or breakfast this morning, too nervous to chance it. Now, her body wanted to make up for it. 

Skye smiled, sensing a slight in as she broke off from Jemma with a quick squeeze of her hand. “Why don’t you set your bag down at the table and wash your hands, I’ll get you something to drink and you can pile a plate up with anything you want?” She arched her eyebrows to see if this sounded agreeable. 

Tali nodded quickly, her stomach grumbling even louder the second time, and then she remembered she was supposed to be acting aloof and disinterested. She shrugged suddenly and looked away from Skye’s welcoming face. “Yeah, sure, I guess,” She nodded and slipped away so she could set her bag down next one of the chairs by the dining table, glad that no one had tried to take it from her or go through it yet. She made sure it was tied shut and then walked back into the kitchen, to the sink, where she turned the water on to warm and started to wash her hands. 

A shadow crossed from the window and Tali looked up only to come face to face through the window screen with Trudy. Startled by the sudden, staring, dinosaur ( _ IN REAL LIFE!!!! _ ), a splash of soapy water sloshed across Tali’s shirt, face and hair, and splattered the floor as she screamed and jumped back. In response to the sound, Trudy cocked her head and squawked. 

“Oh!” Jemma exclaimed and jumped a bit herself at the commotion. “That’s Trudy, she doesn’t understand manners.” Jemma started laughing and grabbed for a towel that was hanging from the handle on the dishwasher and held it out toward Tali so she could dry herself off.

Tali took the towel and added another step back from the sink and the window. She stared at the dinosaur through the window and stiffly dried her face hair, hands and shirt off carefully. “...Is she a meat eater?” She asked as Trudy snuffld at the screen to try and get a full scent of everything in the kitchen. 

“She is,” Skye headed for the fridge, “but not to worry, human’s not on the list,” She grinned. “We’ve got water, iced tea, orange juice, fruit punch orrrr…” She glanced in the fridge, “Dr. Pepper.” It was one of Skye’s junk food vices, the Dr. Pepper. 

Tali shrugged and backed away from the sink, gravitated toward the countertop of food. “Um...tea?” She answered. Skye nodded and held her hand out for the towel, which Tali tossed her. Skye hung it on the arm of the fridge and grabbed the pitcher of iced tea. She nodded to the counter. “Help yourself to whatever you want. If you don’t like anything up there, we can look through the pantry and see what we can find,” She smiled. 

Tali hesitated. They were really trying hard. “Thanks” she murmured, turning her head down as she grabbed a plate and a bowl and started dumping food onto both. She piled sandwich halves, pickles and chips onto a plate and filled the biggest bowl she could with the fruit salad from the bowl with the cut melons, pineapple, strawberries and blueberries. She also swiped at an apple, a pear and two oranges that Skye noticed she’d tucked into the pockets of her jacket. Skye made a mental note to let her know that the food would be available for her any time of day so she wouldn’t need to horde it. 

Tali was left with a large plate and a large bowl and she wasn’t sure which one she wanted to carry to the table first. Skye filled up a glass with iced tea and approached, careful not to startled Tali. “You take the plate and I’ll grab the bowl and bring it out with your tea,” She suggested, “Yeah?” 

Tali glanced up at Skye and tried to force herself to remain nonchalant and not to give in to the warmth both women kept offering over and over again. They weren’t terrible so far but, Maria the social worker was still here. The real test would be how they acted when Maria left. “Okay,” Tali grabbed another half sandwich of ham and cheese, took a huge bite of it and piled it on top of her plate then grabbed both sides with her hands and marched to the dining table, chewing as she went. Skye followed her a pace or two behind and set the ice tea and fruit bowl in front of her with a couple of napkins. She went back to the kitchen to make her own plate with Maria and Jemma. 

Jemma caught her bottom lip between her teeth and did her best not to let her eyes get watery just imagining what kind of mental training the girl had to have gone through to get that excited about food. She also imagined Skye that young and it made her heart ache to know she’d gone through the same thing. Hopefully Jemma and Skye could do some good in Talia’s life.    
  
The three adults put together their own lunch plates and the group ate in relative silence, chit chatting about superficial things like the weather and what school Talia went to. It wasn’t until Maria stepped out the front door and waved goodbye that the real test began. Jemma came back into the dining room to find Tali finishing up the last of her food. She would have went to get her bag, but she had learned from Skye that foster kids could be very protective of their few things, so she didn’t dare touch it.   
  
“Why don’t you grab your bag and we can show you your room and you can unpack, settle in?” Jemma asked. She was doing her very best not to use a different voice than she would with another adult, but it was difficult. She just wanted to make a good impression on the young girl.

“Yeah,” Skye smiled, glad to see that Tali at least hadn’t been shy about clearing her plate. She was surprised Tali hadn’t licked the fruit bowl clean after she’d watched the girl pick the empty bowl up to drink the residual liquid from the bottom of it. So she liked fruit, that was a good sign. She had no doubt after all that she’d eaten that Tali might need a food coma nap eventually too. 

Tali paused after licking some leftover food from her thumb. She slowly wiped her hands off on a napkin and tried to measure her reaction as she, maybe a bit more timidly than she’d meant to sound asked, “...I have a room?” Clearly not having expected one. 

Skye gave her an easy smile and nodded, pretending it wasn’t heartbreaking to watch this all play out from the adult perspective to this little girl and also pretending she hadn’t heard the timid, unsure tone from her. “You sure do,” She nodded and stood up, moving to grab the rest of the empty plates from the table. “Let me just put these in the sink and I’ll catch up?” She suggested, wondering if the fact that she was outnumbered was at all adding to Tali’s nerves. 

Tali looked between them and nodded. “Okay,” she went back to that nonchalant shrug and reached for her back as she stood up and, abruptly, let out a long, loud burp as the air bubble came up from her stomach when the food settled. Her cheeks flushed automatically and she hunched her shoulders and cringed. Skye recognized that expression. She was waiting to be scolded. 

She leaned closer on her way by with the empty plates and bowls and mock whispered. “It’s not bad manners it’s good beer, as they say,” She gave Tali a wink and sent Jemma a smile on her way into the kitchen. Tali furrowed her brow even as she got it that she wasn’t in trouble. She hefted her bag up and over her shoulder and turned to Jemma. 

“Come on, it’s just down the hall.” Jemma grinned at Skye’s joke and waved for Talia to follow her. There were two doors on the left, two doors on the right, and one door at the end of the hall.    
  
“This first one on the left is the bathroom,” Jemma pointed it out. “The one at the end of the hall is mine and Skye’s, so if you ever need anything at night you can get us.” Jemma added. Any little bit of a safety net she could offer Tali, she would. “This last one on the right is yours.” Jemma stopped at the door and hesitated a moment before she opened the door and stepped back so Tali could walk in. She was nervous for her to see it. They’d turned the guest bedroom into as much of a preteen’s room they could without overdoing it. The walls were a light blue color and there were a few cheesy inspirational animal posters on the wall. The bed was on the far wall from the door, a dresser with drawers and a mirror to the left, and a closet to the right. There was a window on each side of the bed that gave Tali a nice view of the front yard. She picked this room because seeing the dinosaurs out her window at night may be a bit overwhelming.

Skye put the dishes in the dishwasher and packed away the leftovers. She made a mental note again to let Tali know that she could go and grab food whenever she wanted. It wouldn’t be good for a forever habit since they wouldn’t want to spoil a dinner schedule once they found themselves on one but she didn’t want to restrict her from having access to food. Knowing she liked fruit now helped because it meant she could offer something healthy at least to make sure Tali got food when she needed it and didn’t worry about asking for it or getting it on her own. 

She wiped her hands on the kitchen towel and then pushed the dining room chairs in so she could head upstairs to meet up with Tali and Jemma. She made it as Tali had stepped inside the room already and arched her eyebrows to silently ask how it was going. 

Tali looked around as much as possible, memorizing the layout and location of various things as they went. Inwardly, she could admit this was the nicest home she’d ever been placed in. Outwardly, Tali’s reactions were still purposefully muted though, honestly, she was starting to feel a bit bad about her standoffish reaction to them when they were clearly trying very hard to make her like them. 

Looking around as she stepped into the room, Tali set her bag down on the end of the bed, which she noticed was a queen sized bed right away. It was surprising. It was also surprising the effort they put into decorating, even though she couldn’t help but roll her eyes about at the posters. She couldn’t blame them. They didn’t know her so they didn’t know what she would have put on the walls. She went over to the closet and opened the door, looked through the empty dresser, went and took a peek out the window to see the view. She bit lightly into her bottom lip and she surveyed the room once more and looked  toward Skye and Jemma in the doorway again. 

“It’s, um,” She hesitated a moment and turned toward the windows of the room again to get a sudden well of emotion that hit her under control. She turned back when she thought she was in control. “This is, just...for me?” She knew it was just the two of them and the animals but she wanted to make sure. 

Skye was finding it harder and harder to hide her facial expressions each time something Tali did or said brought back a memory of her own. “Yes,” She nodded. “Right now, it’s decorated as best as we could do without getting to know you,” She said. “Once you settle in and feel like this space is really yours, we can work on redecorating it together until it’s just the way you’d like it,” She smiled as she thought about the Dynamic Magenta paint on the living room walls downstairs and wondered what color Tali might eventually pick. 

“What if I said I wanted to draw and paint on the walls until they were on big mural of some sort?” Tali arched an eyebrow. 

“We’d personally help you sketch it out and take you to the story to pick up the paint supplied necessary to make it happen,” Skye said. “Is that something you want to do? She asked curiously. 

Tali smirked a bit, the first hint of a smile they’d seen from her and shook her head. “No,” She shrugged. “Just wondering if you’re full of crap like the others or not,” She said. 

Skye exchanged a glance with Jemma. “We have something for you,” She said and Tali straightened up a bit, eyebrows arched. “Let me go and get it,” It was a combination gift. A suitcase to go with the homemade knitted blanket. They didn’t want Tali to go anywhere but she decided she wanted to be placed somewhere else, they would make sure she had a legitimate bag to store all her things in rather than a trash bag. 

When Skye left the room, Tali looked at Jemma. “It’s not you,” she blurted before she could stop herself. 

“What?” Jemma blurted, a bit confused. Then she started to realize Tali could be talking about the way she was acting and Jemma let out a soft sigh. She wandered around Tali to the bed and hesitated. “May I?” She asked, gesturing to the bed to show that it was Tali’s after all. When she didn’t get any refusal, she sat down on the bed and pat the comforter next to her to indicate for Tali to sit down.    
  
“You know Skye was a foster child.” Jemma said nonchalantly. She knew it was Skye’s story to tell, but she thought this might help Tali warm up to her and Skye a bit better and she wasn’t going to share anything overly personal without talking to Skye first. “I may not understand everything you’ve been through, but Skye... Skye does. If you ever need anything, I promise you can talk to her. Or me, whatever you want. We’re here and we’re not ‘full of crap’.” Jemma chuckled and used finger quotes to steal Tali’s phrase.

Tali gave her a confused look when Jemma asked to sit on the bed. She nodded as it dawned on her that Jemma was trying to prove to her that it was hers. Her hands began to fidget, absently pulling at her cuticles or loose threads of her shirt hem. She chewed on her lip anxiously and still hesitated before she moved to sit down on the edge of the bed. She didn’t sit as far away as she could have but she did keep a bit of distance between the two of them. She just wasn’t there yet. 

She went back to fidgeting with her hands in her lap again. She kept her eyes down and nodded to this fact. “Maria mentioned it,” she confessed. She wanted to thank Jemma but she couldn’t seem to figure out how to and just saying ‘thanks,’ seemed like it would just fall flat. Then Jemma repeated her ‘full of crap’ comment back at her and in Jemma’s accent, it just sounded amusing enough to tickle her ears and make her exhale a snort of startled laughter. 

“Here we are,” Skye returned with a big smile on her face that only grew when she heard the short exchange of laughter between Jemma and Tali. It made her heartbeat faster. Skye had the small carry-on size rolling suitcase. It was a deep purple color with a light purple bow. Inside the suitcase there was a backpack with some minimal supplies (notebooks, sketch pad, pens, pencils, colored pencils and even a small set of pastels. There were a couple of pairs of jeans and some t-shirts tucked under the backpack and on the other side of the suitcase saw the thick bundle of the knitted blanket, wrapped in some generic wrapping paper. 

Tali arched her eyebrow slightly at the suitcase as Skye carried it in both her arms rather than rolling it in. “Kicking me out already?” It was a joke, honest. Mostly. Sort of. 

“Never,” Skye shook her head. She put the suitcase down between Jemma and Tali. “I always hated the way they gave us trash bags,” She nodded toward the bag Tali brought. “I know you can choose to call Maria any time you want to be placed somewhere else if you really hate it here even though I hope you don’t hate it, that you grow to love it here. But, on the off chance it’s ever necessary again, I want you to have a legitimate bag to put your belongings in,” Skye’s nerves helped her ramble a little bit. “Go on, open it,” She insisted with a grin. 

Tali glanced from Skye to Jemma and then tentatively reached for the zipper to open it. Skye began to speak again. “If you notice the little plug panel at the top, you’ll also see it holds additional battery backup power you just plug in at the top there.” Skye and electronics were important. She knew teens and preteens were as into their electronics as anyone. Tali reached out to look through the backpack, touched the clothes. She was about to finally issue a thank you to them when she spotted the wrapped up bundle. She glanced at Skye, who grinned broadly at her and nodded to encourage her to go on. 

Tali unwrapped the blanket and unfolded it. It was clearly homemade knitted but it was done with extra soft material. It was a lavender color and Tali was sure she’d never felt anything so soft. IT was just a blanket but for some reason it made her feel emotional and she didn’t know why. Her eyes watered when she spotted her name sewn into the knitting.

“One of my foster moms made something like this for me when I came to stay with them” She explained to Tali. She held her hands out for the blanket and Tali handed it over. Skye stepped closer and shook the blanket out. She swung it through the air to drape it around Tali’s shoulders and draped the ends into her lap. Skye crouched then since Tali kept dropping her eyes. She reached a hand out tentatively and hovered it over were Tali’s clasped hands were in her lap., waiting for the go-ahead to touch her. Tali nodded almost imperceptibly and Skye set her hand down gently on Tali’s. “This is your blanket. It’s even got your name knitted into it. You can lay down with it anyway you like, you can lounge with it fo your heart’s content. Wherever you go in life, this blanket will go with you and you alone because it’s  _ yours _ alone. No on can take t from you, it’s yours forever to keep safe.” She smiled and squeezed Tali’s hand gently. “I hope you only ever need the suitcase for vacation purposes and that you’ll give us an honest chance to prove to you that we’re really in this because we want you to be part of our family and we’re,” She glanced between Jemma and back to Tali. “Ready and willing to take as long as you need to learn to be able to trust our intentions.” 

Tali’s eyes were watering by the time she was done and Skye quickly let her hand go and shifted to move next to Jemma. “I...don’t know what to say…” Tali murmured quietly. She was touched but...she couldn’t help that she still had her defenses in place and it would take time to tear them down. But she was touched and grateful for what they’d shown her already.

“You don’t have to say anything.” Jemma assured her. She wanted to make sure there was no pressure for Tali to do anything or say anything she didn’t feel natural doing. Jemma wanted her to be comfortable in not just their house, but in their home. Tali deserved a home. “How about you unpack and get settled in? When you’re done you can meet the animals if you like.” Jemma offered. She knew all of this could be a bit overwhelming and she didn’t want to crowd Tali, so she gave Skye’s sleeve a tug to indicate for her to leave the room and let Tali process for a bit.

________________

The next two weeks went smoothly, if tense at times. Skye and Jemma wanted, first and foremost, to set up the most stable routine they could for Tali. It could be flexible in the sense that some things would change when school started at the beginning of September, or if Tali joined any sports, or when Jemma went back to school but whatever changes were made, everyone would be aware of them. They sat down with Tali with a rough outline for this because they wanted to build the entire schedule with her. Everything was set up on a giant calendar that would fit on some wall space next to the kitchen table, where they would eat breakfast and have a view of the day planned. In addition, Skye set up a Google calendar that synced across all of their accounts so that all of them would be up to date and alerted for any changes. 

They tried not to bombard Tali by buying her all the things she needed right away since they didn’t want her to think they were trying to buy her off but they did go shopping for new clothes. They set Tali up with her own cell phone and laptop. They went to the hardware to gather paint swatches and samples to test on the wall as Tali tried to figure out how she wanted to decorate her bedroom. There were rules to go along with everything. Tali had to tell at least one of them where she was going if she went out on her bike to ride or to one of the neighbor's houses to play, etc. They would gather in the dining room at around 6pm each day for dinner, where there was to be no cell phone use by any of them, which meant their phones were put on silent and placed into a basket in the middle of the table until the meal was over. They settled for Chicken Monday, Taco Tuesday, Spaghetti Wednesday, Seafood Thursday and Pizza Friday. Saturdays were TBD and often would likely include at least one gathering day for a meal with Bobbi, little Lance, Raina, Trip and, when possible, Ace and would likely end in board games. Sundays were leftovers or takeout night followed by popcorn and movie night. The rules and systems weren’t rigid to the point of being overbearing, they just provided structure that could be changed if needed but was solidly there and not shifting so much that Tali felt there was no structure surrounding her. 

It was the 19th and Tali had been with them for sixteen days. She was still very quiet most of the time, but had been slowly chiming in more often for more than just nodded to questions or answering them. She hadn’t quite made it to fully conversational mode but they would get there. Currently on the couch, Tali and Jemma were flipping through possible movies to watch, jumping between various streaming sites but it seemed they couldn’t settle on one pick. Skye was in the kitchen making a giant bowl of popcorn with buzz on her shoulder. Every so often she tossed him a popped kernel and he flew away with it happily only to return later for more. Rex was lying on the floor with his chin resting in Tali’s lap, staring up at her with sad eyes whenever she stopped scratching behind his ears to give a thumbs up or down to Jemma for a movie selection. Skye wasn’t sure where Trudy was, but she was sure the smell of the popcorn would draw her in soon which is why she had one big bowl in each arm - one for her, Jem and Tali, the other for the animals to share.

“So,” She said as she entered the room. She put one bowl (for the animals on the living room table for now and held the other she handed to Jemma for her lap before she sat down next to Jemma, kissing her temple as she settled in and looping an arm around her back. “Did we make a final decision?” 

“Noooooooo,” Tali threw her head back and sighed. “Your wife wants to watch documentaries,” She rolled her eyes and stretched over to grab a fistful of popcorn and stuff most of it into her mouth at once, leaving Rex to steal any fallen soldiers. 

“They’re interesting and educational!” Jemma retorted. Skye often vetoed her choice of entertainment, but she was out outnumbered two to one now so she had a feeling documentaries would be watched less often.

Skye tried to hide her face into Jemma’s shoulder as she snickered. She kissed the top of Jemma’s shoulder, cleared her throat and leaned to look across her to where Tali was sitting. “And what were your picks?” She arched her eyebrows. 

“Avengers marathon,” Tali replied with a smug smirk. From Jemma’s reaction she was willing to bet she had completely won this battle. 

“Compromise,” Skye said. “We alternate, Avengers first, documentary after, back to Avengers after that if we’re still awake?” She arched her eyebrows slightly as she looked between the two of them to see if such a thing was agreeable. Skye didn’t want to disappoint either of them. At the same time, she was having trouble keeping the smirk off of her face at having come back in the middle of the amusing little argument. 

Tali gave it a second and then shrugged her shoulders as she tipped her head back and stuffed her mouth full of another handful of popcorn.   
  
“Sounds like a deal, I suppose.” Jemma smiled and offered her hand out for Talia to shake to agree on the compromise. Maybe this way she wouldn’t hear so much complaining about the documentary if it was followed by a second Avengers movie. She and Ace were like minded in this way.

Tali, cheeks filled with popcorn like a chipmunk as she chewed, reached out her salt and buttered popcorn hand to shake Jemma’s and Skye snickered as she leaned over to the table to grab a napkin for each of them afterward. Tali wiped her hands off and scooted closer toward the two of them from where she’d been sitting a cushion or so away from Jemma under the guise of wanting to keep chowing down on the popcorn. Skye setup the first Avengers movie and then grabbed her knit blanket before settling back down next to Jemma with the blanket and her arm wrapped around Jemma’s shoulders. Seeing his opening on the L shaped couch after Tali moved, Rex climbed up onto the chaise lounge section of the couch, curled up and nuzzled against Tali’s legs. Buzz parked nearby the living room table with the extra bowl of popcorn and Skye tossed him some pieces occasionally as he waited patiently for them. 

Skye’s attention focused mostly only Jemma and Tali, wanting them both to be happy and entertained by movie night. Honestly, though Jemma was right, there were times when she shot down Jemma’s choices, nights when they were all settled together and in agreement like they were at the moment, Skye would have been willing to watch almost anything to make them happy. “Do you like the comic books too, or just the movies?” Skye asked, tossing just a few pieces of popcorn into her mouth as she looked around Jemma to Tali. 

Tali shrugged and looked at the screen. “The boys usually always took the comics before anyone else could get to them,” She said. “I like the movies though.” 

Well, at least that gave them something to test out at the bookstore next time they went, she supposed. One whole wall in Tali’s room was dedicated as an in wall bookshelf next to the her desk. It wasn’t anywhere near full now, but they had time to find things she liked to fill it with, right? “Yeah, they always took the fun books and if they ever returned them they were in tatters,” She agreed with a nod. She looked at Jemma. “Movies or comics, Jem? What’s the verdict?” she grinned. 

“I like a good book.” Jemma grinned and nodded, affirming her strong preference for both fiction and nonfiction texts over picture and video formats. It was still fun though, and Jemma was glad to see Tali and Skye happy. She glanced over to the bookcase in the living room, where her old, tattered copy of The Odyssey was sitting in a case for protection amongst a plethora of artifacts from the island, like the titanoboa tooth, the shotgun shell from killing it, the compy skin and skeleton, and other treasures Jemma was prepared to bring up when she finished her next degree and started writing and researching.

Skye couldn't say she was surprised by Jemma's answer. Her eyes followed Jemma's to the shelf and she leaned over to kiss Jemma's closest shoulder, her right since it was the side she was sitting on. The movie finished it's opening credits and they all fell silent, digging into the popcorn as they went, commenting here or there about things in the movie. Eventually the empty bowl made it to the coffee table. Rex fell asleep purring and chuffing away happily on Tali's legs and the chaise lounge section of the couch to Jemma and Skye's left. Jemma's documentary choice came next and Tali was actually fairly engaged in watching it until she started to nod off halfway through.   
  
Before either Skye or Jemma realized what was happening, Tali, who had been shifting here or there on the couch to edge closer to the two older women, shifted again for a final time. She settled, lying down on the couch and turning Jemma's lap into a pillow on top of the blanket that was draped over Jemma's legs. It happened rather quickly. Tali's eyes started drooping, she yawned slightly and shifted and suddenly she was snuggled down in her spot, her on Jemma’s lap hands tucked underneath her blanket which was pulled up to her chin, with Rex keeping her legs warm. In moments her muscles were relaxed and she was breathing evenly on her way to sleep in the spot, comfortable enough with Skye and Jemma, it seemed, to turn one of them into a pillow.   
  
Skye missed the movement next to her as it happened as she was transfixed by the fact that Benedict Cumberbatch was completely unable to pronounce the word '[pengun](https://youtu.be/9GHPNKUMf70?t=3m17s)' as he narrated the nature docent are they watched, each time he said it pores sing to a bigger train wreck. "You'd think the director would have-," Skye cut off when Jemma's elbow nudged her.

“Shh,” Jemma shushed Skye and nodded down toward her lap, where Tali’s eyes had fallen shut and her breathing had evened out. There was a small trace of tears in Jemma’s eyes and she allowed her fingers to gently comb through Tali’s hair as she softly snored. “This feels right.” Jemma whispered. Jemma may have been concerned about whether or not Tali would wind up feeling like their child, but it was in this exact moment that Jemma felt herself completely commit to the young girl in her lap. She was meant to be their daughter.

It didn't matter that Jemma had shushed her because when she looked over and saw the vision of Tali sleeping soundly I'm Jemma's lap while Jemma combed fingers through her hair, her emotions welled a lump right into her throat. She cast a watery smile at the scene as she felt her heart swell with affection for the picture of her family. She leaned over and kissed the side of Jemma's head to affirm her own agreement with Jemma's comment. She'd felt before then that Tali was supposed to be theirs, but she had been waiting for signs that Tali was starting to trust them enough to feel the same. If ever there was a sign, this was one for sure.

___________

Life wasn't a string of happily ever after following their early bonding period as a family. They all knew it was going to take time and there were mistakes and setbacks along the way. Tali started school in the fall. Skye did a bit of consulting working from home through her computer and Jemma had picked up some online classes. The structured calendar seemed to suit them well and keep them in check and they started going to family therapy once a month to make sure they were properly checking in with each other on any grievances or concerns. They worked for a few weekends on painting and redecorating Tali's room how she liked. She got into minor trouble here or there at school, a detention her or there but for the most part she toed the line and got decent enough grades. She had some trouble with her reading level so Skye and Jem made it a point to have and ongoing library book reading competition so that there she read the more she caught up.    
  
The holiday season had been a first for Tali. It hadn't been a first for Skye but it had been the first time for Skye celebrating the holidays since the Brodys. Come the new year, Tali had been settling into school nicely. She had a good, small group of friends, she joined the school softball team. Things were hitting an even stride. Jemma and Skye were discussing when they were going to tell Tali they wanted to adopt her (provided that she officially wanted to be part of their family), and had been talking here and there about possibly putting feelers out to their social worker, Maria, to see if there were any other new placements she might have to send them as well.   
  
Then, one April early afternoon, the call came. The phone rang and Skye blindly grabbed the receiver on the table next to her while her eyes were rapidly scanning through code on her laptop screen. She have a quick, "Hello?" And found the secretary from Tali's school on the other end of the line. The principal waa requesting Jemma and Skye’s immediate presence for a conference and there were threats of expulsion involved. "What?" Skye had snapped immediately to proper, alarmed attention, which of course alerted Jemma to the severity of the situation on the phone.    
  
Five minutes later, they were in the car, taking the shirt drive to Tali’s school a bit faster than Skye probably should have been driving.    
  
Inside the school, Tali was sitting on a Bench outside of the main office. Her eyes were bloodshot and red rimmed having already cried a good deal from the incident. Her bag was tucked under the bench, her arms crossed tightly over herself and she was actually trembling in her seat. Her mind was a Daytona 500 of terrible thoughts. The principal waa threatening not only to expel her but to have her arrested for assault on top of it. She'd heard the secretary call one of her foster parents. Surely they weren't going to stand for this. She'd gone and gotten used to them and now they were finally going to have cause to send her back. Tali was so sure this was what was going to happen that the moment Skye and Jemma came into view, fresh tears burst free from her eyes and raced down her cheeks.    
  
The first thing Skye saw were the two benches on either side of the door to the school's main office. Tali sat nearly cowering on one and a boy sat sulking at the far end of the other holding an ice pack to his face with dried blood down his face an smattering his shirt. Skye exchanged a glance with Jemma and moved quickly, foregoing checking in with the office and instead crouching in front of Tali. "Hey, it's okay, we're here," she reached out to wipe some of Tali’s tears away and gently rubbed the outside of her arm. "Are you hurt?" They hadn't given much detail over the phone and this was Skye’s greatest concern.    
  
Tali let out a sob as both Jemma and Skye moved to try and console her. She was so upset with herself for what happened and so overwhelmed with fear that their disappointment in her would make them send her away that she couldn't do anything but panic and cry. "I'm sorry," She repeated over and over again. "I didn't mean to - I'm sorry, I was scared, I didn't know what else to do!" She sniffled. Skye moved to sit on Tali's left, running a hand along her back as she exchanged another glance with Jemma, this was filled with equal parts deep concern over Tali’s well being and anger at the implications of the phrasing.

“What happened, Love?” Jemma knelt in front of Tali and while Skye wiped away her tears, Jemma put her hands on Talia’s knees and gave them a gentle, reassuring squeeze. She didn’t care that the office staff was staring at them through the windows and that the principal was glaring at them, Jemma wanted to hear the story from their foster daughter before whatever accusatory statements came from the boy she clearly had a fight with along with the angry administration.

"She broke my nose!" The older boy at the other bench shouted in a muffled voice from the obstructed airflow. The principal glared toward him and he turned away to continue sulking at the silent chastising.    
  
Tali was nearly hyperventilating by then. Her eyes jumped back and forth between Jemma and Skye. "I didn't mean to - please don't send me away!" She blurted the words out in a panic.    
  
Skye felt her heart bottom out into the pit of her stomach at those last words. "No one's sending anyone away," she promised immediately. "Slow down, take a breath, take your time," she shot a glare toward the principal for glowering at them and turned back to Tali. "We just want you to tell us what happened, okay?" She ran her hand over Tali's hair and along her back, trying her best to be as reassuring as possible.    
  
Tali sniffled. "I was coming back from the restroom," her words broke slightly from the slight hiccups her crying caused. "He caught me in the stairwell and pushed me in the corner," Tali sniffled and looked between the again. The boy was bigger than Tali by at least four inches and multiple pounds from the looks of it. "H-He tried to kiss me, I turned away," Tali mimicked with her head and Skye barely remained in her seat when she noticed a bite mark on Tali's neck. The principal tried to interpret but was silenced by Skye's murderous glare.    
  
Tali clenched her eyes shut and her shoulders shook harder as she struggled to speak through her tears. "He put his hand up my skirt," her eyes popped open and she looked desperately at the two of them. "I d-didnt know what else to do, s-so, so I kicked him and," she sniffled, "and I hit him and then Mr. Clayton found us and, and I'm so sorry, please I didn't mean it!"    
  
Skye felt too many emotions to pinpoint any one in particular. She felt rage boiling in her that they'd set this up like Tali assaulted someone for no reason and here she was having been attacked. "Shhhh, you didn't do anything wrong, honey," she pulled Tali in and held onto her, which pulled Tali's tshirt sleeves up, revealing bruising on her arms that they hadn't seen when they first arrived. Skye was almost startled when she looked to Jemma and saw more rage in her wife's face than she ever recalled seeing before.    
  
The Principal suddenly piped up and immediately tried to insinuate that it was all a ruse. "I think that's about enough of this farcical dog and pony show-,"

“I’ll take care of this.” Jemma gave Tali’s knees another squeeze and with a scarily calm exterior, Jemma stood up, brow and jaw set, and faced the principal with what appeared to be a calm strength but was actually the culmination of boiling rage. She would not allow Tali to get into trouble for defending herself when Jemma knew all too well what it felt like to be in her very situation with a man instead of a boy. “What exactly is Talia being accused of and how are you trying to punish her?” Jemma questioned.    
  
“She broke our strict rules against violence and she’ll be facing expulsion and potentially assault charges for attacking my son.” The principal told her. Jemma snapped on the last word. If it was sexism, that was bad enough, but the boy that sexually assaulted Tali was the son of the snake standing in front of her.    
  
“I understand that you want to protect your son.” Jemma started, using what was currently a low level of volume and an understanding tone. That was about to change. “But the reason you have the fancy office and your name on that desk is because you are the principal of this school, which means you are responsible for the safety of all your students.” She argued, throwing a quick glance back at Tali to make sure she was okay before continuing. “Now if you refuse to consider Talia’s side of the story, which is the most logical and obviously the truth,” Jemma took a deep breath, and then the volume of her voice began to rise and the anger showed on her face. “Then both you and your son will be hearing from our lawyer, and you will be prosecuted to the full extend of the law for the policy of nepotism and negligence you have adopted in this school, and sexual assault charges for your son!” Jemma finished in a near yell and the principal and office staff looked stunned, and students who had been walking past the office hurried to clear the area. Jemma’s voice came down again, to almost a whisper, and Jemma got uncomfortably close to the principal. “You want to protect your son, but he is the instigator. I’m sure you know who I am and you know that I  _ will _ protect my family at all costs, and if I can handle terrorists and dinosaurs then I can handle  _ you _ .” She said quietly.    


Skye nodded. She wasn't startled by Jemma's defense of Tali. She'd seen Jemma in defensive mode when the others had been bearing down on herself on the island. If anything, Skye was impressed that she didn't take a swing at the principal. Lord knew Skye sure wanted to when she found out the boy was the Principal's son. She was more than a little proud of Jemma's defense of their kid. They both knew what it felt like to be in those situations without much time to figure out a way out of it. Skye held onto Tali and stroked her back as she watched it unfold.    
  
"If your assistant doesn't contact the police in regard to the sexual assault you allowed to happen to our daughter and then attempted to cover up," Skye said from the bench, "I will. News stations next. Social media after that." She glared at the man from her spot, barely able to keep her lip from curling at him. She didn't normally like throwing who they were around but if it provided added protection for Tali, she had no qualms about it at all. "Ball's in your court," she shrugged.    
  
"Y-you wouldn't call the cops on me, dad, right??" The boy piped up, eyes wide as the fear of the situation reversal sunk in for him. As much as Skye wanted this to be over so they could take Tali home and talk with her, calm her down, assure her that she didn't do anything wrong and the they weren't going to send her away anywhere, she wasn't comfortable leaving this unreported to the police as she didn't want Tali to have to chance running into this boy alone in the halls ever again, let alone letting the Principal get away with covering up his son's crime. "How many other girls has your son done this to while you've cleaned up after him?" She asked as the principal began to stutter, a sheen of sweat across his forehead.    
  
"Now, now," he stammered. "There's no need to get the authorities involved here-,"

“Wasn’t it you who threatened to charge our daughter with assault?” Jemma questioned harshly. She pulled out her phone and was ready to dial herself.    
  
“Wait!” The principal held his hands out and Jemma paused for just long enough for the principal to look over at the secretary before trying to continue covering his ass. “We’ll file an incident report with the authorities.” He gave in, wanting to have some semblance of control over the situation. It gave Jemma pleasure to see the horrified face of the boy sitting on the bench a few meters away. Maybe if he was disciplined this time he would grow up to be someone that didn’t remind Jemma of Grant Ward. She looked to Skye to see if she was in agreement to let the school call the police, but still kept her phone in her hand just in case.

Skye nodded. After having heard Tali’s story, it was clearly not a situation they should let slide. Skye fully intended to follow up on Jemma’s threat about the lawyers too. How many other students had the Principal hushed for his son’s behavior? Anyone who would cover up such a thing had no business being a middle school principal, that was for sure. The boy with the bloody nose rushed into the office behind the Principal, begging his father not to let the assistant call the police and the Principal ushered the boy into his office quickly to wait for the authorities to arrive. 

Tali panicked at the many mentions of police and began another run through her apologies. Skye’s attention quickly shifted gears back to reassuring her that she didn’t do anything wrong and, in fact, it was quite the opposite, that they were going to simply talk with the officers that arrived and then they would take her home. Both Jemma and Skye stayed by either side of Tali once the police officers did arrive. Two female officers took the three of them into an empty classroom to get Tali’s statement down and to take pictures of her bruises while a couple of male officers spoke with the Principal and his son and took photos of his injuries.

It took some time but eventually they were allowed to go on their way so they gathered Tali’s things and walked with her to the parking lot. The ride home was a quiet one, mostly spent with Jemma and Skye exchanging worried glances while repeatedly trying to assure Tali. Skye pulled the car into the driveway and cut the engine as she announced a quiet, “We’re home.”    
  
Once inside, they dropped all bags by the front door and ushered Tali into the living room. Skye let Jemma sit next to her and took a perch on the coffee table in front of her. “Listen, okay?” She settled her hands on the outsides of Tali’s knees and gave them a small squeeze. “I know you’re upset and you’re scared and that’s okay, you should be after what happened to you but,” She glanced at Jemma and then ducked her head to catch Tali’s eyes with her own. “We’re not mad at you at all. We’re proud of you for defending yourself and what you did is exactly what you should always do to protect yourself. You will never be in any kind of trouble with us for protecting yourself, no matter what your school or anyone else says,” Skye spoke firmly, her tone sincere. She reached across and tucked Tali’s hair behind her ear, gently touched to cheek to wipe away a stray tear. “And another thing,” She added. “We are never going to send you away and we’ll never let anyone take you away unless you’re the one who decided you want to go. We’re family. We love you and there isn’t anything that’s ever going to change that.” 

While they’d been at the school, Tali had been so panicked, it hadn’t fully sunken in for her, just how far her foster parents had stepped up for her. Now that they were home and it was clear that Jemma and Skye meant everything they’d been saying all along, it hit Tali harder than she’d expected. This whole time she’d been keeping them just a tiny bit at bay still, even after all these months, because she was afraid of what she thought was the inevitable rejection and all they’d been trying to prove to her was that they loved her, wanted her as part of their family and wanted to protect her. The tears came again and this time, Tali turned to Jemma since she was closest and she abruptly threw her arms around her middle and buried her face into her shoulder. One of her hands worked free and flew out to grip tightly to one of Skye’s and before either of them could try and console here again, she blurted something she hadn’t yet been able to say to either of them, a very rushed, but audible (if a bit muffled by her face being pressed into the crook of Jemma’s neck), “I love you.” 

Jemma was startled by the hug, but quickly wrapped her arms around Tali’s shoulders to comfort her and make sure she knew it was reciprocated. One hand moved to the small of Tali’s back and the other supported the back of Tali’s head on her shoulder, occasionally combing her fingers through her hair.    
  
“We love you too, Tali, and nothing is ever going to change that.” Jemma promised, hugging her daughter close. Tali was their daughter now, and Jemma knew they needed to prove it to Tali in the best way possible.

___________________

After the situation with the school, Jemma and Skye called the therapist and Maria the social worker to let them know what happened. They also let Maria know they wanted to officially adopt Tali and asked if she could help them get the paperwork in place and schedule an appointment with the court. They had been discussing this for some weeks and trying to figure out how to present it to Tali to ask her if it was something she wanted, to officially be a Simmons. Once they had a court date set, they let Tali know they were pulling her from school in the coming week for a doctor’s appointment. They’d let her stay home the day after the incident at school too so Tali just thought they were finding a way to give her another break so she’d just shrugged and nodded. 

So, a little over a week after they were called into school for the assault incident, Jemma, Skye and Tali loaded into the car to head to the ‘doctor’s appointment.’ Halfway through the right, Tali noticed that Jemma and Skye kept exchanging weird looks with each other and that they kept trying to ask her just random questions that had nothing to do with anything. “Why are you guys being weird?” Tali finally asked as they pulled into a parking space. 

“Weird? Who’s being weird? We’re not being weird, you’re weird,” Skye joked with a smirk over her shoulder as she pulled off her seat belt. 

Tali rolled her eyes and was reaching for her seat belt when she realized they weren’t at the doctor’s office parking lot. She glanced through the windshield and froze when she realized they were at the courthouse. Panic iced through her veins and she blinked, startled. Had they changed their minds? Were they bringing her to the judges to take her back? What could she do to change their minds? Tali was so caught up in her sudden panic that she didn’t hear what they said to her next. 

“Tali, darling, are you okay?” Jemma asked. She grabbed Skye’s arm before she get out of the car to let her know Tali was having an issue and they were both twisted around in the front seats of the minivan to see Tali in the middle row. For a moment, Jemma wondered if Tali didn’t want them to adopt her based on the look on her face and her heart seized up in her chest, but then she remembered Tali’ fear of being sent away after the school incident. This was probably the same.    
  
“Tali, it’s alright.” Jemma promised. She knew it was time to give the surprise before Tali could get too worried, so she pulled a large manila envelope from beneath the passenger seat and passed it back to Tali. It had a small gift bow on it and Jemma smiled when she placed it in her lap. It contained Tali’s adoption paperwork and Jemma was sure she’d understand once she saw it.

Skye frowned when she saw the terrified look on Tali’s face. She hadn’t thought Tali would actually think something terrible about the courthouse, had figured by the time they even got to the building, she would have figured it out before they handed her the paperwork. Tali stared at the envelope in her lap with confusion on her face. “Hey,” Skye reached back and gently squeezed Tali’s knee when she didn’t open the envelope right away. “It’s nothing bad, we promise,” She said. “Open it up, you’ll see,” She encouraged. 

Tali’s hands were shaking a bit as she picked up the envelope. She was suddenly afraid to look at either up them. The bow threw her off even more. She swallowed down the giant lump in her throat that prevented words from coming out and forced herself to open the envelope. She pulled the paperwork out and looked down at the words on the top page. It took a few moments for the words on the page to sink in and for Tali to realize the paperwork was a petition for Jemma and Skye to adopt her. Her eyes welled up and she looked up at them, her mouth open but no words came out initially. When they did, it was a quiet, stammered, “...R-Really?” As if she didn’t believe it even with the papers in her hands. 

Skye smiled at her. “Really,” She nodded. “I’m sorry we scared you,” She glanced at Jemma and then back to Tali. “We’ve been trying to think of ways to ask you how you felt about it but we never really found a good way to bring it up, so,” she glanced at Jemma again and then smiled in the backseat at Tali again. “What do you think? We don’t have to do inside if you don’t want us to make it official-,” She added quickly, just in case she was reading Tali’s expression incorrectly. Tali unbuckled her seat belt and awkwardly launched herself toward the front seat at the two of them, trying not to crumple the papers as she made to hug them despite the awkward angles of the car. 

“So that’s a yes?” Jemma laughed and had to stretch a hand around Tali’s shoulder to wipe a few happy tears from her own eyes. They’d spent the past few months trying their best to make Tali happy and comfortable and here they were, about to officially declare that Tali was their daughter, and nobody would ever be able to take her away.

“Yes!” Tali shouted, squeezing them tighter around the car seats. 

Skye chuckled, turned her head and kissed Tali’s cheek. “Let’s get out of the car, this deserves a proper hug,” She blink her own sheen of happy tears from her wet eyes. 

Jemma practically jumped out of the car once Tali let go of them and as soon as Tai exited the passenger side of the door, Jemma scooped her up and pulled her into a bear hug, jokingly lifting her up and putting her back down, proceeding to cover Tali’s cheeks in kisses to make her laugh.

Skye managed to pull her phone from her pocket as she climbed quickly from the car so she could get a few pictures of Tali and Jemma’s bear hug lovefest as she made it over to them. Tali laughed and sniffled at the same time and once she was put down, hugged Jemma tightly around her middle again. She only let go of her when Skye reached them and it was her turn for some bear hugs and kisses. With happy tears in all their eyes and Cheshire sized grins plastered across their faces they took a few quick selfies before Skye said, “Let’s get going, they’re waiting for us,” She pointed to the courthouse steps and scooped Tali up so she could see Maria waiting along with Bobbi (plus the baby), Trip, Raina and Ace all waiting for the family to head inside with them for the momentous occasion. Skye set her down and took the papers from Tali and Tali took her free hand and Jemma’s hand and hurried off to lead the way up the stone steps of the courthouse. 

“Whoa, slow down there!” Jemma laughed but let Tali practically yank her upstairs anyway. She gave Bobbi and a few of the others a one-armed hug without breaking contact with Tali’s hand and they hurried inside the courthouse to be to their appointment on time.   
  
With quite a bit of time and a fair share of happy tears, the paperwork got finalized and Tali exited the courthouse as Talia Simmons, holding hands with both of her moms and followed by their friends (and neighbors) and Ace, who was technically about her age and was driven into town by his aunt for the occasion. Unbeknownst to Tali, there was a cake and ice cream waiting at home along with some streamers Raina had gone in and put up before making her way to the courthouse.

“What do you say we go home instead of dropping you off at school?” Jemma asked. 

Tali looked up at them both. “Can you adopt me everyday?” If she got to skip school, it was the best deal she could think of! 

“Funny,” Jemma chuckled and raised a brow at the little devious look on Tali’s face, but she wore a smirk of her own. “We may not be able to adopt you every day, but you’ll be our daughter every day.” Jemma gave Tali’s hand a squeeze and playfully pinched at her cheek.

__________________

Skye and Jemma had been doing charity work with a couple of adoption related charities for some time. Every now and then they took Tali with them for an event or fundraiser. The particular event they were at tonight seemed like one Tali might actually enjoy since it involved more food and presents than speeches and raffles and expensive dinner plates. It was a fundraiser for one of the larger group homes in the area. It was a week and a half until Christmas and the Simmons family had spent a few weeks organizing an over the top Christmas feast and a massive among of presents and supplies for the group home. One of the reasons they’d put this particular home on their list of group homes to support financially as well as through events like this was because it had been one of the many places among Tali’s file that she’d spent time in during her foster years. 

Tali had mixed feelings about being in the house. It hadn’t been a terrible place to live, really, but the staff was always over taxed and under budgeted and it was hard for them to keep up with how many kids were constantly being placed with them. Skye and Jemma had set up a trust for the home so it would have enough to higher extra staff and would have extra cash to tap into for things like new clothes, school supplies and things like books, games, etc for the kids to utilize. Tali wasn’t sure there was an end to her moms’ generosity and it still kind of baffled her that they were hers forever.

When they’d first arrived, the kids of the house had swarmed them since they had sacks full of presents with them and they’d spent a lot of time doling out presents that had been specially picked for each of the kids by Skye and Jemma after Maria had given them lists of requests and suggestions. Eventually, the kids were racing around playing with their toys and showing their new gifts to each other and the various adults there while digging into all manner of food, snacks and treats. It was a boisterous, holly jolly affair but Tali couldn’t stop thinking about her favorite hiding spot in the house. For whatever reason, she wanted to go and see it even though it was nothing more than a small closet in the hallway no one really ever thought to look for her there even after she’d turned up hiding there three or for times. She’d only been six or so at the time but, she had vivid memories of those moments in the dark place, tucked away in the corner. 

Excusing herself to the bathroom, Tali made her way up  the stairs and to the small linen closet. She pulled the door open when she was sure no one else was around and reached up to tug the string on the single light bulb that hung inside. It still smelled just as musty as it had the first time she’d stolen away in there to hide from some of the kids making fun of her for whatever reason. She crouched down, intending to see if her old initials were still carved into a wood moulding piece in the back corner and instead came face to face with a little girl. “Oh!” Tali jumped slightly and covered her heart with her hand. “You scared me!” she chuckled softly at herself and moved to kneel down, sitting back on her heels. She got a better look at the little girl who seemed to be staring at up at her. Tali guessed she must’ve been maybe five or six or so. She was very small with big dark eyes and dark hair. “What are you doing up here by yourself?” She asked even though she’d known the kind of comfort hiding in a closet could provide when feeling overwhelmed. 

Not hearing the door handle, the little girl startled when it was opened and looked up at Tali with big scared eyes until she realized it wasn’t any of the other kids or the staff looking for her. It was just some girl out of the many people who were visiting for the fundraiser. Words came out of her mouth, but Jo only processed a few of them. She wasn’t very good at lip reading and wasn’t completely sure what the girl was saying to her, so she brought her knees up to her chest, wrapped her arms around them, and rested her chin on her arms without saying a word, though she still looked over at Tali with curiosity.

Tali wasn't sure if it was because she'd scared the girl or if she was just naturally quiet but something made her stay rather than leave when the little girl hugged her knees. "I'm Tali," she motioned toward herself and then tilted her head slightly as she looked at that little girl. "What's your name?" She asked, hoping to at least get the out of the girl.

Jo recognized that Tali was saying her name thanks to the gesture, but she didn’t quite get the name Tali gave her because it wasn’t one of the few words she could read by lips. She memorized the facial movement anyway and started calling her T in her head, since it was the only sound in the name she caught. Jo sniffled, since she was still getting over a cold and she had been crying in the closet earlier, too afraid of all the people moving around downstairs to handle it and upset because she was hungry and lonely. She wiped her wet eyes with her sleeve and continued to just watch Tali in case she said anything else.

Tali immediately felt the urge to pick the little girl up when she realized she might have been crying. "Have you been up here the whole time?" Tali motioned to the closet. She knew something was wrong to make the girl hide but without her speaking up, Tali didn't know what was wrong. She shifted a little closer to the girl. "Are you hungry?" She asked. "Do you want to go get something to eat?" Without consciously thinking about it, she motioned to her mouth with her hand to mimic the motion of eating. Hunger had been one of the things that plagued her most in the pre-Simmons foster days. She hoped that wasn't the case for this little girl.

This Jo understood, and before she even realized it, she was nodding and her stomach was growling. This made her eyes water even more and she was afraid to accept the kindness that the girl who’s name started with T was offering her. Hunger won out though, and she stuck both her arms out, waiting for Tali to either grab her hands or pick her up.

Tali arched her eyebrows slightly. Okay, the poor baby was starving and clearly very shy. She must have been hiding this while time! It made Tali internally angry that no one had searched for the little girl. She moved to prepare to stand and flashed the little girl what she hoped was a warm, reassuring smile as she reached out. Tali scooped the little girl up into her arms, glad for the training she'd been doing with Skye since it made the task easy. With the little girl on her hip and secure in her arms, Tali turned the light off and shut the closet door.    
  
"That was my favorite hiding spot too," she confessed when she realized the girl was still carefully watching her face. "When I lived here." She didn't get an answer so Tali adjusted her grip on the girl and used her sleeve to gently wipe off her tears. "Let's go get you some food, yeah?" She headed down the hall and took the stairs down, gently rubbing a few circles along the girl's back as she went. She took her to the food table and shifted to keep her hold on the girl with one arm and grabbed a plate to start filling it with the other. She looked at the girl and then nodded toward the food. "What do you like?" She asked, figuring the girl would reach for or point to what she wanted if she wasn't going to talk for whatever reason.

Initially Jo paid very close attention to Tali’s lips, trying to pick up any words she could, but when it wasn’t going very well she rested her head on Tali’s shoulder and just felt the vibrations of Tali talking through her cheek. Her eyes nearly lit up when she saw the food and she immediately pointed to the sugar cookies that were shaped like snowflakes and covered in blue sprinkles.   
  
Tali chuckled immediately. She couldn't say no to that,  knowing the girl was upset so she put two cookies on the plate and handed a third to the girl to eat while they filed the plate.  "How about pasta? " She pointed to a tray of spaghetti and meatballs and looked over at the little girl to see what she thought of that. Maybe she could get some pasta, meatballs and so few fruit cup into the girl besides just the cookies, make sure to fill her stomach rather than only giving her a tummy ache.   


A smile creeped onto Jo’s face once she had the cookie in her hands and she munched on it slowly, taking small bites and sometimes getting crumbs and sprinkles on the shoulder of Tali’s shirt. When Tali pointed to the other food, Jo had to tear her eyes away from the rest of the dessert table to follow Tali’s arm and see what she was gesturing to. She nodded, and while Tali was filling the plate, Jo finished her cookie and wrapped her arms around Tali’s neck and shoulders, holding her close so she could feel her heartbeat.

Tali was used to hold in smaller sized kids, like baby/now toddler sized Lance but that experience made it easier to handle the girl's wriggling around. She felt a little emotional when the little girl hugged her, glad she'd managed to get her to smile from something so simple as a cookie. She wasn't surprised that the girl ate the cookie so slowly. When you didn't have food two things happened, you learned how to make it last longer until a certain point, then, when it became too much, you scarfed as much as you could as fast as you could because you feared dying. Tali knew the group home fed the girl regularly, bit today had been a different story. She'd been scared and she'd hid and no one found her until Tali.    
  
Tali filled the plate with spaghetti, meatballs, a fruit cup bowl and a slice of cake from the dessert table. She grabbed utensils, and found a table to set it down on, then grabbed them both some juice pouches and went to sit. She pulled the girl sideways into her lap and turned to kiss the little girl's forehead since she had her head resting on Tali's chest. "Do you know how to twirl your spaghetti?" She pointed to the pasta with the fork in her hand and then made a show of twirling up a tiny sized fork full of the spaghetti that she thought the girl could eat on her own and made a show of twirling it perfectly on the fork. She grinned and bounced her eyebrows at the little girl as if to say 'impressive, huh?' Before she held the for up for the little girl to take the bite.

Jo had no idea what Tali was saying, but she smiled at Tali’s overly expressive faces and leaned over to take the bite of food Tali offered. She reached for the juice pouch next and once she had her own straw in her mouth and was quickly emptying her own, she reached out with a small hand and grabbed the other one, handing it to Tali with a proud look on her face. It was what she could offer at the moment in thanks for Tali’s kindness. After a moment of hesitation, Jo put her own juice down and looked up at Tali to make eye contact when she opened her mouth and slowly tried to sound out the words “thank you,” but it ended up sounding like near gibberish.

"Thank you," Tali grinned as she took the juice pouch.  She took a small sip if it and was going to let the girl have the rest sind she was clearly thirsty but to her surprise,  the girl spoke! Her voice sounded odd and Tali wasn't sure why, but she picked out the phrase and smiled brightly at the little girl. "You're welcome," she replied, this time unconsciously a little slower than her normal talking,  picking up somewhere in the back of her mind that this little girl had some sort of issue hearing her properly perhaps. "Want some more?" She began twirling up more pasta in the fork.

______________   
  
Halfway into the song  _ Jingle Bell Rock _ , Maria caught sight of something she didn’t think she’d ever see. Jo was sitting in Tali’s lap, actually trying to communicate with her while they ate. Maria hadn’t seen much of the little girl during the party since people started arriving and she hadn’t expected her to show up anywhere, much less make a connection with anyone.    
  
“Hey Skye,” Maria hooked Skye by the elbow as she passed by to get both her and Jemma’s attention, nodding toward the scene at the table while the other children all played with their toys in the other room and the adults who funded the operation, who were lightly drinking some wine, were conversing near the kitchen with a view of the room where all the kids ate. “Tali is one special girl. That little girl’s name is Josephine, she never talks to anyone. Not even me.” Maria explained. It was a wonder to even watch and she was amazed to see Jo smile for the first time.

Skye arched her eyebrows when Maria tugged her elbow. She leaned closer to get a look,  unable to stop the little smile that curled up hey lips at the sight of Tali with the little girl in her lap.  "Tali definitely has a way of melting hearts," she said, not bothering to hide that little lilt of parental pride in her voice. "The little girl,  Josephine? She's that shy, or...?" Okay, she was interested in more of this back story. What made Josephine not talk to anyone until Tali?

“She likes to be called Jo because she can recognize it more easily.” Maria explained. Jemma opened her mouth to question why that was, but Maria beat her to it. “She’s completely deaf. She’s only learned sign language in the past two years she’s lived with us, but she isn’t good at picking up on lip reading or speaking vocally.” Maria explained. At this, Jemma frowned and looked back at the two of them, wondering how Tali could have gotten to that point when there was such a language barrier between them.    
  
“You say she’s been here for two years... has nobody fostered her?” Jemma asked. She wasn’t an expert on the system like Skye and Tali were, but she thought it was strange that such a young girl never went to foster for two years, even if she was deaf.    
  
“She hasn’t let anyone connect with her since she was rescued.” Maria answered. It wasn’t easy to place the little girl in a home. “The few times people have been interested, she stops eating when she goes home with them and ends up having to come back.”

Skye glanced at Jemma. They'd been talking a lot more, recently,  about finding a second foster child to take in. Could this little girl maybe be meant for them the way Tali had been?  For a moment, Skye's face darkened as she thought about people passing over the girl or giving up on her because of her disability.  "Rescued...what's the rest of her story? Where was she before?" She asked, Maria as she watched Tali and Jo some more. What made the girl open up to Tali? Would it help Jo open up to Skye and Jemma that they were related to Tali?

“Rescued from what?” Jemma asked on top of it, already getting a sick feeling in her stomach and grabbing onto Skye’s arm.    
  
“A sex trafficking ring was busted in China and Jo was found with the women when she was four. We presume she’s the daughter of one of the forced prostitutes, but nobody claimed her.” Maria shook her head as she recounted Jo’s story and gave Jemma’s shoulder a squeeze when Jemma made a small gasping noise and looked over to Jo and Tali. “She may have been born deaf because of the drugs the women were on, probably while Jo’s mother was pregnant. We don’t know anything that’s happened to her before us, really.” Maria said, but what she was implying was that she didn’t know if they used Jo the same way they used the women despite her young age.

Skye reflexively laid her hand over top of Jemma's on her arm. She felt a number of emotions well up in her chest as Maria went on and squeezed Jemma’s hand in response to them. Even with all she had been through, she couldn't fathom what Jo had been through in such a short span of her life. It was hard during any of the fundraisers and events for Skye to not come away wanting to adopt every kid that she felt needed them, but honestly she'd never felt it as immediately and intensely as she did after she heard that story and knew Jo had been returned from a handful of homes already. She looked away from the scene of Tali and Jo who were giggling now as Tali very lightly tickled Jo's side - Tali was still talking to the girl, undeterred by Jo not speaking back out loud - and looked over to Jemma, arching her eyebrows as if to silently ask how they should proceed. Clearly there was some kind of connection with the two, enough so that Maria needed to point it out. Should they go and sit with the girls to see how they reacted or should they wait and see if Tali sought them out? "What're you thinking?" She asked Jemma, though she could hazard a few guesses and knew she'd be close to on the nose if she did.

“I want to help her.” Jemma said quietly, eyes brimming with tears. She couldn’t imagine the kinds of horrors Jo had faced as a baby and a toddler. Jemma had a bit of experience in that kind of trauma, so she feared for Jo and her past and wanted to do everything possible to make sure that as she grew up she didn’t remember any of it.    
  
“I think we should let them bond a little more and see how the night progresses.” Jemma suggested. If Jo was so weary of new people, Jemma wanted her to have someone she was comfortable with before they even suggested bringing her home.

Skye's shoulders sagged a bit in relief when Jemma confirmed she wanted to help Jo. She hadn't doubted it was the case but the confirmation was reassuring. She nodded in agreement with Jemma's game plan. Shifting her weight she pulled her arm free so she could move it around Jemma's waist. "Look how awesome our daughter is," she added as she looked over and to watch Tali an Jo again. Obviously they knew Tali was an awesome kid, and they knew how she interacted with her friends and with other kids like Ace and Lance but this was a new side of the many layers of their daughter's personality. It was supremely awesome to see Tali developing into this person from the timid, closed off, nonchalant air she had up when she'd just arrived at Jemma and Skye's house.

“She’s turning into quite the young lady.” Jemma confirmed with a small smile on her face. She leaned into Skye’s side embrace and continued to glance over at Tali and Jo every now and then as the night progressed.

__________

After Jo was through the pasta and fruit, Tali let her dig into the desserts and some more juice. She wiped off the little girl's face to clear the crumbs and frosting when she was done and and had her wipe her hands off so they weren't sticky. She caught sight of a few last presents left under the Christmas tree in the corner of the main room and adjusted her grip on Jo in her lap. "Have you opened your present yet?" She asked before pointing to the tree. There might be two or three there for this little girl that she hadn't received if she'd been hiding in the closet the whole time.

Jo didn’t understand until she followed Tali’s line of sight and saw the few gifts wrapped under the tree. Her eyes widened but she was afraid to get excited, unsure if one of them was for her. She didn’t have toys of her own really, she mostly just used her imagination to make rocks or sticks or other things she found outside come to life. The communal toys were often claimed by the other children and Jo wasn’t very good about standing up for herself.    
  
Jo’s eyes watered slightly and she looked back up at Tali with big brown eyes and pointed to herself to ask if there was really one for her.

Tali felt her heart breaking in her chest at the little girl's reaction to the suggestion. It clicked in her brain from the combination of not talking, her lack of nodding or head shaking, and he sound of the girl's voice when she had tried to speak that she must have a hearing issue of some sort. She did her best to communicate and started to consciously thinking about her expressions and gestures. Knowing that every kid had, at the very least, one present. She smiled and said, "Let's go see," motioning toward the presents and pointing from her eyes to the gifts. She shifted and scooped Jo back up into her arms, holding her securely against her hip and holding one of her forearms with her other hand to make sure Jo was comfortable for the short trip.    
  
Over at the Christmas tree, she sat down and pulled Jo back into her lap after crossing her legs indian style. She reached for a square box and pulled it over, trying to remember what was in it since she'd helped wrap the ones with this paper on it. She set the box in their laps and pointed to the name, then waited for the girl to look back up at her. "Josephine - is that you?" She pointed to the girl and arched her eyebrows to signify that it was a question.

This word Jo did recognize, even if she wasn’t quite able to read the tag on the present since she hadn’t started learning english or sign language or reading until she was four. Her eyes widened and she carefully grabbed the present like it was made of glass and if she dropped it it might shatter and disappear. Her eyes watered and she looked up at Tali and finger spelled her name. J-O, she said, and then she spoke it aloud as best she could.    
  
“Jo,” Jo said quietly, and then looked back at the present for a moment. She put it down in her lap and gently poked Tali’s chest with her left hand and made the sign for T with her other, tucking her thumb under her pointer finger to tell Tali what Jo wanted to call her.

Tali watched carefully and then mimicked the movements for the two letters as she said, "Jo," aloud to confirm it. She grinned and fought against the urge to bear hug the little girl when she got emotional over the present. Tali was glad they'd found a way to communicate even if it was flawed at best, it was something. Her brow furrowed when Jo pointed at her and shaped her hand again but she put it together quickly. "Tali, that's me?" She pointed to Jo's hand and then herself and arched her eyebrows to confirm it just to be sure.

Jo nodded and smiled, happy that Tali understood what she was saying. It wasn’t often she even tried to communicate with people, and when she did, her mediocre at best sign language skills made it difficult. Once Jo was happy and knew that Tali knew her name and knew what Jo would use to say Tali, Jo focussed on the present in her lap and carefully unwrapped it. Her eyes lit up when she saw the picture on the box of the building blocks and looked up at Tali to finger spell the letters on the box, not because she knew what they meant, but because she was excited and seeking Tali’s approval. L-E-G-O, she spelled.

Tali flashed Jo a massive grin, all hr teeth showing. She watched Jo's fingers and nodded. "Yes, Lego!" She tried to mimic the hand movements but was a bit more sloppy than Jo's letter spelling. She moved her arms to circle Jo so she could clap her hands excitedly, wanting the little girl to get a much joy out of this gift and any others as she possibly could, especially given that it seem like this might be the first time ever she was receiving gifts meant just for her. She already knew now the other two gifts in front of them were for Jo too since she'd seen the tags but she wanted to take her time with them so Jo didn't feel rushed.

“Mine?” Jo asked cautiously before she opened the box. She shook it even though she couldn’t hear it, but she felt the vibrations in the box and felt that it wasn’t empty; it wasn’t a trick.

Tali wanted to cry for each one of Jo's unsure reactions. The bridge of her nose even burned a moment but she smiled encouragingly and nodded. "All yours!" She said before she lightly tickled at Jo's side with her index finger.

Jo grinned and proceeded to rip into the box and then dump all the pieces out on the carpet. She didn’t bother with the instructions and just started to connect as many as possible in random shapes. It was a colorful set, full of reds, yellows, and blues. Jo probably could have played forever, completely fascinated by having her own toy.

Tali laughed and dutifully sat gathering up pieces from the food to hand to Jo. For a long time they went in circles - Jo built up a massive random block pile, until it came crashing down and separated on the floor then they scrambled to building a new, colorful shape before breaking it apart. Tali laughed. Most importantly, or Tali thought so anyway Jo smiled and laughed and whenever she looked to Tali for approval, Tali gave it to her in excited expressions and cheers in spades, more than willing to play it up extra if it meant the little girl would keep laughing so she didn't revert back to how upset she'd been in that closet.    
  
"Hey," Tali tapped Jo's shoulder after they'd been playing for at least a half an hour or more. She waited for Jo to looking at her and then signed the 'J-O' to spell Jo's name and then point to the name tags on the last two gifts, one another small box and the other a bag stuffed with tissue paper. She widened her eyes and grinned hoping to convey that these gifts were Jo's too!

Jo’s eyes widened and she reached for the shiny paper on the second to last gift. It was obviously a book, but Jo still opened it with excitement to see what book it was and her eyes lit up when she saw the picture on the front.    
  
_ Bunny!  _ Jo signed excitedly by crossing her hands with her pointer and middle fingers out and curling them twice. She picked up the book and flipped it open, just looking at the pictures and leaning back into Tali’s chest.

Tali was so glad Maria had given her moms the lists of names and gift suggestions when she saw how excited Jo was over the book. "That's right, bunny," she agreed when she figured out the little hand sign for the animal. Jo was already leaning back against her chest by then with the book. She wasn't sure if the little girl could read at all, but she hoped someone could sign the story to her at least if she couldn't. She made a mental note to check on her phone later if there were any apps she could download that would teach her some sign language to see if she could communicate a little better.    
  
Tali let Jo go through the book front to back while in her lap a few times, chuckling here and there when Jo found herself unable to sit still every now and then as if she were trying to stay in Tali's lap while at the same time wanting to hop around with her bunny friends in her new book. Eventually, Tali hooked the handle of the bag of the last gift and pulled it over. If Jo liked the book, Tali knew she was going to lose it over the gift inside, she had to! It went with the book in fact.    
  
When Tali handed Jo the last present, she twisted and looked up at Tali with a frown on her face, like she was confused about why she was getting so many things and questioning if a third was really hears. She looked at the tag on the bag, though, and sure enough, her name was written on it. She pulled the bag closer into Tali’s lap and took her time pulling the paper out of the bag to reveal what was inside. She reached in blindly and the soft texture gave away what it was. She pulled it out, the last of the tissue paper flying everywhere, and held up the pink stuffed rabbit with floppy ears and long arms and legs. Jo sniffled once and immediately started crying, hugging the bunny to her chest and hiding her face in its fur.

Tali gave Jo’s shoulder a little squeeze and gave her a reassuring nod to let her know this last present was hers as well. Tali understood the feeling. She’d felt skeptical when she’d arrived at the Simmons house and they had a bedroom just for her, new clean clothes, a proper suitcase for the things she was carrying around in a trash bag and that blanket Skye had knitted just for her. She’d felt wary that all the nice things they had to offer couldn’t really be for her - because why would they be? Nothing else that nice had ever been given to Tali. It was hard to process and she wasn’t as young as this little girl in her lap, even. So Tali just gave her the reassurance and took the pieces of paper from her as Jo pulled them out. Tali was just catching some of the tissue paper that were flung free when she hear Jo sniffle. She quickly tucked the papers into the bag and shifted, moving the book and stray legos out off to the side so she could turn Jo sideways in her lap. 

Tali immediately wanted to shush the girl’s crying and tell her it was okay but Jo’s face was buried into the plush bunny’s face and she knew the little girl couldn’t hear her so, instead, She gathered Jo and the bunny up in her arms and held her close. She patted her back gently and rocked in her seat a bit with Jo in her arms, making sure to hold her in a way that she might feel the fact that she was trying to calm her down with a gentle, ‘Shhhh,’ to try and tell her that it was okay. This whole time, Tali hadn’t thought to pay attention to how the adults or other kids nearby might be reacting to their play time together by the Christmas tree but now she felt some curious eyes on her as they’d heard the small whimpers of Jo’s crying. Tali worried for a moment that they might think that she’d made Jo cry but she told herself that her moms would set the record straight since they obviously knew she wouldn’t do such a thing. Speaking of her moms, Tali was going to need to find them. She knew they were talking with Maria about taking in another foster kid and that, to Tali, meant they needed to meet Jo before the night was through. 

Jemma looked over when she heard the soft crying sounds and wanted to get up and go see if everything was okay, but Maria put a hand on her arm to keep her in her seat in the kitchen. Another stranger probably wouldn’t help the situation and Jemma was curious to see if Tali could soothe the crying child who appeared to be connecting with her.    
  
Eventually, with the rocking and the back rubs, Jo’s crying quieted down and she moved the bunny down her face just enough for her to see Tali, and when she did, the corners of her eyes crinkled slightly, giving away that she was smiling behind the bunny.    
  
_ Thank you, _ Jo signed and used vocal words at the same time, wondering if Tali might understand and remember the sign.

Tali’s shoulders sagged in relief and she grinned at Jo as she connected the sign with the words she heard Jo say and tried to commit them to memory. She opened her mouth to speak so she could say ‘you’re welcome,’ but then paused and held her finger up to tell Jo to hold on just a second. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and went on a search for a video that would show her how to sign out those words to reply to Jo only to discover the most common response is to sign ‘thank you’ back to form the ‘you’re welcome’ response. It didn’t make sense in Tali’s head but, she decided to go with it. Before she put the phone down on her free leg, she looked one more quick one up. Then she looked at Jo and said, “You’re welcome,” with a big smile as she repeated the ‘thank you’ sign gesture Jo had given her a moment before. She smiled even wider as she leaned back slightly and motioned with both her hands and then a single hand to sign out,  _ “Merry Christmas, _ ” as she said the words to Jo.

Jo’s eyes were watery yet again when Tali actually started signing to her and Jo threw her arms around Tali’s neck, bunny still in one arm, and held her tightly, refusing to let go for a solid ten seconds. When she did, she leaned back and put the bunny in her lap to very excitedly sign  _ Merry Christmas! _ back to Tali, but with the added addition of the letter T at the end to say Tali’s “name.”  
  
Tali hugged Jo just as tightly as Jo was hugging her. When she’d first started doing the charity related things with Skye and Jemma, she’d been pretty distant about it. She’d slowly started to warm up to how nice it felt to just do nice things for people and now, in particular, she was just relieved and happy that Jo was out of the closet she’d been hiding in and having a much better Christmas party than she would have been otherwise. To further help her as she sat with the little girl, Tali pulled up a chart of the sign language alphabet. Sure enough one of the first ones her eyes landed on was the letter ‘T’ that Jo kept signing for her. 

From the kitchen, Skye couldn’t take it anymore. She looked at Jemma. “We can’t sit this entire one out on the sidelines,” She insisted. She looped her arm around Jemma’s waist. “Let’s go butter them up with cookies and more juice pouches,” She grinned and they took a pit stop by the food table to pile some cookies onto a plate and grab some juice pouches. They took a route that let Tali see them approaching long before they reached them. 

Tali looked up and smiled at her moms, giving them a wave as they approached so Jo would realize other people were coming over. She watched Jo carefully for her reaction as her moms approached between glances down at the chart to see if she could figure out how to spell ‘moms.’ so she’d be able to introduce them. 

Jo immediately noticed when Skye and Jemma headed their way even without hearing them since fearful people were often the most observant. The closer the couple got, the tighter Jo held onto the bunny and the more snuggled into Tali she got. Eventually, Jemma and Skye sat down on Tali’s left, which was in front of Jo since Jo was sitting on Tali’s right thigh.    
  
“Tali, will you introduce us to your new friend?” Jemma asked, speaking a bit slower than her usually quick speech in case Jo was able to pick any of it up.

Tali smiled at both of them, though she did pick up on the slower tone Jemma used and figured someone had tipped them off about Jo not being able to hear, or they’d figured it out from watching her and Tali with the hand movements. Tali nodded quickly, keeping an arm around Jo’s back. “This is Jo,” Tali said, pointing to Jo and signing the two letters to let Jo know she was giving them the little girl’s name. She looked over at Jo. “These are my moms,” She pointed to Skye and Jemma, then to herself and spelled out  _ M-O-M-S _ to let Jo know they were her parents, hoping that Jo would consider them safe by association. She kept looking at Jo as she added, “She really loves,” she pointed to her heart and then the bunny as she said and signed, “Her bunny,” mimicking the movement Jo had made earlier when she’d opened the book as she smiled. 

Jo didn’t say or sign anything at first, she just leaned into Tali and stayed quiet and unresponsive like she had at the beginning in the closet with Tali. It was going to take more than association to pull Jo out of her shell with a new set of people.   
  
“We brought you some cookies.” Jemma smiled and took the paper plate from Skye, holding it out to Jo. She was unashamedly trying to bribe Jo into trusting them with the sugar cookies she’d seen Jo go after earlier.    
  
With a bit of hesitation and an exchanged glance with Tali, Jo made the sign for cookie by putting the tips of her fingers into a circle on her other palm and turning her hand each way. Then, she reached out and took two, one for herself and one for Tali.   
  


Tali gave Jo and encouraging nod toward the cookies. She watched Jo as she signed what she assumed was the word cookie while out loud, Tali said, “Cookie,” with a grin. 

“Is that how you sign it?” Skye craned her neck slightly, watching Jo’s hands and then holding her own hand out, palm up, and made the circling motion with the tips of her fingers. “Like that?” She asked. 

“ _ Thank you _ ,” Tali took the cookie with one hand and signed it at Jo as she said it. She took a bite of the cookie to assure Jo that it was okay to accept the cookie from Skye and Jemma. 

Jo gave Tali the thank you sign in return and then faced Skye and Jemma, nodding to Skye’s signage and reaching for another cookie.    
  
While Jo was chewing, Jemma pointed to the stuffed animal in their laps and did her best to copy the sign Tali made earlier for rabbit, raising her brows in question, asking for Jo’s approval. Jo’s eyes widened and she quickly scarfed down the rest of her cookie while nodding and started signing quickly, pointing to herself and then crossing her arms over her chest, finishing with the sign for bunny.    
  
“You like bunnies?” Jemma smiled and copied the movements Jo made, but pointing to Jo instead of herself. Jo nodded furiously, giving her approval. She was wholly unprepared for so many people to try so hard to communicate with her. They weren’t trying to get her to speak english like many did, they were trying to use her language instead. It was a gesture Jo wasn’t used to and she was quickly becoming excited about it.

“This guy’s going to need a name,” Tali pointed to the stuffed bunny. She tried spelling out ‘N-a-m-e.’ but Jo didn’t know that one. So Tali pointed to herself and made the shape of the letter ‘T’, then pointed to Jo and spelled her name. She pointed to Skye and spelled out her name and Jemma and spelled out her name. Then she pointed to the stuffed bunny and arched her eyebrows to see if Jo had a name for him ready to go. 

Jo thought for a little bit, chewing on her bottom lip in concentration. After a momentary lack of ideas, she decided to use something that sounded like her own name, but looked different on lips so she could recognize it easily. She flipped open the book and ran her finger along the words, stopping at the letter M.    
  
“Mo.” Jo said, finger-spelling M-O to Tali. Jemma smiled, since this was the first time she got to hear Jo’s voice. Mo was one of the few sounds Jo could make well, so it was a perfect name for the bunny.

Tali tucked some of Jo’s hair lightly behind her ear while she was trying to figure out a name now that she’d been put on the spot. She grinned and she and Skye at the same time each gave her a thumbs up on the name. Skye also used the distraction to swipe one of the cookies from the plate while Jemma was occupied with the paying attention to Tali and Jo. Jo was the only one who caught her and Skye grinned put her finger to her lips to signal for her to keep the secret as she took a quick bite of the cookie and made a show of pretending not to have done so. 

Tali caught on and then tapped a few things into her phone. She came back to look at Jo and said while attempting to simultaneously sign, “ _ Silly Mama,” _ With a funny, amused expression on her face at Skye’s little antics. 

Jo giggled and made the same signs, albeit a lot faster and smoother than Tali did.  _ Silly Mom _ , she signed and giggled some more. She grabbed Mo again and hugged him close, still giggling behind it.    
  
Jemma exchanged a glance with Skye and raised an eyebrow, positive that she too noticed Jo call Skye Mom in sign language without realizing it.

Skye smiled at the the two young girls in front of her. Her gaze shifted to Jemma’s as she swallowed her bite of cookie. They’d already talked some more with Maria about getting paperwork started on possibly taking Jo in. Spending time with her now while she was connecting so well with Tali already was a good thing, but Skye knew they were all going to be affected emotionally when it came time to leave the group home come the end of the night at the event’s end. She worried about how Tali was going to react since it wasn’t likely they’d be able to take Jo with them tonight, no matter how strong the urge was, especially after that last little signing between Tali and Jo. She smiled at Jemma and reached out to give Jemma’s closest knee a quick little squeeze. 

Tossing the last half of the cookie into her mouth, Skye reached for Tali’s phone. She poked around on youtube for a bit and then reached for Jo’s unwrapped  _ The Tale of Peter Rabbit _ book. She held it up, the cover facing Jo. “Would you like to read it?” She asked slowly, opening the pages and running her index finger across the words to try and show Jo what she meant while arching up her eyebrows. She motioned to all four of them. “Together?” 

Jo initially shied away when Skye took her book, like she wasn’t going to get it back, but then she spotted the phone and reached out for it, grabbing it from Skye with two hands, one holding each side. She tapped the play button and when she saw the lady on the screen signing the title of the book, her eyes widened and she almost dropped the phone in surprise and happiness. She leaned out of Tali’s lap and laid the phone on the ground along with the open book, laid out flat on the carpet. She kept glancing back and forth between the phone and the words, running her finger along the lines of text and silently mouthing the words to the best of her ability.

Skye was quick to release her grip on both the phone and the book so Jo knew they were hers to take and use without restriction. She outright grinned when Jo began marveling over the story. Shifting to get closer and therefore to allow Jemma to get closer, she leaned over and planted a kiss to the side of Tali’s head. “You’re really something, you know that?” she asked. 

Tali ducked her head as her cheeks flushed and Skye tucked some of her hair behind her ear. She let Tali interact with Jo over the book and the video reading the book in sign language. She leaned back toward Jemma this time and kept her voice low. “We’ll have to follow up with Maria, see how quickly we can get her out of here?” It’d be a huge adjustment considering the fact that communication would take some time to establish since Jemma, Skye and Tali would need to learn sign language first to speak properly with Jo before they could work on catching her up to her reading level and what not. She was mostly asking to make sure she and Jemma were on the same page in regard to wanting to take Jo out of the group home and see if, given her growing attachment to Tali, she might fit in their home. 

“As soon as possible.” Jemma nodded and grabbed for Skye’s hand. They came across a lot of needy kids during their charity work, but never one quite as special as Jo and never such a strong bond with any of them on first meeting. She hated that they were going to have to leave tonight and she wondered if Jo would cry again; it was a noise Jemma never wanted to hear or know she was making. She didn’t deserve it, just like Tali, and she was welcome in their home as soon as they had permission from the state to take her.

The book, because of the bunny factor, proved to be endlessly entertaining for Jo now that she had a way to read it with the video. Naturally, this led to restarting the video as soon as it was done and flipping to the beginning of the book all over again. They did this two more times before all the excitement finally started to tucker Jo out. For her fifth watch through, she curled up sideways in Tali’s lap while Tali held the video for her while flipping through the book and rocking to try and lull her to sleep, having no doubt that she’d had a long day. Once Jo was asleep, she moved to carry Jo over to the couch to settle into a seat, keeping her phone and the book nearby. Skye and Jemma cleaned up the legos and wrote Jo’s name across the box in sharpie so the other’s would know they were hers and tucked them under the Christmas tree before they went to have another chat with Maria. 

Eventually, the party wound down. Tali stayed on the couch and managed to get out of helping clean up by the fact that no one wanted to wake up little Jo in her lap. Most of the company left and the kids were all being taken up to bed to settle in for the night. Tali felt a sense of inner panic beginning to rise in her that she was inevitably going to have to wake up the poor little girl in her lap so they could say goodbye to go home. She wanted to take Jo with them and she thought it was really stupid that Maria couldn’t do something like pull some strings to make it happen. It couldn’t be that hard could it? Jo needed a home. The Simmons clan wanted to provide it. The state already knew they were qualified and had their paperwork on file. It should be simple and it shouldn’t require multiple days. 

Eventually, everything was cleaned up and Skye, Jemma and Maria approached the couch. “Hey, Kiddo,” Skye said as they approached. She could see the worry creases etching into Tali’s face already. 

“Can we take her home with us?” Tali blurted out the question, admittedly doing her best to muster up the most heartbreaking sad puppy dog eyes she could (And she had wicked puppy dog eye game to go along with her dimples) as she looked up at her moms. Skye frowned and glanced at Jemma. 

“I wish she could, Sweetie.” Jemma sighed and reached out to tuck some of Tali’s hair behind her ear. She wanted nothing more than to scoop Jo up into her own arms and take her out to the car to come home with them, but they had to do everything by the book so there wouldn’t be any problems in the future.    
  
“She should go up to bed now, it’s late.” Maria said sadly. Jo was nestled in Tali’s lap with the bunny pressed up against her chest and nobody wanted to wake her, but they couldn’t take Jo home that night and Tali couldn’t stay, so they were going to have to move her. One of the women who worked in the group home approached and gently slid her arms under Jo’s back and legs, but the moment she was lifted, Jo’s eyes flashed open and she scrambled away, ending up on the couch next to Tali and clutching her arm from the startle.    
  
“Jo, honey, it’s time for bed.” The woman said and signed at the same time. Jo sniffled and looked once at Jemma, Skye, and Tali, but knew she couldn’t do what she wanted in this situation and slid off the couch, bunny in one arm and book under the other.    
  
“Tali, we can come back tomorrow.” Jemma promised and put her hand on her daughter’s shoulder.

Tali had meant the puppy dog eyes, but she hadn’t meant to let her eyes fill up with tears when taking Jo home was shot down right away. She knew that was going to be the answer but she still didn’t like it. She was angry with the group home people for trying to pick Jo up while she was asleep as if Tali was going to let them put her to bed only to wake up with Tali, Jem and Skye suddenly gone - that was awful! She was just reaching for Jo to try and reassure her when the group home woman began signing to Jo. 

Tali sat forward on the couch and only stopped herself from reaching out to bring Jo back for a hug when Jemma touched her shoulder. She sniffled and quickly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and looked at the group home woman. “Will you tell her we’ll come see her tomorrow?” she asked before looking back to Jo and the dejected little look on her face while she held her bunny and book. 

“Sure.” The woman answered softly. She proceeded to sign to Jo and pointed to Tali to tell Jo she would be back tomorrow. Jo interrupted with the letter T and looked over to Tali, eyes brimming with tears and bottom lip quivering slightly. Jo put her book and bunny on the coffee table and exchanged a few more phrases with the woman before she picked up her book and her bunny and ran to the steps, not looking back because she didn’t want to cry.    
  
“She’ll be okay, she’ll be happy to see you tomorrow.” The woman promised Tali once Jo disappeared up the steps.    
  
Jemma watched the whole thing with a broken heart and had to hold a hand over her mouth to stifle a small crying sound to come out. Separating Tali and Jo was one of the saddest things she’d seen, and she’d seen a lot of sad things.   
  
“We’re coming back tomorrow.” Jemma promised Tali, but was looking at Skye to make sure she was in agreement.

Tali almost bolted right off the couch after the little girl. She looked to the group home woman and frowned as more tears fell from her own eyes, wanting to know what Jo actually said since that couldn’t have been it. Skye ran her hand up and down Jemma’s back and blinked away her own tears. Tali stood up but didn’t chase. Tali frowned and wiped at her cheeks after looking away from Jemma and Skye. 

Skye held her free arm up for Tali for a hug and Tali tucked into her side with a miserable and very mature, “It’s not fair she has to stay,” she sniffled and wiped at her cheek, angry with herself for crying. She crossed her arms and leaned into Skye’s side. 

“It’s not,” Skye leaned down to kiss the top of hr head. “But mom’s right, we’ll be back tomorrow,” She assured Tali. “As soon as we can. She’s got Mo to take care of her for the night,” she reminded Tali. 

Tali frowned as she looked up at Skye. “It’s a stuffed animal,” She said, sounding offended by the suggestion. 

“It’s Mo, and it’s more than she’s had before she met you tonight. I wish it wasn’t this way but it’s all we’ve got for right now until we can work everything out with Maria to bring her home.” Skye pointed out. She glanced at Jemma, unsure how to console Tali and knowing they had to usher her out of the house now. She combed her fingers through Tali’s hair. “We had to wait to finally bring you home too,” She reminded her. 

Jemma leaned over and kissed the top of Tali’s head to comfort her even though she knew she wanted Jo to come home immediately. She had no idea what Jo said before she ran upstairs, but she almost didn’t want to know because it would make her want to smuggle the little girl out of the group home and that wouldn’t do any of them any good if they got in trouble.    
  
“Just until tomorrow.” Jemma promised. She turned to Maria and raised her eyebrows in question.   
  
“I think I can get her home with you tomorrow.” Maria confirmed. Jemma nodded and gave Tali’s shoulder a squeeze.

Tali hung her head down as her shoulder sagged in defeat. Tomorrow was better than nothing but it was still hours away and she couldn’t even go upstairs to reassure Jo that they really were going to come back the next day. 

“The sooner we head home, the sooner tomorrow comes and we can come back,” Skye said. “Okay?” She squeezed Tali’s shoulders as Tali gave in with a nod. Skye turned and thanked Maria, who in turn thanked them for everything they’d done for the event itself before she walked them out. 

Tali almost turned back to grab her phone from where she’d left it on the couch but decided against it. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her moms. She absolutely trusted them. She wasn’t sure she trusted Maria to get the placement set up by the next day so Tali was stacking the deck to make sure no matter what that they had to come to the group home the next day in order to get her phone, if nothing else. 

“Let’s go home.” Jemma sighed. She was actually quite tired from the night’s events and all the happy screaming children. Then she had an idea and her eyes lit up, sure Tali’s would too. She waited until they left the house and under the dark street lights, Jemma put an arm around Tali’s shoulders and rubbed a hand up and down her arm. “What do you say you set up one of the guest rooms for Jo when we get back?” Jemma asked. They still had lots of extra decorations from doing Tali’s room and from the initial decoration that Tali had chosen to switch out for things that were more her style. Tali hadn’t been into all the animal posters, but she was sure Jo would be.

Tali leaned into Jemma’s side, still too emotional to uncross her arms. “Okay,” she said quietly with a nod. It was a great idea, and one she’d probably dive right into as soon as they got home but at the moment, Tali was still heartbroken over the way Jo had runaway up the stairs. After all she’d done to make sure Jo go to eat her fill and spent the night smiling and laughing, they’d had to make her cry again at the end of the night. Tali sniffled and worried that she might go hide in that closet again. A shudder rolled down her back and she quietly said. “She was in my hiding spot.” 

Skye glanced over at Jemma as they reached the car and she hit the button on the key fob to unlock the doors. “Your hiding spot?” She asked. 

Tali reached up to wipe a stray tear off her cheek. “I used to hide in the linen closet upstairs,” She said. “When I was here.” She was still frowning, eyes still shining with tears as she looked from Skye to Jemma. “I wandered upstairs to go look at it,” She shrugged and dropped her eyes down. “I don’t know why, but that’s where I found her.” 

“Oh, Love,” Jemma stopped in front of the car and grabbed for both of Tali’s hands. She couldn’t imagine Tali anywhere else but their family, but they knew she had been in many homes and other places before. It was sad to think about, but Tali had more in common with Jo than Jemma did, and she knew only Skye could really understand it, but she knew enough to know how hard it must have been for Tali to walk out of that house without Jo. “Soon. She’ll be with us soon.” Jemma promised.

_________________

After they’d returned home the night before, the three of them had spent some time fixing up the guest bedroom to turn it into Jo’s new room. Afterward, Tali had said goodnight but stayed up on her tablet for another few hours trying to learn what she thought would be the most useful words in sign language she’d be able to. She kept watching the videos through the morning after Skye woke her up to get ready. The Simmons family went shopping while they were waiting for Maria’s call, buying all the supplies they thought they’d need to add to Jo’s room for her - some new clothes, oe books for her to read (going from a list Tali had given them of ones she could find online with ASL videos to accompany them), more legos and other toys. Tali kept trying to throw everything and anything in the cart and they had to keep reminding her that they would need to take Jo out with them to get some things, that they just wanted to get enough to make her feel comfortable but, really, they couldn’t deny too much. 

By the time they’d set everything up in the room, Maria called to set up a meeting time at the group home so they could prepare Jo. Skye asked Maria to make sure they waited to pack Jo’s things up because they had a suitcase ready to bring with them for it. Tali was an excitable wreck in the backseat, barely able to sit still in her seat, rambling away about whether or not they thought Jo would like it at their house, with the animals and all. She was clearly nervous and also worried about how Jo would act after their goodbyes the night before. 

Tali was the first one to the door with Skye and Jemma behind her, Skye holding the empty suitcase by its hand and exchanging a little smile with Jemma as Tali rang the doorbell, bouncing on her toes, eager to get inside. 

The woman from the night before was the one to open the door, and when she did a big smile passed over her face at the sight of the Simmons family all excited to take Jo home. They weren’t the first to be interested in her, but it was apparent that this match might be the real deal, so the woman greeted them happily and invited them inside. Once they all got in the door and it was shut behind them, many sets of eyes looked down at them from the banister and the top of the stairs.    
  
Jo had been expecting Tali and her moms to come back, so she had already been downstairs in the living room with Mo, just waiting on the couch. When she felt the vibrations of the door opening and closing and the footsteps of all the curious children, she perked up and slid of the couch, coming around the corner and dragging Mo by his hand like he was a person she was holding hands with. When she saw Tali, Jemma, and Skye, her first reaction was to grin and excitedly hold up and shake the sign for T with her right hand. She picked up Mo and ran for the door, sprinting over to Tali and tackling her legs, hugging around her thighs and looking up at her with a smile so wide her eyes were nearly closed.

When they stepped inside, Tali had time to turn toward the living room before Jo was racing for her, signing her name. She didn’t have time to crouch down but she did lean over to hug Jo back once she was wrapped around her legs. “Hi, Jo,” Tali chuckled happily and signed her name. She pulled free of the tight hug after a moment just so she could crouch down to Jo’s level. “Are you ready to come home?” she asked and signed the words as best she could from what she was memorizing the night before and over the morning. She, too, was grinning from ear to ear, so very relieved that Jo wasn’t tucked away in the linen closet still upset with her. 

Jo nodded furiously and held up a fist, turning her wrist down twice to say yes in sign language.    
  
_ Home with T _ , she signed. Then she looked past Tali to Jemma and Skye and smiled shyly at them. She wasn’t comfortable with them like she was Tali, but she was more open to getting to know them than she was with anyone else.   
  
“Is everything taken care of?” Jemma asked. She wanted to make sure.    
  
“Of course, I can go pack her things while you get her settled in your car.” The woman held her hand out for Skye to give her the small suitcase. Jo held up a finger and ran back into the living room, coming back with an armful; trying to carry Mo, her book, and Tali’s phone in one arm so she would be free to sign with the other.    
  
“Ready?” Jemma asked, even making use of the sign she’d just looked up and doing her best to copy it from the pictures she found. Jo signed yes again and handed Tali her phone and the book. Jemma bent her knees some to be closer to the ground and held out her hand. Jo looked to Tali for a moment, but moved over to Jemma and grabbed onto her hand to be led outside to the car. Jemma smiled at Skye and had to hold back the happy tears threatening to spill over.   
  


Skye smiled and waved hello when Jo, said and signed, “Hello, sweet pea,” One of her own memorization. Tali wasn’t the only one who had been up during the night watching those videos, though Skye and Jemma no doubt hadn’t been able to watch as many.  Skye took a manila envelope of paperwork Maria handed over to her as she handed the suitcase over to the group home woman. 

Tali chuckled when Jo came running back with all the things in her one arm. “Thank you,” she said and signed as she took her phone, tucked it into her pocket and then took the book. She gave Jo an encouraging nod and big grin to assure her that it would be okay to take Jemma’s hand. Tali kissed the top of Jo’s head and then stood up. 

“Why don’t you three head to the car,” Skye turned to Jemma and held the keys out for her. “I’ll meet you there with the suitcase in a minute?” she asked, beaming at the vision of the three of them, holding hands, grinning and clearly all bursting with excitement and joy over this situation. 

“Sounds like a plan.” Jemma nodded and took the keys from Skye. She knew Jo was deaf, but it occurred to her that Jo was missing out on even the tiniest of things, like the entertaining sound a ring of keys makes when it’s moved. It was very minor in the grand scheme of things, but it got Jemma to wondering how she’d even understood what was going on around her as a young child. Those were all things they could think about later though, it was supposed to be a happy day. Jemma walled Jo and Tali out to the minivan and pulled on the handle to the automatic doors so it would slide open on its own. Inside, they had a carseat they’d bought to prepare and Jemma hoisted Jo, bunny and all, up into the seat and worked on getting her buckled while Tali went around the other side to get in next to her.    
  
“Good?” Jemma asked Jo, and she got a nod in response. She situated Mo under Jo’s arm and lightly ruffled up her hair before she closed the door and got into the passenger seat in the front as Skye came out the front door.

Tali was relieved to be out of the home. She wanted to ask Jo if she felt that way too but she still wasn't positive how Jo would react to Trudy, Rex and Buzz and whether she would wind up liking living in their house compared with the group home so she held off. She smiled at Jo after she climbed into the seat next to her and buckled herself in. "Are you hungry?" She asked and (probably not perfectly) tried to sign it out. Tali's stomach had been such a mess of nerves she had barely been able to eat anything for breakfast. She wasn't sure if Jo ate since she didn't before Tali took her for food the day before. She glanced at Jemma, hoping they might be able to stop somewhere to eat on the way home if Jo said she was hungry.    
  
Skye reached the car and tucked the suitcase to the car floor under where Jo's feet were dangling down. She pushed the button to shut the back door automatically and walked around to climb into the driver's seat. "Are we ready?" She asked, though she knew her hands went quite moving correctly as she had turned to sign it. There was going to be a learning curve, but they'd figure it out.

“Looks like we’re all set.” Jemma gave Skye a thumbs up and turned to look at Jo just in time to see her sign yes back to Tali’s question. 

  
Jo knew the Simmons family sign language was poor at best, but it was the fact that they were trying and that Jo could understand well enough that made it so special. She looked over to Jemma, who signed the word “snack” and dug around in a bag at her feet before coming up with a bag of goldfish, which she passed back to Tali to give to Jo.    
  
“You know me, always prepared.” Jemma grinned. She also came up with a juice pouch and passed that back as well. It was one of the things they knew Jo liked, so they’d bought some during their shopping trip the previous night.

Tali grinned and opened the bag, holding it by the bottom in one hand so Jo could reach into the top and fish some out. "Thanks," Tali went ahead and signed the word out even though she was saying it to Jemma. She took the juice box and set it into the cup holder within Jo's reach in a way that would prevent it from leaking when she grabbed it.    
  
Skye grinned. "Way to go, Mom," she teased with a grin that made her eyes scrunch shut. She glanced into the back just to make sure for her own min that all seat belts were buckled. She looked over at Jemma. "Should we stop and get some food?" She asked. "Or do we just want to make something at home?"

“We should just get something at home.” Jemma said, signing the word home since it was the only word she knew how to sign out of the sentence. At least it was enough for Jo to understand. Jemma figured it would be a lot easier for Jo to let them know what she wanted at home when there was time for her to point and teach them signs than in a public place where there was pressure to order.

Skye nodded. "Homeward bound," she checked over her shoulder and pulled the van into the street to make the forty or so minute ride back home. The car itself waa a buzz of nerves and excitement, conversing as best they could with their language barriers.    
  
They'd told Bobbi and the others about what was happening but warned them that Jo was timid around new people so rather than bombarding her with new faces, Bobbi and the crew had gone in and hung up a welcome sign, strung streamers and helium filled balloon all throughout the entryway of the house. There was also a mountain of cupcakes assembled on the kitchen counter as well to set up a proper welcome. Bobbi had also double checked that Rex, Trudy and Buzz were outback instead of in the house and fed them a bit extra as she'd lectured them about being on their best behavior when they met their new baby sister.    
  
Skye pulled into the Simmons driveway, parked and cut the engine. Tali put the goldfish bag in one jacket pocket, the empty juice box in the other and then started unhooking Jo's seat belt for her. She hooked Jo by her underarms and pulled her from her seat. Once she climbed out, she set Jo down on her feet and held her hand out for her to take. Skye grabbed Jo's book and suitcase and led the way into the house with Jemma.   
  
"Welcome home!" Skye turned to sign it out to Jo as she said it with a warm smile on her face as she saw the decorations.

Jo, with one hand holding Mo and the other holding Tali’s hand, was too excited and didn’t even have a free hand to sign with, so instead she just hopped up and down a few times and smiled, hoping this sufficiently showed her emotions on the idea of home, especially with the Simmons family. Eventually she let go of Tali’s hand and ran into the living room, full on leaping onto the brown couch and giggling the whole time, Mo clutched in her arms. It didn’t last long, since Jo was so excitable that she hopped off the couch and ran over to Jemma and Skye, getting one of each of their legs into her hug.    
  
“That’s right, home.” Jemma smiled and put her hand on the top of Jo’s head, ruffling up her hair a bit. 

The three of them laughed as Jo began hopping about like an excited bunny rabbit and then proceeded to race about in a mad giggling version of a human child zoomie. Skye beamed a bright smile down at Jo and pressed a hand to her back to return the hug while Jemma was ruffling her hair. "Do you want to...see your room?" She struggled with the last three words, wanting to make sure she got them right so they were as clear as possible. She knew, especially with knowing how long Jo had been in the group home, that having your own room was a monumental step up and she wanted Jo to experience that feeling right along with the hyper excitement she was currently feeling.

_ Mine? _ Jo signed, pressing her palm to her chest and raising her brows in question. It was difficult for her to believe even if Skye signed it clearly.   
  
_ Yes _ , Jemma signed.  _ Yours _ . She moved her palm out toward Jo and with the simple hand movement she made Jo’s eyes water. Jemma immediately went to resolve this, kneeling in front of the little girl and taking both her hands, making sure Mo stayed tucked under Jo’s arm. She gave them a squeeze and nodded, then kissed Jo’s forehead.

Tali and Skye both mayyyy have had their phones out to record Jo's excitement, but they definitely both snapped a shot or two of the sweet little moment in front of them. Both Skye and Tali wound up a little misty eyed as well over the whole situation with the emotions it welled within both of them. Skye wrapped her free arm around Tali shoulders and gave them as squeeze, electing to take the lead while carrying Jo's book and suitcase with her, toward the bedroom.

“Come on,” Jemma encouraged, unfortunately not knowing the sign, but jerking her head in the direction of the hallway to indicate where they were going. Jemma stood up and let Jo take her hand as they padded down the hall. She pointed out Tali’s room and made the T sign with her hand, and then pointed to her and Skye’s room and made the sign for “mom.” Lastly, she turned to her left and pointed to the door, which had little decorated wooden letters on it spelling Jo. While they had been shopping, Jemma figured it would mean all the more to Jo to actually, literally have her name on a room, so she’d dug through the craft supplies and found a J and an O to paint and glue buttons and pom-poms to. They’d had a long night setting up and Jemma couldn’t wait to see Jo’s reaction.   
  
Jo’s mouth practically fell open when she saw her name on the door and she tucked Mo under her arm to open the bedroom door with two hands. She froze when it swung open and she saw the inside. The walls were still a bland grey, but there was a twin size bed (with robin’s egg blue sheets) against one wall a dresser and mirror against the other. It had a long way to go to make it how Jo wanted, but there were some posters on the walls with kittens and bunnies and Jo’s eyes lit up.    
  
_ Bunny!  _ She signed and pointed at the wall. She walked inside and did a full spin to look around her. She just stared, unsure what to do.

Tali pulled her phone up to video the reaction, following into the room with Jemma and Skye and a big grin on her face. Tali had been much more stoic when she'd stepped into her room the first time, still shielding herself from the potential from let down. It really made a number of emotions well in her chest as she watched Jo react so happily to it all. She did her best not to let her emotions overwhelm her. She went to the end o the bed where there was a big wooden toy chest as wide as the bed and about two feet tall. She motioned for Jo to come over and pointed at it to let her do the honors of opening it. It wasn't overflowing with toys but it has more legos, coloring books and crayons and some other toys and games inside, all for Jo.  _ Open _ , she signed.    
  
Skye walked over to the bed and laid the suitcase and book down. She slipped back to Jemma's side and wrapped an arm around her waist, kissed her on the cheek before she watched the next big reveal.

Jo was hesitant, but padded over to Tali and the chest and used two hands to push the lid up. When she saw its contents, at first she dropped the lid and it fell back shut, and Jo turned and looked at Skye and Jemma like she couldn’t believe what was inside, like it had to be fake. Jemma nodded and pointed back to the chest and Jo turned back around, lifting the lid all the way up and digging into it. There were a few boxes of legos, but the first thing she grabbed was an animal themed coloring book and a box of crayons. It was too much for her to really take in, so she focused on the one toy and climbed up onto the bed, flipping to the first page and pulling out a green crayon to color a dog.

Tali turned off her phone screen after sending the video to Bobbi and the rest of the family group. She kicked out of her shoes by stepping on the heel of each one. She grabbed a pillow to tuck under her chest and laid down on the bed on her stomach next to Jo. Jo handed her a crayon and Tali started working on the edges and background of the picture.    
  
Skye pulled her phone out and looked up a few words. She went and crouched by the bed in next to Jo and gently touched her shoulder. When Jo looked at her, she did her best to properly sign out, "Do you like pancakes?" As she asked it out loud. It was early afternoon but breakfast foods were good any time of day and it was something she knew she had ingredients for and she knew she could customize for all of them to how they liked them.

Jo nodded and put down her crayon to start signing back to Skye, but she forgot for a moment that Skye had no idea what she was saying and a frown made its way onto her face. Jemma swooped in to help and nudged the box of crayons closer to her, flipping the coloring book to a blank page in the back. Jo got the idea and picked out a blur crayon to draw small circles on the page and fill them in.    
  
“Blueberries?” Jemma asked, but Jo didn’t seem to get it. She pulled out her phone and googled what the ASL sign for blueberries was and when she signed it, Jo brought her hand up and signed  _ yes _ .

Skye’s brows furrowed as she tried her best to wrack her brain to see if she could decipher what Jo was saying back. She felt the panic rise when Jo frowned but, as always, Jemma proved they were definitely better as a team when she swooped in. Skye grinned, relieved. She nodded. “Blueberry pancakes,” She butchered her mimic of ‘blueberry’ when she signed it but she had ‘pancakes’ down pretty solid. Admittedly, ‘pancakes’ was way easier than ‘blueberries’ for the massive beginners that they were. “You guys hangout, we’ll call you when they’re ready?” She looked at Tali as she asked this, knowing she couldn’t sign it, though she did speak slowly and was thoughtful of the way her mouth was moving. 

Jo looked between Skye and Jemma, not quite sure what they said, but then shrugged it off and went back to coloring her green dog. She’d figure out when it was time to eat, she was sure, so she was happy to keep coloring.


	31. Never Replace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warning:** There's some nightmares and discussion of past situations from throughout the story ahead but if you've made it this far reading you should be okay as it's mostly vague. 
> 
> Long time no see!   
> How's it going?   
> <3   
> :D
> 
> _________________________

When Jo was first bumped in the middle of the night, she grumbled and rolled over, but when the shuffling continued, Jo opened one eye to take a peek and realized Jemma, her mom, was crying and tossing about in her sleep. The books they fell asleep reading had fallen to the floor and Jo shook Jemma’s shoulder, but it only made Jemma start thrashing. Jo’s eyes widened and she couldn’t help but scream in fear. She assumed Jemma was doing what some of the women in her past did when they were given too many drugs, and Jo crawled over Jemma while she was moving about and fell off the bed with a thump.   
  
“Mama!” Jo called out when got up to her hands and knees. She scrambled to her feet and ran out of her room, darting down the hall to her moms’ room to get Skye. She was already signing by the time she opened the door, hands flying all about and signing spastic phrases, like  _ Mom is sick! _ and  _ help! _

After having tucked Tali in for the night, Skye had taken her laptop and some files to the master bedroom to get some work done. She’d been nodding off for awhile, precariously close to sleep, her laptop dangerously propped on a tray over her lap and her reading glasses sliding down her nose. That’s when the shrieking scream startled her awake. It made Skye bolt upright instantly. She knew her folly immediately as her glasses went flying and the laptop and tray over her lap sailed to the floor before she could reach out to snag them. “ _ Shit _ ,” she cussed under her breath. She rubbed her eyes and was just pushing out of the bed and putting her feet on the floor, assuming something from the start of a bad dream of her own had woken her, when she heard Jo scream her name. 

Skye was halfway to the door when Jo burst through it, hands signing in a flurry that something was wrong with Jemma. Skye’s feet moved swiftly before she’d fully processed it. She scooped Jo up by her under arms as she ran. Her mind reeled as they went, imagining all manner of terrible things that could have happened. Was Jemma having a stroke or heart attack or something of that nature?? 

When she made it across the hall and into Jo’s room, she set Jo down at the threshold and rushed to the bed where Jemma was thrashing about. Skye paused at the edge of the bed as it dawned on her that Jemma was having a nightmare and she realized that the two must have fallen asleep during story time and now Jemma was trapped in a nightmare, likely an island related one. 

“S’going on?” Tali was usually a pretty deep sleeper. Jo’s first scream didn’t wake her, but her scream for Skye did. She’d tripped on her covers since her legs were tangled in them before she made it to Jo’s room to see what the commotion was about, bleary eyed and rubbing at her face in confusion. 

“It’s okay, mom’s just having a nightmare,” Skye turned to Tali. “Take Jo back into our room. We’ll be there in a minute” She promised. 

Tali frowned when she saw Jemma distressed in her sleep but moved to scoop Jo up by her under arms to bring her up to rest on her hip. 

Skye turned back to the bed and leaned over. She grabbed Jemma by the biceps carefully to limit her range of arm movement. “Jemma,” She said it loud and firmly. “Jem, you’re dreaming, it’s time to wake up,” She gave Jemma’s arms a few gentle shakes, hoping to ease her out of it instead of jolting her out of it. 

“No!” Jo whined and complained, wriggling in Tali’s arms. She wasn’t usually this vocal but she wanted it to be known that she didn’t want to leave her moms when Jemma was in distress. She pushed and Kicked at Tali and eventually wiggled free, sprinting back to her bed. She stayed behind Skye, too afraid to get close to Jemma but not wanting to leave either. If her mom was going to die she wanted to know.    
  
After a bit of Skye’s shaking, Jemma finally calmed down and her eyes flashed open. She sat up straight in the bed, eyes wide and sweating profusely. She looked around her and immediately started crying, but then Jo came around Skye’s leg and started signing to Jemma.   
  
_ Mom, it’s okay.  _ She signed. Jemma wasn’t paying enough attention to the signing so Jo touched Jemma’s leg and signed it again and again until Jemma finally saw it and took a deep breath to come down from the nightmare.    
  
“Jo,” Jemma said and signed, followed by a small choking sob. She reached out and Jo climbed up into the bed and into her arms, cuddling into her chest. “Skye, Tali,” Jemma just kept crying and kept her arms out for her whole family to join her on the tiny bed.

Tali did her best to hang onto Jo but Jo managed to wriggle free after she got a good kick into Tali’s thigh that made her set Jo down. She tried to pull Jo back from the bed to make sure no limbs flailed out and hit her and tried to sign to Jo that it was a bad dream but Jo wouldn’t look away from Jemma. 

Skye let go of Jemma’s arms as soon as her eyes opened to let her process the moment. She pushed some of Jemma’s matted hair behind her ear. “You’re safe,” She reminded Jemma just before Jo grabbed her attention. Once Jo was safely tucked into Jemma’s arms, Skye shifted, leaning forward to wrap them both up in her arms with Jo’s back to her. She ran her hand over Jemma’s hair and along her back. “It was just a dream,” She reminded Jemma. “You’re home,” She added as Tali walked around the other side of the bed and crawled in and joined the group hug fest. Tali had experienced the nightmares before, from both Jemma and Skye, just as they’d experienced Tali having them. It was a shared thing for them, Tali figured, something none of them could really avoid forever. 

“We’re okay,” Skye reminded them. She wanted to tell Jo this but she didn’t want to pry her away from Jemma just yet since they were both so upset. 

“We’re okay.” Jemma repeated. She was still breathing heavily, but it was slowing down along with her rapidly thudding heart now that her family was comforting her and making sure she was alright. She didn’t like her kids to see her like this, but it probably made it easier for her kids to let her help when Tali or Jo had a bad dream. They all had them and they all had their fair share of drama, but Jemma felt especially guilty for scaring little Jo so badly. She hugged Jo close and kissed the top of her head to both apologize and thank her.

Skye kissed the side of Jemma’s head while she was kissing the top of Jo’s. She waited a few minutes and repeated a few times the reminded that Jemma was awake now, she was home and they were all safe. When she thought Jemma had calmed down from the nightmare, she leaned back slightly and kissed the back of Jo’s head before she gently shook her shoulder, wanting to get her to lift her head up. When she finally did, Skye gently wiped a stray tear from Jo’s cheek and said, “Everything’s okay now, Mom just had a bad dream,” while signing it. They still had a lot to learn with the signing but they’d all picked it up very quickly and were much better at it now than they had been to the point that the hand movements were second nature whenever talking to Jo or talking while Jo was in the room so she could follow the conversations. “Thank you for coming to get me,” She added before she ran her hand along Jo’s back to try and further console her. 

“I was scared.” Jo signed and said, though she hadn’t gotten better at speaking as much as the rest of the Simmons family had gotten at signing. “I love you.” She signed to Jemma. “I love you.” She signed to Skye, and then finally she turned to Tali and also told her “I love you.”

Skye nodded to let Jo know that she understood. She leaned in and kissed the back of Jo’s head as she was signing her last ‘I love you’ to Tali. “We love you too, Stinky,” Tali said and signed before she ducked to give her a one armed hug since she was still in Jemma’s lap. 

“Who wants some tea or cocoa?” Skye asked and signed, hoping it might help further calm them down so they could try and get everyone settled back into bed. She had a feeling it was going to be one of those nights, though, where all four of them crowded into bed with Skye and Jemma, after the scare. 

______

Jo woke with a start, quivering and sniffling, heart beating so fast she was afraid it was going to pound through her chest and escape. The first thing she noticed was Mo, which she held close to her chest and squeezed while she tried to control her breathing. The second was the warm wetness underneath her, and Jo realized in horror that she had peed the bed. Tears sprung to her eyes in embarrassment and she hadn’t even told anyone yet. 

She cried for a little longer, just sitting in it, until she finally slipped out of bed and padded into the hallway. She glanced down the hall toward her moms’ room, but her anxiety got worse when she thought about telling them. She knew they wouldn’t dispose of her for this offense, but she instinctively was afraid to tell them. Instead her eyes settled on Tali’s door and she clutched Mo with one hand and slowly turned the knob and pushed the door open with the other. She just stood there for a while sniveling and staring at Tali’s sleeping form in the bed. She didn’t know what to do and she didn’t want to wake anyone.

Tali was normally a relatively deep sleeper. For whatever reason, she’d been having trouble staying asleep this particular night. She kept waking up from what she thought was dreamless sleeping but with that overall depleted feeling that she knew she’d had a weird or bad dream but she couldn’t remember exactly  _ what _ that dream had been about. So it was the sniffling sounds that started to pull Tali from her current somewhat restless dream. She startled slightly when her eyes cracked and there was someone standing in her room. She inhaled a sharp breath and jolted to lean up on her elbow. 

Then Tali realized it was Jo. “Shit,” she murmured to herself. “Jo?” She held her hand up and signed the word. It was dark, sure but there was light drifting in from the night light in the hallway meant to light the way for anyone traveling in the night through the halls for whatever reason. “ _ Jo? What’s wrong? _ ?” Her hands moved in a flurry as she spoke. 

_ I’m sorry! _ Jo signed quickly. Mo was tucked under her arm and she kept signing vague apologies without quite answering Tali’s question.  _ I’m sorry _ , she signed,  _ I made a mess _ . Jo was crying and sniffling and a general mess. Her eyes were red, swollen and tired and she stood with her feet close together, trying to hide her soiled pajamas.

Tali quickly climbed out of bed after kicking the covers down. Her brain was still waking up as she crossed toward Jo, not really sure what she was talking about, just aware that something was wrong. " _ Slow down, what do you mean? What mess?" _ Tali asked. It wasn't until she crouched to one knee in front of Jo and settled her hands on Jo's hips the she realized what Jo meant by the mess. Tali glanced down at Jo's pajamas. "Oh," she said as her brain started to catch up. She pulled her hands back so she could start telling Jo that it was okay but Jo's hands were suddenly frantically moving again before she got the chance.

_ Please don’t tell Moms!  _ Jo signed quickly. She was still new to this family and she didn’t want to do anything to disappoint them. She was already embarrassed to be telling Tali, so she didn’t want their parents to find out.  _ I’m sorry! _ She signed again.

Tali’s initial instinct was that she wanted to wrap Jo in a hug and reassure her that it was okay but she couldn’t do both at the same time since Jo couldn't hear her. So instead, she quickly signed out a reply:  _ I won't tell. It's okay, you didn't do anything wrong. We'll get you all cleaned up, I promise.  _   
  
As soon as she finished signing it, Tali reached out and gently wiped off Jo's tear streaked cheeks right before she pulled her in for a hug. She kissed the side of Jo's head and rubbed her back, already trying to figure out what she should do first in cleaning up. Her best bet would probably be to get Jo out of the dirty pajamas, cleaned her up and get her into clean, dry pajamas then they could pull the sheets and mattress cover off to take to the laundry. She wasn't sure she could do all of it without their moms find in out but at least she'd be awake with Jo to do damage control.

After a few moments, Tali leaned back and signed,  _ Let's get you out of those wet pajamas, okay? _

_ Ok,  _ Jo sighed. She grabbed Tali’s hand and practically dragged her across the hall into her room. She paused at the door, embarrassed about the bed once again, but Tali already knew. She moved over to her dresser and pulled out underwear and a pair of blue dinosaur pajamas to replace her pink butterfly ones. It was another thing Jo was grateful for; being able to pick out any clothes she wanted, even if they were from the boy’s section. She looked over at Tali and waited for her to turn around before she quickly stripped out of her pajamas and changed into the new set. _ I’m sorry,  _ she signed once Tali was looking again.

Tali would have preferred to take Jo to the bathroom to have her clean up instead of just changing but Jo was rattled and she didn’t want to throw her off or upset her further so she turned around to give Jo her privacy to change. Once she changed, Tali tossed the dirty pajamas on the bed then stepped over and crouched down again to one knee in front of Jo again.   _ You don’t have to apologize. I’m not going to tell them, but I just want you to know that the moms wouldn’t be upset with you for this.  It’s just an accident. They happen and it’s okay and they’re fixable,  _ she signed. Afterward, she framed Jo’s cheeks with her hands and pulled her forward to kiss her forehead, then pulled her in for another quick hug. 

Jo clung to fistfuls of the back of Tali’s nightshirt. When she didn’t see Tali, they didn’t have to talk, and it was easier that way. She understood was Tali was saying, but had a hard time believing it herself. She wasn’t used to this, and in the world she had been dreaming about when she wet the bed, this would be a big deal.    
  
When Jo finally let them part, she looked down at her feet and walked over to the bed to start trying to yank off the sheets.

Tali knew there were things she had to ask Jo about, but she also knew now wasn’t the exact time. She walked over to the bed and put a hand on Jo’s forearm to stop her.  _ Let me _ , she signed and kissed the top of Jo’s head. After tossing the covers into the middle of the bed, she pulled up the corners and then pointed to the mattress cover.  _ See here? These don’t let anything wet soak through.  _ She signed and then used the sheet to wipe up the top of the sealed mattress cover.  _ You grab Mo, we’ll take these to the laundry _ . She gathered the corners of the sheets up around everything else and bundled it into a sack she could carry without getting dirty herself and slung it over her shoulder then held her hand out for Jo to take and offered her a reassuring smile. 

Jo hurried to follow Tali’s instructions and had Mo in one hand and Tali’s hand in the other before they headed downstairs to the little laundry room and put the bedding in a basket to be washed in the morning. Jo’s next concern was where she was going to sleep, and her hand reflexively tightened around Tali’s. There were always the couches in the living room, but the idea of being downstairs alone after the nightmare wasn’t appealing.    
  
Once Tali was finished getting everything sorted, Jo tugged on Tali’s shirt to get her attention and signed  _ What now? _

Tali looked over when she felt the tug on her shirt. She smiled.  _ Now, we go tuck into bed, silly goose, _ she replied and lightly tickled at Jo’s side before leaning over and hooking her under the arms and hoisting her up to rest again her hip. She made her way out of the laundry and back to her room with Jo in her arms. Once there, she walked over and set Jo down on her bed and then walked to the door and shut the door most of the way, leaving it cracked. She flipped one of the switches on her wall which turned on a very faint blue night light that wouldn’t annoy their eyes but would allow them to see each other for signing purposes. She walked back to the bed and pulled the covers back for them both. She sat on the edge of the bed while Jo got settled.  _ Was it a bad dream? _ Tali asked.  _ That woke you up?  _

_ Yes,  _ Jo signed. _ About before.  _ There were a lot of implications in those few short words and Jo wasn’t quite sure she wanted to- or even could- share them. Many of her memories were jumbled or fuzzy because of her youth and it was difficult to put together exactly what had happened, but she was aware of the residual effects of her past despite being only a young child still.

Tali nodded and gave it a moment between them.  _ Do you want to talk about any of it?  _ She knew Jo was young and she might shy away from it but she also knew what it felt like keeping those kinds of thoughts buried inside. She reached out and combed her fingers through Jo’s sleep messed hair to smooth it out. 

Jo shrugged and attempted to act nonchalant about the issue, but her face gave her away as her eyes clouded over with tears.    
  
_ Jemma and Skye aren’t my first moms _ . Jo told Tali. She didn’t know how to explain her perception of the past.  _ They were all my mom _ .  _ A lot of them died. _ She said simply. She tried to keep her emotions stable, but her hands shook quietly as she spoke and she had to pet Mo between phrases.

Tali moved. She turned to sit so her back was against the headboard. She scooped Jo up and sat her across her lap, wanting to be able to comfort her while they spoke. She gathered the covers and tucked them around both of them as best she could since they needed to see each other’s hands.  _ That must have been very frightening _ . Tali signed.  _ They weren’t my first parents either.  _ She admitted.  _ None of mine died...they just weren’t very nice.  _ She ran her hand along Jo’s back in random patterns.  __

_ The dads weren’t very nice. _ Jo agreed and nodded, referring to the men as dads. Not everyone was nice and Jo definitely knew this. She may not have lasted at many foster homes, not always because of the parents, but she’d suffered worse before she ever entered the foster system.

Tali felt her eyes burn. She nodded, unable for a moment to reply other than the movement of her head. Tali had some terrible stories but she knew from what Jemma and Skye told her from Jo’s file that it wasn’t nearly as bad as what the little girl had survived. They’d been careful to talk with Tali about the information because of the way Tali and Jo had bonded at the group home, so that she would be able to help them watch for particular signs of issues. The idea was they could catch any issues with all three of them keeping watch so that when it was time to go to their family therapy sessions, they could discuss it with the doctor.  _ I’m sorry _ , Tali signed after she kissed Jo’s temple. She tucked her hair behind her ear and went on.  _ No matter what you’ve been through before...you’ll never have to live through those things with us again. We’re not going to let anyone hurt you ever again. _ She promised, confident that Skye and Jemma would back her up on such a promise. 

Jo nodded and the tears that had gathered in her eyes from fear and shame dripped down her cheeks from happiness. Tali was right that those things were in the past, but she had a family now and nothing was going to change that.  _ I love you _ , Jo told Tali.  _ I love you _ , she repeated, next using her arms to hug Tali and hold her close.

Tali wrapped her arms around Jo and rocked her for a while, kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back. There were a lot of unpredictable things about life and Tali had been nothing but skeptical when she’d first come to live in the Simmons household but she knew Skye and Jemma were in it for the long haul. They were a family and it would always be that way and as such, they weren’t about to let anything happen to Jo of course and they would do what they could to protect her from the memories that went bump in the night.  _ I love you _ she said in a break there after wiping off one of Jo’s cheeks.  _ If you ever want to talk about anything, I will always be here. For now, why don’t we get settled and lie down? _ She wanted to see if she could get Jo back to feeling safe enough to sleep so that maybe she could wake up in the morning feeling better than when she’d entered Tali’s room after her first wake up. 

Jo didn’t sign, but she nodded and sniffled before shifting and laying down her her side to face her big sister who meant the world to her. She’d never been one to believe that your family was only who you were born to, having cycled through so many “mothers” and “fathers” in China, but she knew the bond she had with Tali and their parents was stronger and meant to last.

Tali felt sad in that moment for many reasons, one of the more superficial ones was that Jo couldn’t hear so she couldn’t try to ease Jo’s worries by singing her to sleep the way Skye or Jemma had done for her on numerous nights in the Simmons house after waking from a nightmare. She tucked the covers around them and settled to gently drying away Jo’s tears whenever a new one popped up and alternating between combing her fingers through Jo’s hair or running her hand along her arm or back.  _ I wish we could have found you before you had to live through those other families. _ Tali wished she could have been placed here with Jemma and Skye sooner in her life too, but things didn’t happen that way. They were lucky enough to have found each other at each point along the way, she knew, but she just wished that she could have protected her little sister before she was officially her little sister. It was hard to wrap her head around it sometimes, really. 

_ Me too _ , Jo agreed. She pulled Mo out from underneath the blanket to rest between their chests, almost like she was offering to share him, which was a big deal, since Mo was one of the first things she’d ever had to herself that meant something to her.

Tali felt a swell of extra emotion in her chest at Jo’s silent offering.  _ I love you _ . She said and signed before she kissed Jo’s forehead and wrapped her arms around both Jo and Mo to hold them both close. 

The firm but gentle pressure of Tali snuggling her, combined with her exhaustion from being up so late, finally made Jo pass out and she went about softly snoring and occasionally shifting in her sleep, sometimes mumbling incoherent nonsense, but she was smiling this time instead of wetting the bed.

Tali was awake a little longer after she heard Jo’s light, even snoring. Eventually her own eyes fell shut and she fell asleep herself, relieved that Jo at least seemed to feel better now, enough so to fall asleep. 

In the hallway, Skye heard the soft snoring and finally peeked her head through the cracked open door rather than waiting in the hall and listening. An affectionate smile stretched across her mouth as she craned her neck and watched the two girls sleep for a few moments. She backed out of the room pulling the door shut but leaving it cracked open still then turned to look up the hall as Jemma came out of Jo’s room. “They’re asleep,” Skye whispered. 

“Oh, good.” Jemma sighed in relief. She and Skye had heard their kids moving about, but once they realized what was happening they hadn’t wanted to disturb them. Tali had it covered. Jemma just wished they could all stop having nightmares. Maybe one day it wouldn’t be such an issue, but Jemma knew that day was a bit of a way away for all of them. “Should we just wash the sheets and not mention it?” Jemma asked. If Jo hadn’t come to them, she didn’t want them to know, but she wasn’t sure what the best move was as a parent. They were still relatively new at this and didn’t have experience with little kids.

Skye chewed lightly on her bottom lip a moment, considering their options. Jo clearly hadn't wanted them to know, which was concerning in itself since they did want to make sure Jo knew that she could come to them for any reason at all. If she was scared to do so, Skye and Jemma would want to address that and correct it. Then again, this was a very minor issue and Jo felt comfortable going to Tali for help and, on top of that, Tali stepped right up to take care of the situation. Bringing it up to talk about it might damage that. No doubt, Jo would probably think Tali ratted her out and then Jo might not come to any of them with a problem going forward. So Skye felt concerned that Jo might be afraid to come to her and Jemma for help but also proud of Tali for taking care of her sister.    
  
So Skye looked over Jemma and nodded. "Better to have them trust each other than us meddling," she said, figuring it out loud, albeit in a whisper. "We'll talk to Tali when she's alone just to let her know we know what happened and tell her we're proud of her?" Encouraging that kind of behavior definitely seemed like the thing to do so long as they didn't let on to Jo that they knew.

“That’s a good idea.” Jemma nodded and whispered. She wanted Jo and Tai to maintain their relationship and eventually Jemma and Skye could build theirs with Jo, but never at the risk of Tali losing Jo’s trust. “Let’s go back to bed.” Jemma tugged on Skye’s shirt and headed back toward their bedroom to go back to sleep.

Skye turned to follow. Her fingers traced down the inside of Jemma’s forearm and over her palm before it closed around Jemma’s hand. She shut the door most of the way behind her but before Jemma could get further than the spot next to the bed, she used Jemma’s hand to stop her from climbing in and stepped closer. “I noticed you said back to bed and not back to sleep…” She hooked her free arm around Jemma’s waist and let it rest along the small of her back, her thumb sliding under the hem of Jemma’s shirt and tracing along the patch of skin there. What? It was a quiet house, calamities were squashed...they were both awake - timing was important not that other conscious human beings live in their house. 

“Well the kids are asleep...” Jemma whispered and dragged out the ‘are’ to give Skye the hint back. The opportunity was there since both kids were passed out down the hall. Alone time was hard to come by now that they had a family, so it shouldn’t be wasted. Jemma had a devious grin on her face and she pulled Skye over to her before turning them around and shoving at Skye’s shoulders to get her to sit on the bed. She parted Skye’s knees with her hands and filled the space between them, leaning over and just barely grazing her lips over Skye’s. “I hope you aren’t planning on an early morning.” Jemma whispered.

Skye’s hands gravitated reflexively toward Jemma’s hips after she sat back on the bed. “Only if you plan to keep me up til sunrise,” she grinned. Her fingers sunk through the silk of Jemma’s hair, keeping her from slipping away and instead pulling her in for a proper kiss instead of the teasingly light one she’d received moments before. Even with things falling into places like well placed Tetris pieces falling at lightning speed for a player with nimble fingers, there were still fleeting moments that flitted across Skye’s mind telling her that she didn’t actually deserve this life with Jemma and their family that she’d somehow managed to fall into. They were easier to keep at bay at moments like these than other times, of course, but they never seemed to fully leave her mind, were instead just pushed down to the furthest regions of the depths for as long as she could hold them there. 

“Sounds like a plan.” Jemma murmured across Skye’s lips. Ever so gently, she pushed Skye down onto her back and teased her way up Skye’s side with her fingers, moving her head and pressing feather light kisses against Skye’s neck. Sometimes it was hard for her to believe that they could have moments like this: all happiness and with nothing to fear. She and Skye had been together for a few years now off of the island (which was longer than they were on the island if the time inconsistency wasn’t counted) but it still felt surreal to be back in the normal world. It was a good thing though, and Jemma planned to take full advantage of it forever and in that moment

_____________

“There’s money in the recipe box. There’s enough there to order pizza or whatever else you want,” Skye said to Tali as she as she held Jemma’s jacket up for her to slip into while trying not to get too distracted by the gown Jemma was wearing. It had been difficult keeping herself from trying to peel Jemma out of it rather than helping her zip it up while they were getting ready not so long ago. 

Tali rolled her eyes, though it was in good nature. “Okayyyyyyy, I get it. This isn’t my first rodeo,” She sighed, absently signing the words out as she spoke since it was just second nature at this point.

“No need to get fresh with me,” Skye smirked and leaned over to kiss the side of Tali’s head as she stepped toward Jo and crouched down. “ _ You’re in charge, little one - keep your sister in line while we’re gone, okay?”  _ she asked and signed with a grin. 

“ _ Sure, Momma _ .” Jo said and signed. She’d been with the Simmons family for almost two years now and was officially adopted. Calling them her parents felt like second nature now, even though she used the sign for mother for Jemma and the sign for father for Skye to make things easier, but she called Skye Momma when she spoke aloud, which was much more often. Her moms hadn’t pushed her into speech therapy and lip reading help, since they were happy to speak sign language, but Jo had asked so she could function at a normal school, and it was going well.    
  
Things really couldn’t have been better for any of them. Jemma was a world renowned paleontologist after getting a degree before Jo was officially adopted. It hadn’t taken long to showcase her discoveries from the island and she was currently going to a gala at a museum that featured her specimens. Jo didn’t really know a lot about all of that, but she knew her moms had been somewhere else (since she’d spent the last two years of her life with dinosaurs in the backyard). It had never really been fully explained to her, but she was young and didn’t question it very much.    
  
“ _ Can I watch TV _ ?” Jo asked hopefully, looking to Jemma, since she was the hard nut to crack. She was wrapped around Skye’s pinky and got mostly whatever she wanted, but Jemma was a bit stricter sometimes, which wasn’t all that bad since it kept them organized.   
  
“ _ After your homework is done _ .” Jemma nodded and told her the condition. She gave Tali a glance, silently asking her to help Jo if she needed it, and then turned back to Skye to pass her the car keys.

“ _ That’s my girl,”  _ Skye grinned. She let out a short snort of laughter when Jo bypassed her to ask Jemma about the TV. She was under no illusions that she was usually the pushover. To make sure she stayed on the same page as Jemma with different allowances for the kids, it often led to Skye being the one to utter ‘have you asked your mother?’ in response to a request from either of the girls. Skye pulled Jo in for a hug after she stood up and kissed the top of her head. She took the proffered keys after pulling her own jacket on. 

Tali gave Jemma a discreet slight nod. She pulled the door open. “ _ If you don’t go, you’re gonna be late _ ,” She pointed out to them. 

Skye turned to Jemma, “She must really have a big party planned,” She teased. “We’d better get out of here before the first of her friends show up and blow her cover.” 

“Har, har, you’re soooooo funny,” Tali rolled her eyes.

Skye started to follow Jemma out the door. “Call us if you need anything, the number for the venue is on the dry erase board if you can’t get our cell phones for any reason.” 

“Got it!” Tali gave them a salute. “Be careful, we love you, byyyyyyye!” She waved and shut the door behind them then leaned back against it and mimed wiping her brow. “ _ Phew...I thought they’d never leave! _ ” she signed to Jo before she leaned over and tickled Jo’s sides. 

“ _ What are we going to do _ ?” Jo asked. She hadn’t exactly planned out the night other than having to finish her homework and wanting to watch some TV before her bedtime at eight.

Tali chuckled softly. " _ First, we finish homework, then we party, baby girl _ !" She grabbed both of their backpacks from the floor of the foyer, slung them over one shoulder and held her hand out for Jo to take the other before heading toward the kitchen. After she got Jo situated with her books, Tali went to the fridge and cut them up some apples to dip into peanut butter while they worked. Admittedly, Tali was only half paying attention to her homework as she was alternating between helping Jo when she needed it and texting some friends.

Jo struggled through her homework, since her reading level had yet to catch up to the other children. She finished it dutifully though, only asking Tali for help when she needed it and doing her best not to get distracted by snacks. She liked to get good grades because of the way it made her feel and the way Jemma and Skye reacted, so she always tried her best on everything school related, homework included.   
  
The apples ran out around the same time Jo finished her homework. She shoved all her papers into folders and slipped her folders and books back into her miniature sized dinosaur backpack.    
  
“ _ I’m done! _ ” Jo said proudly. She held up her finger to tell Tali to wait a second and ran back to the foyer to put her backpack where she wouldn’t forget it on Monday. When she got back to the kitchen, she climbed back up on her chair at the kitchen table and pulled Mo over from the chair next to her. She didn’t care that she was eight years old, the bunny still went with her everywhere, even to school. Tali had made her a harness for him with a string attached so she could wear him around her neck like a lanyard and be able to sign with both hands, which made him even more capable of traveling with her.   
  
“ _ Can I go play outside with Trudy and Rex? _ ” Jo asked. She had been eyeing up the swing set out the window while she’d been doing her homework and was ready to play.

Tali watched Jo race off to put her backpack away with a smile on her face. She was just cleaning up the leftover mess from the apples and peanut butter when Jo returned and reclaimed Mo. It was true Jo was a little old to be carting Mo everywhere but Tali was willing to defend the action as long as it made Jo happy and was her security blanket of sorts.    
  
She glanced toward the backyard and then looked at her books. She could finish the rest outside while Jo played on the swings and jungle gym with the animals. So she nodded. " _ Go on ahead, I'll be out when I finish  cleaning up _ ," she said. " _ Our backyard only, no wandering, okay _ ?" She quickly added before Jo raced off.

“ _ Ok! _ ” Jo promised, already on her way out the back door to greet Rex, Trudy, and Buzz, who nearly dog piled her on sight.

Tali smiled and called out to the animals to play nice before Jo shut the back door behind her. She finished cleaning up the kitchen and tucked her own books in her backpack before sticking it into the foyer. She went outside after that to play with Jo and the animals for a little bit. Eventually Jo and the animals were tuckered out and it was time to figure out something for dinner. Both of them were hungrier than they thought and neither wanted pizza so in the end they decided they’d make some hamburger mac and cheese. Tali wasn’t a great cook but she’d cooked a few easy meals with Skye and Jemma like spaghetti and meatballs, hamburger mac and cheese, grilled cheese, tacos, stir fry and a few box-meals - all the easy things to ease her into it. 

For hamburger mac and cheese, Tali pulled a pound of ground beef from the fridge and browned it in the pot. When it was done, she dumped the cooked meat into a bowl and used the pot to make two large boxes of Kraft mac and cheese. When the noodles were done, she mixed in the cheese then mixed in the cooked meat and tossed in a drained can of diced tomatoes. She and Jo sat at the small table in the kitchen while eating. When they were done, Jo went upstairs to lay down for a bit (Tali jokingly blamed it on a food coma after playing outside) before bath and bedtime. Tali dumped the leftovers into a container and popped the lid on. She brought the dirty dishes to the sink, washed them and set them in the drying rack. Then she went to the living room to sit for a moment and let her dinner settle. A bit sleepy herself, Tali yawned and slowly started to nod off a bit, her phone alarm set to wake her at 7pm. 

There were three things Tali didn’t realize as she was dozing; The first was that she’d left the cheese packet and empty Kraft box on the counter next to the stove, the second was that when she’d wiped up the glass of the electronic touch-sensitive cook top while cleaning, she had accidentally hit the button that turned on one of the burners instead of locking the controls like she’d thought she had and the third was that she didn’t realize the kitchen window was open. The breeze that had kicked up in the evening pushed the paper and cardboard products from the regular counter top to the hot stove top. It took a few minutes for the materials to catch fire and then another few minutes before the smoke reached the detector in the ceiling. 

By the time Tali launched off the couch to the loud blasting of the fire alarm, she had been asleep. Her eyes were wide and wild as she looked around, disoriented. Outside, Rex and Trudy were squawking and growling wildly, unable to get inside. Smoke was filling the living room. Tali grabbed up her phone and called 9-1-1 on the landline while sending and emergency text to Bobbi that literally read:  _ HOUSE ON FIRE CALLED911GETTING JO NOW!  _ She dropped the landline receiver, shoved her phone in her pocket and raced for the foyer only to find her path to the stairs for the bedrooms cut off by smoke and flames. 

Coughing, the panic really started taking hole of her as the stairs were the only way up to the second floor. Tali spun around and raced for the back door. She burst outside, coughing and sputtering for proper air. Trudy, Rex and Buzz converged on her but she pushed past them. They followed as she sprinted around the side of the house, leaving the gate open as she ran to the front of the house. Even though Jo couldn’t hear her, Tali was shouting her name the whole way. She skidded to a stop outside the front of the house, staring up at the second floor windows and looking for a way inside. Trudy swung her neck and gave a hard headbutt to Tali’s shoulder blade. She squawked at her, flapping her wings and stomping her feet. Tali looked from the frantic animal to the front of the house again. She raced over to the side of where the front door patio ceiling stood then looked over here shoulder, “Trudy!” She whistled. 

Trudy rushed forward. “Help me up!” She pointed upward. Trudy squawked, looked at everything then dropped her head down, bracing under Tali’s rear with the top of her head and, as Tali grabbed for purchase against the outside wall of the house, Trudy pushed her upward. As soon as her hands reached the edge of the patio roof’s overhang, she dug the toe of her sneaker into the side of the house looking for any purchase at all. Trudy shifted and pushed her head under Tali’s free foot. Tali pushed down on that foot as Trudy pushed up and shoved her higher. Tali pulled herself up on the roof and jumped across the gap between the patio roof and the roof above a bay window at the front of the house that was just under Jo’s bedroom window. She was just about to hulk smash her way through the window with her elbow or foot in the fury of her adrenaline rush when the window suddenly opened in front of her. 

Jo hadn’t woken up to the sound of the smoke detector, or even the lights from the system they installed to flash red when the smoke detectors went off. It was the smoke that got to her bedroom and into her lungs that made her chest heave as she coughed. She got up and out of bed from her evening nap and rushed out into the hallway to go downstairs and see what was happening. With all the smoke in the stairwell, she could only tell there were flames at the bottom because of the light. She held the neck of her shirt over her face and, still coughing, made her way back into the bedroom. Tali got onto the roof at the same time that Jo worked the stiff window up, but there was still a screen between them.    
  
“ _ Wait _ !” Jo suddenly blurted out. Her eyes widened and her hands started frantically flying around as she spoke, probably too quickly, but Tali would be able to pick out  _ Mo _ and  _ downstairs _ . She shot out of her room and raced down the stairs, trying to find some way around the fire. She tried crawling over the banister, but it collapsed under her and she tumbled into the kitchen, where Mo was sitting on the counter, untouched by the flames so far, but fire stood between Jo and her stuffed bunny.

“ _ JO! NO!!!”  _ Tali screamed Jo’s name fruitlessly as the girl disappeared. Tali banged on the window and screamed Jo’s name again but she knew Jo had run downstairs for the stuffed bunny. Tali’s heart was racing so face she thought she was going to puke. The panic that raced through her was overpowering. She scrambled to jump down from the window roof and Trudy scrambled to break her fall. Tali landed and collapsed under the wonky way she turned her ankle. 

Rex, roaring away as he went, had gone running toward Bobbi’s house. He didn’t have to scratch at her front door though, because Bobbi appeared at the door after having read Tali’s text and heard the growing commotion outside. She spotted the smoke, the animals and Tali jumping from the second floor to the ground and had just enough time to tell Lance to stay in the house before she ran outside, shutting the door behind her and raced across the cul de sac toward the Simmons house where Trudy was nipping at Tali and dragging her away from the front door by her shirt or elbow whenever she tried to go running inside. 

“Jo’s inside - GET OUT OF THE WAY!” Tali shoved at Trudy and tried to dodge around her, limping on her ankle. Trudy squawked and nipped at Tali’s shoulder then gave her a strong headbutt to the chest, this one strong enough to knock her on her butt. Tali swung at Trudy, sobbing, coughing and screaming as she punched the animal. Trudy didn’t actually hurt Tali but she refused to let Tali back into the house. 

“Tali!” Bobbi shouted as she reached the girl. She wrapped an arm around Tali’s waist and pulled her toward the curb away from the house. Tali struggled the whole way. “Wher-,” 

“JO’S INSIDE!” Tali wailed, trying again to break free. “SHE WENT AFTER MO IN THE KITCHEN!” 

“Stay here,” Bobbi roughly, trying to be form without hurting her, forcing her to sit at the curb. “Stay with her,” Bobbi said to Trudy and Rex before she ran for the front door of the Simmons household. Bobbi was not a firefighter. She reached for the handle of the front door and immediately yanked her hand back with an inhaled hiss of pain as she burnt it on the hot metal of the door handle from the heat of the fire behind it.

Bobbi stayed calm and assessed the situation as quickly as possible. She rushed around the side of the house. The kitchen window was too high to try and bust through so she kept going and made it to the back door. There was smoke everywhere but she could make it in without the flames. Reflexively she called out for Jo as she pushed through the thick, acrid smoke. It took some time as she tried to crouch below the smoke but she found Jo when her searching hand on the floor landed on Jo’s calf. 

Jo had gotten as far as the counter, even succeeded in grabbing Mo, but she didn’t make it as far as the living room before she collapsed from the lack of oxygen and the smoke inhalation. Bobbi managed to latch onto her leg and crawl close enough to wrap her arms around Jo. She put the strap on Mo’s harness over Jo’s head since she had fought so hard to get him, and then she shoved her arms under Jo’s body, one under her knees and the other behind her shoulders, and hauled herself up to her feet to get them back to the nearest window. She had to put Jo down to smash it out with her elbow and used her shoe to clear the edges of glass before she grabbed Jo again and climbed out, coughing and wheezing and covered in ash and soot, but alive and mostly unscathed. She hadn’t accessed Jo’s condition yet, but she was met with chaos and sirens when she got back to the curb with an unconscious eight year old in her arms.

Raina had come home from a night out to find police cars blocking the street with black smoke billowing up from the Simmons house. She quickly pulled over and parked on the side of the street and rushed to get past the officers, who were trying not to get to close to Tali because of Rex and Trudy. Tali tried to vault to her feet when she saw Bobbi with Jo but Raina saw the way Jo was limp in Bobbi’s arms and put a hand on Tali’s shoulder to keep her seated. Tali struggled against her but the ambulance and fire trucks had arrived and EMS and firefighters jumped from their vehicles. The EMS staff raced for Bobbi, Jo and the police officer who has rushed over to support Bobbi and help her carry Jo to a safe spot on the lawn. 

Tali had devolved into sobs by then and Raina had pulled her phone up to dial Jemma’s phone first. She got the voicemail (not surprising as it was probably on silent at the gala) and left a ‘you need to come home right away, call me when you get this,’ message. She wrapped her arms around Tali in an effort to keep her from interfering with the medics while they were trying to bring Jo around. Tali’s panic had escalated to the point that she was sure her sister was dead, she didn’t know what happened to cause the fire but she was in charge of Jo and Jo was dead and it was her fault. 

Bobbi wanted to protest when a first-responder took Jo from her arms, but they had her handled and Tali was conscious and needed support. Bobbi hurried over to her and pulled Tali into her arms, applying enough pressure to attempt to calm Tali down from what was clearly a panic attack. Bobbi tucked Tali’s head against her neck and shoulder and Raina rubbed circles into Tali’s back.    
  
Over Tali’s shoulder, Bobbi watched as paramedics strapped Jo onto a gurney and put an oxygen mask over her face, testing her vitals. At least their response meant Jo was alive, so Bobbi waited a bit longer until they seemed to have Jo stable to bring Tali over.    
  
Trip eventually made his way outside as well and was with the paramedics, trying to find out all he could about Jo’s condition. Soon the paramedics brought oxygen masks and tanks over for Bobbi and Tali while the firefighters worked on settling the flames in the house.    
  
“Tali,” Bobbi gently shook Tali’s shoulders and pushed her away enough for a paramedic to get a mask over her mouth and nose. Bobbi pointed to Jo and after a few minutes on oxygen, she got Tali closer to Jo and the paramedics.   
  
“How is she?” Bobbi asked.   
  
“She could use a trip to the emergency room for the smoke inhalation and a few burns, but she should be alright.” A female paramedic promised them. Jo was starting to groan and shift under the straps, unaware of her location and starting to panic.

Tali couldn’t stop crying through all of it and it kept making the paramedics return to check her vitals. She fought to push them away and return to Jo every time even after the oxygen mask was one. She had barely pulled herself together when Jo started groaning and with the knowledge that Jo needed to go to the ER  _ and _ had been burnt in the fire. Tali’s ankle probably could have used an X-ray and her hands had been wrapped up in some gauze as they’d been bleeding from ehr climbing and scraping them. She bent over the stretcher and pushed Jo’s hair out of her face, the tears cascading down her cheeks now. As soon as Jo seemed like she was awake enough, Tali began immediately signing out that she was sorry. She frantically searched for Mo and Raina handed the stuffed bunny over. Tali tucked him into the crook of Jo’s neck since she was strapped down and tried to sign to Jo that everything was okay but she was so distraught herself, she didn’t know how convincing it was coming from her. A cold, chilling fear started to creep into the very back of her mind that this was quite possibly the worst thing she’d ever done - surely Jemma and Skye would send her away for nearly getting their youngest daughter killed, whether by accident or not. It was beyond a fair enough reason to send Tali away, wasn’t it? Would they take her away from Jo for this? Tali tried to be careful as she squeeze Jo’s forearm and sniffled. One of the paramedics wrapped a blanket around Tali’s shoulders when she noticed Tali trembling. 

Jo began crying when she saw Tali and she tried to apologize herself for running downstairs, but her arms were pinned down at the moment and it made her anxious to be unable to speak with her mouth because of the mask or even with her hands.    
  
Bobbi, Trip, and Raina got to work herding the animals back into the backyard once the flames were mostly out so they would be contained again and the paramedics could work without fear of the animals.    
  
Soon another car sped down the street and came to a harsh stop in the middle of the cul de sac, not even parking, and Jemma practically flew out of the passenger seat with fearful tears in her eyes, unable to wait for Skye to get out of the car to run to her kids while also staring in horror at the smoke coming from their house.    
  
“Tali! Jo!” Jemma practically screamed. She kicked off her heels so she could run faster and tackled Tali into a hug, but it didn’t last long because she spotted Jo on the stretcher and panicked, reaching for her youngest child’s hand.    
  
“What happened?!” Jemma asked, but there wasn’t much to say other than there was a fire except for any knowledge Tali might have.

Skye threw the car’s gear shift into park and left it running as she ditched her own heels and rushed to catch up and get to the girls. She didn’t even glance toward the house, only wanted to get to the girls. Tali’s tears began anew when Jemma hugged her. “I-I don’t know,” She stammered. She sniffled hard and suddenly Skye was there and wrapping her up in another hug. Skye’s heart was pounding as she squeezed Tali’s shoulders. She asked a paramedic for their status and was told about Tali’s ankle, which was wrapped in an ace bandage to stabilize it at the moment, then about the smoke inhalation and Jo’s burns. 

Words suddenly spilled out of Tali. “I’m sorry!” She blurted “W-we finished dinner. I-I fell asleep and was waiting for Jo’s bath time alarm,” She sniffled hard. “The a-alarm, and Jo was...I called...I couldn’t get to the stairs, Trudy had to boost me up to the roof,” She pointed over her shoulder and started crying harder. “She ran away from the window for Mo, I c-couldn’t...couldn’t get to…I’m sorry, I couldn’t, I’m so sorry!!” Her sobs cut her off. 

Skye hugged Tali close. “Shhh, shhhh, shhh,” She gently shushed Tali. “We’re going to get you both to the hospital, it’s gonna be alright,” She tried to assure Tali, who buried her face into Skye’s shoulder and suddenly began begging Skye not to send her away. Skye leaned back and framed Tali’s face with her hands. “No one’s being sent away,” She tried to assure her. 

“Oh, Tali,” Jemma started crying herself when she heard Tali’s pleas and turned to pull Tali and Skye into a three way hug with her while the paramedics lifted Jo’s stretcher into the ambulance. “Sweetie, we’re just glad you’re both okay.” Jemma promised her and kissed the top of her head. She silently mouthed the words thank you to their friends when they emerged from the backyard, and then the three of them climbed into the ambulance to get the two girls checked out at the hospital.

Raina moved Skye’s car and gathered Jemma’s shoes. She, Bobbi and Trip formed a plan. Raina would drive Bobbi to the hospital in Skye’s SUV since it would have enough room to seat all 6 of then for a return ride from the hospital and would let Bobbi have her hand looked at for the burn wound. Trip would stay with Lance and keep an eye on temporary animals until they got back. He would gather some clothes and things from the Simmons house to take to his house so they could stay overnight and not have to sleep in the house with the smoke smell tonight. Once they had a plan, they set it in motion. Bobbi went to tell Lance what happened and instructed him to behave for uncle Trip. Raina filled a bag with clothes to change into for the Simmons brood then she met up with Bobbi and took Skye's SUV to follow the ambulance to the hospital.    
  
At the hospital, they were thankfully willing to let the family stay together in one room while they were working on checking over both Tali and Jo. Skye figured this was because of Jo’s inability to hear and them not having anyone fluent in ASL on staff. Tali was still sniffling, fresh tears still rolling tracks down her cheeks through the soot stains on them. Skye sat next to her on one of the hospital beds and kept an arm around her, rubbing her back and her other arm. Every so often, she leaned over and kissed the side of Tali’s head, trying to reassure her that everything would be alright now.   
  
Tali looked over at Jo as the medics began undoing the straps of the stretcher so they could move Jo but before they could shift her from the stretcher, Jo's hands went flying the moment her arms were free. Tali felt herself tense, blaming herself again for what was yet another trauma her little sister had go live through, and this one was Tali’s fault. She hung her head down, eyes to her lap and wiped at them with the back of her hand, too ashamed to watch and see what Jo might be telling Jemma and Skye.

_ Is everyone okay?  _ Jo signed quickly, looking around. Her eyes widened and watered when she saw the bandages on Tali’s hands and wondered if she’d been hurt elsewhere.   
  
“Everyone’s fine. The animals are at home.” Jemma said and signed as Jo was transferred from the ambulance gurney to a hospital bed. The look of relief on Jo’s face was evident and she clutched Mo close.    
  
_ Tali?  _ Jo tried to get her attention but she wasn’t looking, so she had to speak up. “Tali?” She asked again.

Tali couldn't bring herself to look up at first, so she just nodded as she sniffled. She felt awful that Jo was worried about her when it was her fault this happened. "I'm sorry," she just kept saying and signing when she spoke.   
  
"Tali’s okay, honey," Skye said and signed." She hurt her ankle so they'll take her for x-rays to make sure it's not broken. They wrapped up her hands because they got a little scraped up," she explained so Jo didn't think they were lying. "Now listen, okay?" She reached for Tali’s chin to make her look up and wiped at her tears. She signed as she spoke so Jo would understand.    
  
"This was just an accident," she looked between them both. "It wasn't anyone's fault-,"    
  
"It was my fault!" Tali cut her off through a sob. "I m-made dinner and, and it was my fault! I thought I had turned off the burners b-but I guess I..." she sniffled and cried harder, hanging her head guiltily again. "It was my fault and I-I burnt down our h-home and Jo..." Her shoulders shook as she cried. "I...I'll u-understand if, if...if you change your mind and, a-and send me back-,"    
  
"Oh, Tali," Skye felt the tear pricking at her eyes as she watched her daughter fall apart. “Look at me," Skye took Tali’s face in her hands and trusted Jemma would sign what she was saying to Jo. "The house is not our home. Everyone in this room, that's our home. You are forever a part of this home and family. We are never going to send you away for any reason. This was an accident. We're all safe and together. The house can be fixed, but we could never replace either of you. We love you and we will never, ever send either of you away or let anyone take you away," she kissed Tali's forehead and then pulled her into a tight hug and let her cry a little longer to get it out while she looked over at Jemma and Jo over Tali's head and reminded herself that her family was alive and safe.

Jemma sighed and left Jo’s side to come to Daisy and Tali for a moment. She signed as she spoke, “No matter what, you two are our children, and no mistake, nothing you do on purpose even, could change that.” She promised. She rubbed a few circles on Tali’s back and wandered back to Jo, taking up her free hand and kissing the back of it.


End file.
